Lessons in Irish Bouzouki

Course Summary

Tutor Summary
Declan Plummer plays bouzouki, tin whistle, Irish flute, bodhrán, uilleann pipes, and DADGAD guitar. He has a BMus, MA, and a PhD in music and is an expert in online tuition. All handouts, audio files and video files, have been carefully designed and organised by him to give students the best possible experience in home learning! He can be contacted anytime through email: info@topscoremusicacademy.com

🎵 Learn the Irish Bouzouki with Our Comprehensive Online Course – From Beginner to Advanced! 🎵  

Hi everyone, Welcome to the Online Irish Bouzouki Course!
My name is Declan Plummer and I’m the creator and teacher of this course, which I’ve designed to explore the unique and soulful sound of the Irish Bouzouki. Whether you're just starting out or aiming to elevate your skills, this course is the perfect guide for players of all levels! Our detailed, step-by-step lessons will take you from complete beginner to advanced level, helping you develop the skills you need to play Irish traditional music with confidence and authenticity.

What’s Included?

🎥 Over 12 Hours of High-Quality Video Lessons 
Currently there are over 12 Hours of High-Quality 4K Video spread across 17 lessons. Our video lessons break down every essential technique, ensuring you have a solid foundation. Each lesson is designed to be clear and easy to follow, providing you with practical demonstrations and insightful tips. You’ll learn everything from the absolute basics to advanced techniques in a structured format that’s easy to follow and fun to practice.

🆕 Constantly Updated with New Material   
The course doesn’t stop after the initial 12 hours! We regularly add fresh material to keep your learning journey going. Whether it's new tunes, tips, or techniques, you'll always have something new to dive into.

🎶 Dozens of Audio Examples 
There are dozens of Audio Examples, including backing tracks with me playing tunes on the tin whistle and bodhran at different speeds, which you can download to practice offline and accompany on bouzouki. Understanding rhythm and melody is crucial in Irish music, so we've included numerous audio examples to guide your ear. These examples reinforce the techniques you learn, helping you connect theory with practice, and giving you a feel for how the Bouzouki should sound in real Irish traditional music.  

📄 Downloadable Handouts and Sheet Music 
Similarly there are also dozens of downloadable handouts and sheet music to help you with your practice and understanding. Each lesson is accompanied by handouts and sheet music that you can download and keep. These include chord charts, tunings, progressions, traditional tunes, understanding music theory and Irish dance types, and other valuable resources, giving you something to practice offline and use as a reference.  
 
💬 Answers to Your Questions in Future Videos 
Got questions? We’ve got answers! Submit your queries, and we’ll address them in upcoming video lessons, making sure you’re never stuck or left wondering how to master a concept.  

Topics Covered

🎸 How to String and Tune an Irish Bouzouki 
To start with the basics—our pre-lesson videos cover everything you need to know about setting up your Bouzouki for the perfect sound. You’ll learn how to tune, and how to string your instrument to ensure it's always pitch-perfect, and you’ll learn the technical names of the different parts of the bouzouki.

🎵 Playing Chords, Popular Progressions & Understanding Dance Types
In Part I of the course our first six lessons demonstrate how to play chords. Chords are the foundation of Irish music accompaniment. We’ll teach you the essential chords and show you how to play the most popular chord progressions for different dance types, particularly for the fast-paced jigs and reels that are so recognisable in Irish traditional music. By the end, you’ll be able to accompany traditional Irish tunes like a seasoned player.

🎶 Playing Polyphonically with Flat-Picking Countermelodies 
In Part 2 of the course, we cover playing polyphonically with flat-picking countermelodies. This part of the course is for more intermediate and advanced players. We delve into flat-picking techniques that will allow you to play countermelodies alongside traditional tunes. This technique adds depth to your playing and gives you the ability to perform polyphonically-perfect for making your Bouzouki sound full and rich during a session.

