At fifteen years old, fiddle player, Mairéad Hickey from Cork, winner of eight All Ireland fiddle titles and the former Irish National Concert Hall Young Musician of the Year, launched her ‘Irish Fiddler’ app for traditional Irish fiddle. The app, produced in 2011 by Marion Roche Martin, is available on https://itunes.apple.com

Mairéad uses a combination of tutorials and colour coded printable music to support students as they learn to play a set of Irish polkas in version 1.0, followed by a set of jigs in Version 2.0. Mairéad demonstrates how the tunes can be played together in a session and includes a free tutorial on good fiddle posture. The application is ideal for anyone who enjoys Irish music and can be used to learn the tunes on other instruments like tin whistle, flute, banjo and mandolin.

Mairéad has played traditional and classical music worldwide and has been on television several times. ‘Irish Fiddler’ is a big hit with users all over the world and has been downloaded all over Europe, North America, South Africa, Brazil, Japan and Australia.  Most recently Mairéad was invited to teach one of the app tunes in a workshop in Bermuda–students were delighted to be able to access the app so they could learn other tunes in their own time.

Users have found it to be a very valuable resource, with clear presentation, slow play throughs and a 5 and 10 second playback feature. The application combines Mairéad’s talent and love for Irish music with the latest technology to deliver an easy to follow method that enables students to learn how to play traditional Irish polkas and jigs.

For further information email:irishfiddlerapp@gmail.com