Mark Arrington Music: News

You can now order Planxty Hugh O'Donnell at 70 bpm from iTunes and all other download sites. If you need a different speed, order here on the Order Music page.

Planxty Hugh O'Donnell is now available on www.CDBaby.com for $1! If you need a different speed than the original 70 bpm, you can order it here for $3. For this version I used finger-picked guitar, mandolin, fiddle, whistle, and bodhran. I'm glad to see another great centuries-old tune by Turlough O'Carolan added to the set dance list. You can hear a portion of it on the Music Samples page.

CD Baby is giving $1 to the Red Cross for relief to Haiti for every $8.99 or more download. So, buy from www.CDBaby.com instead of other download sites, at least for a while!

You can now download Champtrax from iTunes, CDBaby, or dozens of other sites! Of course, you can still buy the CD here!

You can now order "Champtrax" from the Order Music and Stuff page! As of today it's only available here or at a feis from Fay Shoes, Head for the Worlds, and Faery Reel (Canada). In a few weeks it will be on iTunes and just about every other MP3 download site. Like "Kick It Up A Notch", I'm playing all the instruments. Plus, until the end of the year you get a free set dance when you order Champtrax! Just type in the tune and speed when you check out.

Until the end of the year, you can order all seven traditional set dances at the new official An Coimisiun speeds for $5! Go to the "Order Music and Stuff" page, scroll down to Traditional Set Dances, and order. I email you the dances.

"Champtrax", my new CD of Irish music for feis dancers, is almost finished! It has championship-length tunes played through once, twice, and three times so dancers can practice steps multiple continuous times and still have a definite ending. Until it's released, you can download the non-championship-length tunes from the "Music Samples" page.

We'll be at Shippen Manor in Oxford NJ again this Sunday. It's a restored historic home with an amphitheater lawn used for concerts. Nice place to sit around listening to music.

Reunion concert of the original Beats' Walkin', Philadelphia's premier Western Swing band at the Mermaid this Friday night!

I recorded the long version (20 bar set) of Downfall of Paris for CRN dancers. Just order an "Individual Set Dance" on the order page and type in "Downfall of Paris long version" with the speed you need when you check out.

To promote the less common set dances, I'm giving away some tunes for Oireachtas practice through October! The free sets are Rambling Rake, Four Masters, Rub the Bag, Deep Green Pool, Rodney's Glory, Roving Peddler, Jockey at the Fair, Youghal Harbor, Hurling Boys, White Blanket, and The Three Tunes. Don't order from the site because PayPal will charge me a fee. Send me an email of the tune and speed you want and I'll email it to you as usual.

I'm getting lots of orders from around the world for individual set dances. On the "Order Music and Stuff" page, check the speed on the CD, which is the number right after the tune name. If it's the speed you want, you can order it from iTunes for 99 cents. If you need a different speed, you can order it from this site with a credit card or PayPal account .

I've started a fiddle/Harp duet act with harpist Ellen Tepper, playing ancient (mostly Irish) music for concerts, weddings, and parties. We also do light classical music and standards for weddings.

Vintage Country, a duet with me and my wife Leticia, sings classic country music. I've recorded all the backup instruments and it acts as our country band. Go to the Music Samples to hear some of it (Leticia's not on these samples).

You can now download the sets from "Kick It Up A Notch!" on iTunes. Check to see if the recorded speed is the one you want - if it is, you can get it at iTunes for $1. If you need a different speed, you can order them here on the "Store" page.

I'll be judging the music contest at the Bucks County Renaissance Faire Sunday, Sept 16 at 2:00. It's open to any instrument or voice performing renaissance, baroque, or Irish/Scottish/European folk music. Cash prizes! To register send me an email with your name, age, town, and music you'll perform (up to 3 minutes).

This is a CD of our two recording projects from 1990 and 1992. It's the same band confguration as today and for the past 20 years!

You can download individual set dances at any speed. Just click on the Add to Cart button and type in the tunes and speeds you need.

My new CD of Irish Set Dances, "Kick It Up A Notch!" is finally here! I'm playing all the instruments - fiddles, mandolins, guitars, whistle, and bodhran. Although the tunes are at feis speeds for Irish dance competitions, it's still very listenable for non-dancers. Some tunes have 3 fiddles, or 2 mandolins, 2 guitars, etc. You can order it from the "Store" page. It will be available for download from CD Baby, iTunes, and other online sources pretty soon.

The Temperance House will not be having the session or any entertainment on Thursdays for the summer. I'm looking for a new venue for the session. The Temperance House may resume in the fall.