Reels: Congress / Banshee / Cooley's

A set of reels in practice tempo (right) for the course I'm teaching.
Played on Pilgrim tenor banjo and accompanied with Oakbridge Irish bouzouki.
Congress Reel
|: Am | % | % | G |
| Am | % | G | G Am :|
|: Am | % | G | % |
| F | % | G | G Am :|
The Banshee
|: G | % | G Em | C D :| x4
|: Am | Em | G | % |
| Am | Em | G Em | C D :|
Cooley's
|: Em | % | D | % |
| Em | % | D | D Em :|
|: Em | % | D | % |
| Am | % | Bm | D Em :|

[@saamitunturi8532]

One of the finest best versions of those three reels , i have come across,love it!!!

[@joannehack7588]

🐸

[@Freddy017]

I like the way you play, not too fast and not too slow. Good swing. Greetings from Brittany (France).

[@0EnterTheDarkside0]

This is calming to listen to. Thanks for the video

[@vijivini7918]

Wow lots of love from India Tamil Nadu

[@moriley7615]

What I like about this style of playing is the middle road, the second tune. You start somewhere, travel, and land. There's flight to it. Good sets!

[@hibernianmelody6761]

Awesome tunes and thank you so much for sharing and the chords what a wonderful bonus 🤗

[@laviniaburke3160]

Great! I'm playing along with this at the moment to practise a session accompaniment for my harp. It's very helpful. Thank you!

[@joseluissunertolsa9426]

Congratulations I find your fantastic creations. I encourage you to continue creating and sharing it.

[@MrMusicguyma]

I love this tune. Years ago I regularly backed up a great electric mandolinist with my guitar on this tune. Now, I'll learn the lead myself. ;)

[@user-ui6fc6hc8t]

Love your work !❤! Perth West Australia

[@gregercalhan7059]

This is so good. Perfect tempo for practicing.

[@goal-goal-goalllllll]

Never heard the first song but know banshee and Cooleys well. Definitely will be playing this set in future, thank you sir

[@NiiloSirola]

Thanks! The first reel was used (at least in Finland) in a cod-liver oil advert back in the day when everyone watched TV, and it's still known as Möller's reel over here :D

[@KeithMcormack895]

The Congress reel

[@paulhammer1363]

Very musical playing, enjoyable to listen to.

[@paulnoon5530]

Thanks for the reply Niiro, it has a lovely tone.

[@yannickmartinez1944]

3 more to my list for learning! Thanks a lot.

[@user-Kenny631]

Excellent thanks for sharing 👍👍☘☘🎶🎶

[@josephstevenbrideau1975]

Soo beautiful to listen to! Thank you!

[@joannehack7588]

Indeed

[@brianlawson5122]

Amazing backing with the bozouki!

[@liwerd1016]

Wow! That sounds realy great!!!!

[@GlyndwrMeredith]

Lovely performance. Thank you.

[@PlaiulNou]

I like a lot the "Congress reel"! Salutări din România!

[@parintelebaiazid80]

Va recomand atunci sa ascultati si aceasta versiune: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3utgICLgNWFb68m14s

[@lochlainnmacneill2870]

Fantastic Niilo.

[@gibby6904]

Very nice set!

[@paauggie]

beautifully played

[@ReedMunson]

This is really helpful! Thanks a lot!

[@kevinforde2555]

So steady brilliant, thanks

[@SleepingJoe.]

Thats really nice!

[@tlavz3100]

Great job!!

[@alastair6356]

Niilo you inspired me to pick up the banjo and play Irish music. My wife hates you but to me you are a demi God.👍😊

[@NiiloSirola]

Thanks, and sorry about the wife 😅

[@alastair6356]

@@NiiloSirola Looking forward to some more tunes. 👍😊

[@AvaPotterfieldandFriends]

Nice! I alreaddy play Cooley's

[@kieranmckay3034]

Just an easy to listen to set mate, not too fast, not too slow and what a strong tone from the wee banjo you use....

[@urbanlovesrural]

well said ⛵️🥂⛵️

[@giorgostherioudakis9315]

Ideal for playing along with a D Generation tin whistle, like the one you have there !

[@NiiloSirola]

I've only got around to learning one tune on the whistle, maybe some day...

[@fellow8085]

I really like this, thank you for uploading

[@NiiloSirola]

Thanks, appreciated :)

[@josephstevenbrideau1975]

You're great and sound great! You speed that up and you'll make all this beautiful folklore famus. Ya gotta keep on playing.

[@NiiloSirola]

Thanks!

[@courregesfranck1092]

Love.

[@jigsawalmanzor4313]

very good!!!!!

[@jamesmccarty8988]

Great tunes well played! 👍🏼

[@NiiloSirola]

Thanks!

[@joannehack7588]

💫

[@joannehack7588]

Thank you for posting this. You help to make this sad ole’ world a happier place

[@joannehack7588]

🌈

[@youtubedestroyedmylife309]

goddamn you killed it

[@lapboard340]

Your banjo sounds terrific just the way it is without screwing around with different heads...nice playing too!

[@billp37abq]

Agree,

[@MybeautifulandamazingPrincess]

Bluegrass 😍 100% Irish/Scottish Appalachian heritage

[@joannehack7588]

Truly magical 💟

[@joannehack7588]

Thank you

[@joannehack7588]

I could listen to this all day long. 😊

[@daviddownes1502]

Love it 👍

[@NiiloSirola]

Thanks!

[@markwatson9226]

Thanks for the videos! Love the Zouk and Banjo together keep it up. Great sounding banjo, I've got same head on mine and like that tone🙂

[@NiiloSirola]

Thanks! I dropped my teaching for this semester, but I hope I'll get a chance to start posting (and learning) new tunes regularly again one of these days..

