I love reading history books. I have a particular fondness for browsing through bookshops and looking at old books. When I can afford to spend the money I purchase these valuable writings and take them home. And when I find time to sit and read these books, our time spent together is very special.

What has this got to do with the book you now hold in your hand? Nothing maybe, but then ...

Kathleen Nesbitt is also very special! We have been lifelong friends. She is a fine traditional fiddle player who has learned from master musicians that this music has a long history, but is very much a living tradition. Irish music, when played by Kathleen, sounds as if it's from the heart and soul of the Irish people. Kathleen is also a great music teacher; some of her students have gained international acclaim.

Producing a tutorial and CD of such magnitude requires many long, arduous hours of exhausting but fulfilling
work. Many decisions have to be made, e.g. selecting the tunes and choosing variations to make them sound and look interesting, choosing the type of ornamentation to be used, while hoping that those who use the book will understand that what's on paper is only one of many possibilities. Decisions also have to be made on bowings and other notations that help students understand what makes Irish music unique and distinctive. The many subtleties that lie within this music are difficult to put down on paper. Even the great classical composers agonized over how their music should be written and how to express their musical feelings on paper. Knowing Kathleen as I do, I'm quite certain that she too had some of the same concerns and preoccupations about the music that she chose to document for inclusion in her book.

Kathleen has done a marvellous job! This tutorial is a credit to her: it is beautifully designed and the text easy to read and understand. There is something in this book for students and non-students alike. She should be very proud of her valuable contribution to the world of Irish music and fiddle playing. I feel assured that her hard work will be of monumental value and that this tutorial will be constantly used as a teaching tool. It will certainly be put to good use in my own fiddle classes at Boston College!

As one looks through the pages of this book, one will see that Kathleen has included lovely songs, flings, polkas, slides, airs, jigs, hornpipes, set dances, reels and even the music of O'Carolan, the eighteenth century Irish harper. The book and accompanying CD demonstrates how short rolls, long rolls, cross bowing and other forms of ornamentation should be executed.

I am very proud to be one of the first owners of this fiddle book. Although I was lucky enough to have received this as a gift, I would not have hesitated to spend the money "and then some!" as they say in America.

Those of you who, like me, wander around bookshops, congratulations for picking this book up. Buy it, bring it home and spend some special time together. You will not regret it!

Seamus Connolly,

Director, Irish Music Programs, Boston College.