John Ryan's Polka (The Final Jam Session)

To take a break from the trip updates, I'm going to write about the very bittersweet night I'm having. I am absolutely thrilled about the music class we just had, but so, so sad that it was our last one. Padhraic, our teacher, the most amazing bodhrán player I've ever seen, had a bunch of his musician friends come in so we could all have a jam session. There was Sheila, playing the accordion, Dervla, playing the fiddle, Michael playing the guitar, and then Padhraic himself threw around the bodhrán and his own little banjo-looking thing, leading every song. The rest of us played along on our bodhráns, sometimes with our tin whistles but that usually ends in catastrophe. We're all just in love with the bodhrán.

The first half of the class was spent mostly warming up and reviewing all the beats he taught us to different tunes, including reels, jigs, slip jigs, hornpipes, and polkas. Tonight was our seventh class, and we'd picked up a lot of really difficult rhythms. We were definitely ready for the session.

The best thing about Padhraic is how encouraging he is. Picture an adorable middle-aged man, humble as can be, but amazes us with his bodhrán playing when we beg him to play. As brilliant as he is, every time we would do anything, be it a slow hornpipe beat to a rapid polka, he would beam and say, "Brilliant!" or "Deadly. That's just deadly." And praise and praise us for how quickly we were picking it up. Certainly he's the reason we were any good- that kind of exaltation will make anyone feel like a bodhrán superstar!

The musicians tonight were amazing. They played together so fluidly, didn't have to name the tune, or really communicate with each other at all. Padhraic would just say, "Alright, the next one then, slow at first so they can run through it then we'll run the whole bit." And they would do everything in sync, perfectly. Their instruments spoke for them. They've been doing this for years, with and without each other, just entering a session and hoping the music just clicks. While I pretended to play the tin whistle, I watched them nod and interact with each other. It was such a great atmosphere.

We played along to everything, reels, jigs, hornpipes, and LOTS of polkas. On the bodhrán, polkas are VERY fast. My right hand is probably going to be really buff compared to my left. The acoustics in the classroom were surprisingly clear, and tune after tune resonated beautifully. I recognized every one of them from years of dancing and listening to it Sunday mornings in the kitchen at home. But speaking of dancing...

Padhraic had me jump up and do a reel. Wearing jeans was pretty rough, as was being over two years out of shape, but it was great fun to dance along to the musicians again. I also did a slow hornpipe, since I remember still my very favorite step from senior year; I just wish I had my hard shoes to show everyone the great rhythm! I wore my O'Dwyer sweatshirt- pride and joy of my life- to class tonight, not knowing I'd be representing the dance school even more than just wearing the paraphernalia. One boy in my class, Ryan, also plays the flute, and we got to listen to him show what he could do along with one of the polkas. The atmosphere felt very similar to that at the farm cottage on our Western Ireland trip; Padhraic was encouraging all of us to show off what we could do with the music. He really has a way of bringing it to life.

None of us wanted the class to end, but the fateful 8pm finally arrived. We finished up with a lively set of reels, banging away whatever rhythm we wanted on the bodhrán, and finished with one loud thrum.

Next, we all have to choose either Visual Arts or Theatre for the remainder of our semester here. I'm choosing Visual Arts in the hopes of learning about some great Celtic designs, but whatever we learn, and whoever instructs it, there are very large shoes to fill. Luckily we get to keep our bodhráns until the end of the semester, so when my family visits I'll be able to show off what I've learned.

(What I'm secretly hoping is that they'll be so impressed they'll buy me my own.)