[@johnwilliamson6846]

Excellent playing !

[@NiiloSirola]

Thanks!

[@jfkesq]

very nice

[@lindathompson4275]

❤️❤️

[@kokindenom]

Merci

[@joannehack7588]

🌙☀️💫

[@CHewittMedia]

Hi, great playing. Just subbed. Do you have these tunes just as a backing track for lead practice? Love that bouzouki sound.

[@NiiloSirola]

Thanks! I don’t think the backing tracks would be easy to play along to as I recorded the lead first and the accompaniment follows that rhythmically without much spine of its own :)

[@martini3524]

Lovely to listen to. Go h-íontach ar fad. Thanks.

[@NiiloSirola]

Much appreciated, thanks

[@konstantineguruli]

Hello, Niilo, your performance is great and I love The Congress Reel. I want ask you a question, probably it sounds bit stupid, but still, I am singing some Irish Folk songs and I want to make accompaniment with instrument. I think that 5 string banjo is the hardest, the second hardest is tenor banjo, then acoustic guitar and easiest of all these is classic guitar. Am I right ? Thank you.

[@NiiloSirola]

Hey! Depends on what instrument you play already. I've never seen a song accompanied with a banjo alone though, it does not work very well for playing chords. Myself I prefer to accompany with a bouzouki, mainly because it's only 4 courses of strings so easier to control while singing

[@donroche274]

class

[@sam7417]

I like this style. Not an over use of triplets like Gerry Oconnor. Not criticising GO'c just my personal preference

[@lemelancholic1755]

can you tell us the chords like your other video glassgow reel/julia delainey pls that be great

[@NiiloSirola]

Sure, they're in the description now

[@lemelancholic1755]

Niilo Sirola thank you very much :-)

[@paulnoon5530]

What make is this Tenor Banjo.

[@NiiloSirola]

Paul Noon Pilgrim Celtic Dawn Model 2

[@babayega3987]

Awesome man.

[@cloudboy7750]

Hi there! Nice playing and sound. Was just wondering if you had any issues using the heavier gauge 'Irish' tenor banjo strings? For example, was there any neck movement?

[@NiiloSirola]

+cloud boy No issues because it was set up this way already at the shop. (string gauges 11-18w-26w-36w). Definite improvement over my first banjo that definitely was not meant for this tuning.

[@cloudboy7750]

+TheNippelimies Thanks for the info!

[@johnkeeshan1913]

cloud boy

[@jebstuart6824]

suona bene davvero...

[@lucasw3490]

Sounds great! What tuning are you using?

[@NiiloSirola]

Thanks, it's standard tenor banjo tuning, so GDAE (from bottom to top)

[@marvinthemaniac7698]

I used to want a mandolin, now I want to trade my 5-string for an Irish tenor banjo.

[@tp-vz7od]

Hyvä Nipa

[@colinjames7569]

Gold finger left hand. Committed to someone.

[@muradbinmuslim8456]

Very good, give me tabs

[@TaiganTundra]

Do you have the sheet music for this?

[@NiiloSirola]

Yes I had them in my archives, added them to irish.muualla.net/reel/congress-banshee-cooleys/

[@damolo8485]

@@NiiloSirola Do you have them tabbed for banjo? Great playing, thanks!

[@robbiekennedy1029]

Type into Google on the session and wat ever trad tune u want is on it

[@jayherrmann5164]

This sounds great, thank you. What banjo are you playing? I am an amateur mandolin player who want to play tenor banjo. Resonator is not for me and I have trouble finding a quality open back tenor.

[@NiiloSirola]

Hi! It’s Pilgrim Celtic Dawn Model 2. It was pretty smooth transition from mandolin for me as well. This is louder than a mandolin in a session but not outrageous :)

[@jayherrmann5164]

Thank you

[@Kampfwageneer]

raggle taggle gypsy o

[@spunnek75]

Hey that sounds nice. I would recommend another skin on your tenor banjer . You need a smooth one with snow coat on the inside. It will improve the sound a lot, since the rough skin is typically for the 5 string bluegrass banjers

[@NiiloSirola]

Interesting point. I've tried a couple of banjos with the kind of head you describe and they sounded kind of plastic-y to me, but to be fair they were cheaper models... I'll have to try and spot more banjos with smooth head and try them out before I go messing with mine though.

[@paulchignell8341]

The Remo head is great for bluegrass but I would recommend an "Elite" to give a slightly fuller and less bright sound but I would be happy to be corrected by those who know more about such things. Nice playing. Accuracy and tempo are far more important than pure speed.

[@davestambaugh7282]

In Ireland they like the sound of a mylar head. In the US they prefer the looks of the renasance head. It is about the appearance not the sound. Myself I like to plant my pinky and I do not like the loud scuffing sound you get on a rough surfaced head.

[@user-cg2qs4vs4c]

I'm bad. Yep.. bad.l

[@joannehack7588]

💥⭐️💫🪐🌏

[@joannehack7588]

😁

[@Richard-dg7bf]

Congress sounds more Scottish.

[@mowzrascal2350]

Also Morrison’s!

[@mauricioesteves2300]

How difficult is to someone who has never played anything before to perform this tune, buddy?

[@NiiloSirola]

I’ve had students who picked up mandolin to pass the time after they retired, and get quite decent in a year or two of weekly practising.

[@mauricioesteves2300]

Gonna move back to Ireland until the end of this year. Might give myself a try on music! Thanks pal.

[@NiiloSirola]

@@mauricioesteves2300 Ah, lucky you! :)

[@mauricioesteves2300]

@@NiiloSirola were are you from, buddy?

[@NiiloSirola]

@@mauricioesteves2300 From Finland. Only went to Ireland once after I started playing this music, should definitely go again once it's possible

[@roguecolor7258]

Hip hop not.... that.