Luke Ward - Irish Bouzouki Lessons - Golden Eagle Hornpipe

A new video Lesson by Luke Ward is available on his patreon site. This time it's a hornpipe, The Golden Eagle. Learn a complex rhythmic accompanyment with colourful chords. Here's a sample with Brendan Mulholland on flute.

Luke Ward - Man Of The House Reel - Lesson

 A new Lesson by Luke Ward on YouTube. The Man Of The House in Em played with Capo on 2nd Fret.

I posted more of his videos here if you might want to have a look

The tabs can be found on his patreon site here.

Luke Ward - Lesson on how to play "Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore"

Luke Ward has published a lot of fantastic videos on his Patreon Site. If you haven't checked them you should do it now. 

Now he has shared another video on youtube for free. If you want the notation you can find it on his patreon.

This is my chordsheet which I shared here some time ago, not the one Luke plays. I added 2 verses Daoiri sings sometimes.

{t:Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shore}

{st:Daoiri Farrell}

From [D]Derry quay we sailed a[G]way [D]

on the [C]twenty-[G/B]third of [D]May

We were [G]taken on [Am]board by a [D]pleasant crew, 

bound [Am]for A[G]meri[C]kay

Fresh [G]water [Am]there we did [D]take on, 

five [C]thou[G]sa[D]nd [G]gal[D]lons or [C]more        

In [D]case we’d run short going to New [G]York 

[D]far a[C]way from the [G]shamrock [D]shore. 

So [D]fare thee well, sweet Liza [G]dear [D]

and like[C]wise unto [G/B]Derry [D]town

And [G]twice fare[Am]well to my [D]comrade boys 

that [Am]dwell on that [G]sainted [Am]ground

If [G]fortune shall [Am]ever [D]favor me, 

and [Am]I do have [G]money in [C]store

I’ll go [D]back and I’ll wed the wee lassie I left 

on [C]Paddy’s green [G]shamrock [D]shore. 

Oh at [D]six o'clock on that [D]morning fair 

our [C]anchors [G/B]we did [D]weigh,

The [G]sun shone [Am]down on Ben[D]evassa’s rocks, 

how [Am]splendid [G]he did [C]play,

And green [G]castles, [Am]ancient [D]fort and church, 

oh it [Am]made my [G]heart so [C]sore,

But these [D]memorys still I will hold very dear 

when I‘m a[C]way from the [G]Shamrock [D]Shore.

And then at [D]12 o'clock on that [D]evening fair 

we [C]passed out [G/B]Malin [D]Head,

And then [G]Inishtra[Am]hull far [D]on to the right, 

it [Am]rose of the [G]ocean [C]bed.

But a [G]grander [Am]sight we [D]all did see there, 

that I [Am]never had [G]seen be[C]fore

It was the [D]sun going down between sea and sky, 

far [C]out from the [G]Shamrock [D]Shore.

We sailed three weeks, we were all seasick, 

not a man on board was free

We were all confined unto our bunks 

and no-one to pity poor me.

No father dear nor mother kind 

to lift up my head, which was sore

Which made me think more on the lassie I left 

on Paddy’s green shamrock shore. 

We safely reached the other side 

after fifteen and twenty days,

We were taken as passengers by a man 

and led round in six different ways,

Then each of us drank a parting glass, 

in case we might meet no more

And we drank a health to old Ireland 

and Paddy’s green shamrock shore. 

2 new lessons from Luke Ward on his Patreon

 

Luke Ward released two new Lessons on his Patreon page yesterday. Accompaniment to the song "Reconciliation" from the album of his band "Tempest" and an accompaniment to the tune "Molly Ban". If you join his Patreon, you will also have access to many more lessons. These top class lessons are intended for advanced players who already have some basic knowledge of accompanying tunes. But there are also lessons available for beginners.

https://www.patreon.com/c/IrishbouzoukiwithLukeWard/posts?vanity=IrishbouzoukiwithLukeWard

Daoiri Farrell - The Creggan White Hare - Lesson by Luke Ward

 

Luke Ward has released a new lesson on his patreon site. This month's lesson deals with Daoiri Farrell's accompaniment to "The Creggan White Hare". It comes really close to what Daoiri plays.

 If you're interested you could join his patreon, if it's only for a month or so. He has planned to offer two lessons per month. As this is the first lesson for October there might be the possibility that he might offer another lesson soon.

By the way, here's a link to a live video I filmed a few years ago at a workshop weekend in Texel, Netherlands.

Luke Ward - New Bouzouki Lesson - Princess Royal

I have already introduced Luke Ward's lessons here. Today, Luke has published a new lesson. This time, it's about playing melodies. He teaches us the reel Princess Royal. A beautiful melody. He shows us how to play with the capo on the 7th fret. This has the advantage that we can reach the high notes better without having to change position. If you play an instrument in GDAE tuning, you can play the top three strings just like on a mandolin or banjo.

Here's the link to the lesson. 

Of course you have to be a member to watch the lesson.

Here's the version from the album by Luke Ward and Aaron O'Hagan

Here's an abc-file from thesession

X: 3
T: The Princess Royal
R: reel

M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Ador
|:ed|c2 Bc A2 e=f|edcB A2 (3efg|f2 d^c defd|edcB c2 BA|
B2 g2 B2 AG|ABAG E2 ed|c2 (3ABc BAGVB|(3ABA GB A2:|
|:cd|eaag a3 b|aged e2 ^cd|(3efg fa gfge|dcBA G2 AB|
c2 Bc d2 ^cd|ef (3gfe a2 ag|f2 A2 f2 gf|e^c (3ABc d2 ed|
c2 Bc ABcd|e2 E2 E2 ed|c2 (3ABc BAGB|(3ABA GB A2:|

Tempest - CD

Formed in 2023, Tempest has quickly become one of the most exciting new voices in Irish traditional music. The band is composed of:

• Brendan Mulholland on flutes, bringing melodies and ornamentation to the fore 

• Blaithín Mhic Cana, whose expressive vocals draw on her native South Armagh singing tradition, especially the regional song lore 

• Aaron O’ Hagan, playing uilleann pipes along with flute and whistles, adding both tone and rhythmic drive 

• Luke Ward, on bouzouki and vocals, anchoring harmonic support and song texture 

Their self‑titled debut album was released on 1 February 2025. It has been widely praised by critics and the trad community for its confident presentation of both instrumental sets and song material rooted in Ulster’s musical heritage. 

Tempest’s repertoire embraces a balance of driving dance tunes and emotionally resonant songs. Their musical identity is firmly anchored in the heritage of Ulster—especially the northern province’s traditions—while also seeking fresh interpretations and energy.

Tempest Website

Tempest on Bandcamp

Bouzouki Workshops with Luke Ward - The Blacksmith - Andy Irvine's Version

Some time ago, I reported on the workshops that Luke Ward offers on Patreon. He offers two different series, one for beginners and a second for advanced players. He publishes a workshop twice a month. So far, he has devoted himself to various topics related to accompanying tunes. Mainly accompaniment in different keys. 

Now he has turned his attention to accompanying the song “The Blacksmith” in Andy Irvine's version. He sticks pretty closely to the version Andy plays live. He shows the intro and the accompaniment for the verses. Of course, there is also tablature for it. 

So if you've been hesitating to sign up, now there's one more important reason to do so. It's worth it!

Here's the link!

Here's a little excerpt of the tab, hope Luke doesn't mind.

Luke Ward - Bouzouki Lessons on Patreon

It's now a half year that Luke Ward started his Workshop series on Patreon. First he offered a course for beginners, I wrote about that some time ago. In January he startet his second Tiers for intermediate players. As I had a bit time lately I enrolled his second Tiers and am really impressed. So far I looked a 3 Workshops. 

He starts with the Jig "Banished Misfortune". No explanation about Jig Rhythm here because it is explained in the first Series. He follows the melody of the tune with the chords. Not too difficult but sometimes a bit challenging.

The second Tune he offers is the reel "The Boys of Malin". This time a different technique, a plucking technique. This leads a bit in direction of Eoin O'Neil or even Alec Finn. It gives an easy start to learn this technique. I hope there will be more workshops to come to develop this technique.

In another Video  he talks about "Relative Pitch" and offers some exercises to bring chords to a scale. A very basic technique which helps a lot find good chords for accompanying tunes.

Now I'm curious what else is to come.

If you want to learn to play the bouzouki better try these lessons by Luke. At the moment there seems to be an offering for half the prize in the first month, so better try soon. 

Check it out here:

On youtube you can find some short clips as introduction. For example here: https://youtube.com/shorts/IslhBtBTfSM?si=plu9T-PCU18-0ZIz

New Bouzouki course for beginners - Luke Ward

 

Luke Ward, bouzouki player from Belfast just released a beginner's course on Patreon. It consists of 12 individual lessons where he covers first chords, some easy accompanyment ideas for the different modes (D, Dmix, Dm). After that he shows basic strumming patters to accompany reels, jigs and hornpipes. He finishes with 3 videos where he shows accompaniment ideas for each of the three tune types. Whereas the reel (Mountain Road) and jig (Humours of Glendart) accompanyments are very rudimental the hornpipe (Off to California) pattern has got an easy bass line and some more chords in it. 

If you are a beginner to the Irish Bouzouki you might consider taking a months membership for 16$ (without VAT). That's a fair price. It's easy to unsubscribe at any time. If you exercise every day you might be able to finish the course in around 4 weeks.

I hope Luke will consider to make a more advanced course like this in the near future.

Here's the link to the course:
https://www.patreon.com/c/IrishbouzoukiwithLukeWard

Luke Ward, Aaron O'Hagan, Brendan Mulholland - Live in Texel

I spent a lovely folk workshop weekend in Texel, Netherlands. This is the teachers concert I filmed there. Luke Ward on his Sobell together with Brendan Mulholland on Flute and Aaron O'Hagan on Pipes. Great craic!

First the two videos that Aaron posted on his youtube channel:

The Hut on Staffin Island - Kiss the Maid behind the Barrel - Palmers Gate

 

Trip to Killavil - Scotsman over the Border - Health to the Ladies. Jigs
special Guest: Rolf Wagels on Bodhran

 

Here's the full Concert out of my camera:

Luke Ward Tara Breen Cathal King Sean McCarthy

This is irish trad music pure and clear. luke ward on bouzouki, tara breen on fiddle, cathal king on flute and sean mccarthy on pipes playing an amazing set of tunes. Thanks to aoifewho for posting it to youtube.