Tag Archives: celtic guitar

Bantry Girl’s Lament (912ce)

Songsacoustic guitar, bantry girls lament, blue sky guitar, celtic guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert

The Bantry Girl’s Lament is a traditional Celtic song which dates back to the early 1800’s. The ‘lament’ is for the soldiers who were called off to fight in the Napoleonic wars, but I find the melody is more wistful than maudlin. My fingerstyle version is based on Martin Simpson’s version from his fine album “Leaves of Life.” While Martin used a Drop D tuning for the song (or rather its equivalent on Baritone guitar), I play it here in open G6: (D-G-D-G-B-E). To me, this is a peaceful, meditative song that gives pause. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 912ce (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD Light strings) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór (Taylor 912ce)

Songsacoustic guitar, celtic guitar, fiddle tunes guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kona, Martin Simpson, O’Carolan songs, open tunings, Pierre Bensusan, relaxing music, slack key, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert, Tony McManus, Turlough O’Carolan

Here is another version of my arrangement of Si Bheag, Si Mhor (Little Fairy, Big Fairy), reportedly the first song composed by famous 17th century bard Turlough O’Carolan. This version was recorded on my 912ce, which I feel is a perfect guitar for this arrangement. Hope you enjoy.

Earlybird Sunrise (Fingerstyle Demo)

Songsacoustic guitar, altered tunings, celtic guitar, Elixir strings, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, love, open tunings, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, taylor 310ce, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Today’s song is a demo from years back called “Earlybird Sunrise.” Earlybird is a fingerstyle song with an expansive palette and ambitions of invoking a wide landscape. I also thought it would be fun to pull an old photo of myself – replete with long hair – from around the time I recorded this song. I have my old Taylor 310ce in the photo – a trusty guitar – but Earlybird was probably recorded with a budget model from another brand that was nonetheless fairly playable. It’s in an alternate tuning that I haven’t used since and I can’t recall how to play the song, but I still find it fun to listen to and hope you will enjoy as well.

Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór

Songsacoustic guitar, altered tuning, celtic guitar, fiddle tunes guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kona, Martin Simpson, O’Carolan songs, Open D, open tunings, Pierre Bensusan, relaxing music, rosewood taylor, slack key, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, Tony McManus, tranquil song, Turlough O’Carolan

Here is my arrangement of Si Bheag, Si Mhor (Little Fairy, Big Fairy), reportedly the first song composed by famous 17th century bard Turlough O’Carolan. This version of the song is played a little on the slower side of what you normally hear, but I may record a slightly more uptempo version later on. I think the song works well both ways to be honest, one of the many interesting things about it. Hope you enjoy.

Nick Borho

Slack Key & Fingerstyle Guitar

Tag Archives: celtic guitar

Bantry Girl’s Lament (912ce)

Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór (Taylor 912ce)

Earlybird Sunrise (Fingerstyle Demo)

Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór