Learn to Play “Rocky Road to Dublin”
“Rocky Road to Dublin” is an instantly recognizable and rousing Irish song. It also may be one of the more difficult songs in the Irish Songs for Guitar collection to master.
“Rocky Road to Dublin” is in 9/8 time, also known as slip-jig meter, and that could take a little getting used to. Try saying “diddly diddly diddly” with emphasis on the first syllable. That’s the slip-jig meter! Now, play through the first few bars with this excerpt from Irish Songs for Guitar.
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Each verse is made up of a pair of four-bar phrases that repeat, followed by the five-bar chorus and as long a diddly-diddly D vamp as you like before the next verse.
This lesson was excerpted from Irish Songs for Guitar by Danny Carnahan. You’ll find even more free excerpts from this song collection here. You might also be interested in Scottish Songs for Guitar.
