The Blarney Pilgrim

The challenge for those who attempt to translate Celtic traditional music for fingerstyle guitar is to preserve the unique qualities which are the essence of the style. This has been achieved by taking a minimalist approach in arranging, and by using alternate tunings. The minimalist direction is characterized by the thought that most of this music consists of but two elements: melody and rhythm. Harmonization, in the classical sense, tends to sound out of place. With this standard musical device unavailable, successful approaches are found in fiddle-and-pipe-like embellishment of melody, and rhythmic bass patterns.