Robert Sheehan Is A Secret Supermusician
Seeing this shot again from a post by @philodenmonstera reminded me that Rob is a musician. Like, an actual one. He may not consider himself a particularly good one, but, like Roland, he is a multi-instrumentalist. And each of his instruments requires a completely different set of skills and modes of thought.
No seriously, think about it. He plays at least one example of every major category of musical instrument there is, except the keys category. He plays stringed instruments, wind instruments, AND rhythm instruments. And let’s face it, he can prolly pick out a tune on a piano, too. (We are intentionally not mentioning the theremin for reasons.)
Wind instruments: Tin whistle, recorder, possibly the flute cuz he knows the fingering and the lip position, and of course, his own wind instrument for whistling.
Have a look at a tin whistle and how it’s played. Fuuuuuuuuuuck that’s fast.
Stringed instruments: Banjo, guitar, and ukulele. All three of which have completely different tunings, the strings are in different orders, and therefore the fingerings on the fret boards are completely different, and you have to learn all new shapes to make for chords. And in the case of playing banjo, the picking hand uses completely different motions. No pick at all on a ukulele. A thumb’ll do. So he had to relearn both hands for each new toy he got. Playing one is NOT the same as playing another. (Though, since he plays a six string guitar confidently, that means he could also play a bass and a twelve string if he felt like it.)
Rhythm instruments: The bodhrán drum, spoons, and he knows how to handle himself with drumsticks well enough to play rolls. (No bad notes on a drum!) Again, all three rhythm instruments he’s chosen are completely different to each other. Drumsticks are traditional, we know what they look like when banging away, but rolls are among the most difficult things to learn, yada yada marching band. Spoons ain’t a bit like that. They’re spoons. Frequently played on a thigh, no less. And the bodhrán is unlike anything I’ve seen except some Native Americans’ hand-held drums. And bodhrán is equally as tribal — just the indigenous Celtic version. You run your left arm through the back, rest it on your knee if you want, and then flip flop your right hand in intricate patterns with a double ended stick you hold in your fist. (I suck at it.) Check it out... You’re welcome.
You can also hear a more modern usage of the bodhrán in the soundtrack of Lowland Fell during the controversial sexytimes scene. And that movie is all about feeling your tribal roots in your blood. (X)
“I play a few other things.”
And just like Roland and his secret multi instrumentarianism, Rob never talks about any of it ever. If he’s asked, he downplays it. All of his Bios talk about him learning to play a bunch of cute little instruments as a kid for fleadh / ceilidh festivals. People ask him to play the spoons in interviews, because they think it’s adorable and completely irrelevant as an “instrument” someone “plays.” (Tell that to the Bluegrass genre.)
Lest we forget, he sings, too. So add that to the wind instrument category.
Ok, rant complete. Thank you for being the only person who read this far.