📖 Playing Tunes and Reading Music 🎼
In Part 3 (the final part of the course), you will learn how to read Irish Traditional Music in standard notation (and bouzouki tab), and turn these basic symbols into in real living music. Learning how to play real Irish dance tunes like this will foster independent learning, allowing you explore more music you want to learn. We’ll take notated tunes and show you how to turn them into authentic-sounding Irish music, complete with ornamentation, phrasing, and feel. You'll also learn techniques to make these tunes your own. This is key to playing authentically and developing a true Irish sound.

Why Choose Our Irish Bouzouki Course?

- Learn at Your Own Pace: With lifetime access to all materials, you can practice whenever it suits you, anytime and anywhere!
- One-Time Purchase for Only £150: No subscriptions, no hidden fees—just a single payment for lifetime access. That’s less than £9 a lesson – and all of these lessons will always be recorded and waiting for you when you are ready to practice!
- Regular Updates: Keep learning with new lessons, tunes, and tips added frequently. If you have questions or need help, you will get expert personal feedback and answers from me, and it may even be a good topic to cover in a future video!

🌍 Embrace the Spirit of Irish Music! 🌍  
Start your journey today and become part of a rich tradition. With this course, you’ll be able to play at sessions, join in with other musicians, and develop your own voice on the Bouzouki.  

🛒 Get Started Now – Enrol for Only £150!  
Don’t wait to explore the magic of the Irish Bouzouki. Sign up today and unlock over 12 hours of video lessons, dozens of audio examples, downloadable handouts, and more!

🎵 Irish Bouzouki – Where Tradition Meets Your Musical Journey! 🎶

Course Curriculum

Declan Plummer

Declan is a music teacher, lecturer and researcher, who specialises in teaching theory, aural skills, analysis, composition and secondary school music subjects (GCSE, Leaving Cert., and AS & A2 music). Born in Belfast, Declan’s enthusiasm for classical and Irish traditional music was strongly encouraged by his parents while studying at school and attending the Ulster College of Music for piano lessons.

After successfully completing his Bachelor's degree in music at University College Cork in 2005, Declan continued his studies at Queen’s University Belfast, where he acquired a Master’s degree in music in 2006 and was awarded a PhD in musicology in 2011 producing a dissertation, under the supervision of Professor Jan Smaczny, that focused on the conducting career of Sir Hamilton Harty. Declan has published articles on Harty in several academic journals, including The Musicology Review and the Journal of the Society of Musicology in Ireland. He also contributed to a chapter on Harty for the book, Irish Music History, 1790-1920: Documents, Sources, Perspectives, published by Four Courts Press in 2019. Along with the late Roy Johnston, he is also co-author of The Musical Life of Nineteenth-Century Belfast (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2015), the first ever publication to give a detailed examination of the city’s musical history.

Since leaving university, Declan has spent years teaching music professionally and acquired significant experience working with a variety of people of different ages, abilities and backgrounds (including school children, university students and adult learners), in large classes and small tutorial groups, across a range of working environments. Declan has been a tutor at the Ulster College of Music for many years: he teaches all units and components of the A-Level and GCSE music courses; offers tuition in aural skills and music theory (Grades 1-8 ABRSM, Trinity & RIAM boards); and has introduced new classes: notably the Advanced Music Theory class, the Music Appreciation class, and individual tuition for tin whistle, Irish flute, traditional guitar, Irish bouzouki, bodhrán and uilleann pipes. At the City of Belfast School of Music he taught advanced theory and aural skills, and at the Piano Academy of Ireland he delivered lessons in theory and musicianship. Declan also worked as a teaching assistant at the Music Department in Queen’s University Belfast, where he gave lectures and tutorials for undergraduate students who studied modules in music theory and music history as part of their BMus and BA degrees.

John Smith

Developer

Highly Recommended Course. Easy to Understand, Informative, Very Well Organized. The Course is Full of Practical and Valuable for Anyone who wants to Enhance their Skills. Really Enjoyed it. Thank you!!

Course Pricing

One-Time Fee

£150

    • Over 12 hours of video across 17 lessons
    • Dozens of handouts and audio files to download
    • Go From a Beginner to an Advanced player
    • Play chords, and chord progressions
    • Accompany tunes with advanced flatpicking & countermelodies
    • Play Irish traditional tunes/songs
    • Read Irish traditional music (standard notation & TAB)
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