Pipe Up – Irish Traditional Music DVD
www.store.pipers.ie

Most National schools in the country now have interactive whiteboards as part of their educational technology and NPU has responded to this technical opportunity by producing Pipe Up, an Irish Traditional Music Resource DVD-ROM. The DVD aims to bridge the knowledge gap about Irish traditional instruments using the latest computer technology. Pipe Up also explains the various types of tunes and allows practical application via an innovative interactive tutor for the tin whistle. We especially liked the short videos of musicians playing samples of the main tune types, jigs, reels, slow airs and marches.
Curiously although some of the tunes are given in both staff notation and ABC format they are not linked to sound samples. Furthermore when we looked up bouzouki we found a picture of a an 8 stringed Greek instrument, although the Irish instrument mentioned in the text is a flat back Irish model, perhaps a phone call to Joe Foley in Dublin would have given a truer picture of the zook as used in trad. Teachers with a bit of savvy should be able to correct that.

The DVD is a very affordable €15 and can be ordered on line.