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Tony learned this lovely 3-part polka from the playing of New York button accordionist Patty Furlong. 48-bar polkas are not common in Irish music and are not used much for sets. Tony consulted Marie Brouder here in Melbourne about this. Marie is the number one person on set dancing in Melbourne and she could only find one dance that was …

This is an often-played polka, normally in the key of G. Polkas, like marches, are in 2/4 time. That is, there are two groups of quavers, or the equivalent. Where you have two groups of four quavers, you should play: down on the first quaver down on the next quaver. In this tune the only time you play an up …

This polka is in G Major, so when coupled Paddy’s Polka (no. 1), there’s an interesting key change from D Minor to G Major.. In this tune, the B part can begin on either a G Major or E Minor. Tony’s preference is for the E Minor, so that’s how it’s notated in the booklet (Book 3).

This tune is played in D Minor. This is an ideal tune for music teachers to teach their students as it is uncomplicated, and from an accompaniment viewpoint, is very basic – only two chords, D Minor and C. [haiku url=”http://media.libsyn.com/media/igpod/PaddysPolka1.mp3″ title=”Paddy’s Polka (No. 1)”] Listen to Paddy’s Polka (No. 1)

A common polka, which Tony tells us has received some rough treatment. Make it easier to learn by using shortcuts: the first bar is identical to the third and fifth bars, the last two bars of the first section are the same as the last two of the second section, and bars 9 and 10 are the same as bars …