The Transmission of Song Among the New York Irish

The Irish Arts Center in New York City provides a rich context for the transmission (teaching and learning) of song, dance, and instrumental music. Classes in amhrلn (song) include the basic class of Irish Song with a Performance Class or Singers Circle to follow. Classes in rince (dance) cover couple dances and waltzes, céilي dance, set dance, and the exhibitionistic step dance. Classes in ceol (instrumental music) cover bodhrلn, tin whistle, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, bazouki, and guitar, with a chance to play in house bands. This book describes the authors experience teaching the Irish Song class and Singers Circle while in search of "folk pedagogy". Over thirty invited singers, mostly born in Ireland, presented classes for IAC students and the community. Ethnographic data from these singers and their interactions with students, including investigations of song parameters and processes of "passing it on", are compared throughout. Four narrative voices--those of songs, singers, students, and the author--are interpreted toward capturing meaning, feelingfulness, and Irish worldview embedded in the processes of teaching and learning.