Chiff & Fipple's Plan of Attack
May 2004
Special Introduction by SaudiArabia's Ambassador to the United States, His Royal Highness Prince Bandar binSultan bin Abdulaziz.
My dear whistle-tooting friends,
I hope it can be said that you are looking forwardto reading this issue of The Chiff and The Fipple. I received an advancedcopy some time ago and can assure you that is truly filled with usefulinformation about this musical instrument which is the one of yourpreference. Please do not be offended that I, a nonsubscriber, receivednews of this issue before you. It is, how do you say in the US, "nobig deal." There are those who will suggest that something nefariouswas at hand and I can assure you that these lies are as foul and noxious as thesputum of a camel. Thank you and enjoy your reading.
I. LET'S RESOLVE TO ALWAYSSTART OFF WITH A DOG VIDEO
I know it's not relevant...
Thanks to Drew at
II. THE GREY AREA
Here at Chiff & Fipple's Undisclosed LocationHQ,
we are proud to announce a new regular feature herein the Chiff & Fipple newsletter, which will also soon become a regularwebsite feature. The Grey Area is a column on playing the whistle by GreyLarsen.
Grey Larsen is a musician of many talents and accomplishments.He is a performer, recording artist, composer, teacher, author, producer, and amastering and recording engineer and large-animal veterinarian. Ok, he'snot a veterinarian, but he's all those other things. Grey is mostwell-known as one of the world's foremost players and exponents of the Irishflute and the whistle.
His first two books are both now available. A labor of love and many years, TheEssential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle
Both of these books are being extremelywell-received. The former is a monster of a book, unlike anything thathas ever been published. The latter, just out, is already starting to getexcellent notices.
Grey and I are working on the Grey Larson Chiff& Fipple Interview and are scheduled to have our third meeting in Geneva toconclude the interview next week, IF I can find my darn passport.
I have asked Grey to write a regular column onwhistle-playing technique for Chiff & Fipple. Here is Grey's firstcolumn for us. When a guy knows this much, plays this well, and writesthis beautifully, you know you have a treasure.
The Five Most Common Mistakes of BeginningWhistle Players byGrey Larsen
1. Holding the whistle in ways that produce physical tension.
Most beginning whistle players try to keep the instrument stable using onlythree anchor points: the lips and the two thumbs. A fourth anchor point isneeded in order to completely stabilize the instrument while maintainingrelaxation, and to never be, even subconsciously, concerned that you might dropthe whistle.
That needed fourth anchor point is either the pinky of the lower hand (restingon the body of the whistle below the bottom hole), or the ring finger of thelower hand (covering the bottom hole of the whistle when not playing E). Thelower hand pinky is the better choice, as long as the size and length of aplayer's fingers will allow resting the pinky on the instrument in a relaxedway.
Not using the fourth anchor point results in unfortunate, unconscious,tension-producing compensations which are aimed at keeping the whistle stableas more and more finger holes become uncovered. With all holes open, andwithout using the fourth anchor point, one must to grip the instrument withone's teeth, or between the thumb and the base of the index finger of one handor the other. This produces problematic tension in the face, and/or in thehands and arms and can even lead to repetitive stress injuries. The six fingersthat cover and uncover the holes should remain completely relaxed and need playno role in supporting the instrument.
2. Covering the finger holes with the fingertips.
Players who come from a classical woodwind background tend, naturally enough,to cover the tone holes with their fingertips. To play Irish music on thewhistle, it is much better to cover the holes with some part of the fleshy padof the first joint of each finger, ones fingers being gently arched. Large, lowwhistles may require some adjustments to this.
3. Playing too fast.
The urge to play fast is a strong one. But playing well is far more important,and is a pre-requisite to playing fast in a musical fashion. It is a useful andchallenging paradox that slow playing and slow practice will bring you to yourmusical goals much more quickly than playing fast. The fable of the tortoiseand the hare rings very true in this area.
To improve as a player, one needs to nurture the habit of being very consciousof what one is doing, physically and sonically. Playing slowly helps a greatdeal with this. Practicing playing well, at a pace one can handle, is betterthan practicing playing too fast and sloppily. This may sound obvious, butapparently it is not.
4. Breathing between the notes of Irish dance tunes.
In Irish dance music, it does not work to sneak your breath in between thenotes of a tune. A whistle player must omit eighth notes, or shorten longernotes by an eighth note of duration, in order to create her breathing places.Such breathing places have a duration of one eighth note. They are musicalsilences, or musical spaces, which have just as specific a rhythmic identity asdo the notes of the tune.
Learning to leave out notes in a musically articulate way requires some wisdomabout the music. One must learn which notes are expendable (or shortenable) andwhich are not. Critical to gaining this knowledge is the development of asolid, dependable sense of the pulse, for the cardinal rule is that one mustnever omit a note that falls on the pulse (the places where you tap your foot).
5. Thinking of cuts and strikes as grace notes, and the rhythmicimprecision that results.
The unfortunate portrayal of cuts and strikes as grace notes, in theinstructional materials available before my books came out, causes a great dealof confusion on the nature, sound, and function of cuts and strikes. Playerswith the grace-note mindset tend to play cuts and strikes as bona fide notes ofambiguous duration, placed somehow, somewhere in between the "actual"notes of the tune. These "grace notes" muddy the rhythmic waters.They clutter up the music, and obscure the natural beauty and simplicity of thetune.
When one adjusts one's thinking such that cuts and strikes are no longer notesat all, but instead are extremely brief sounds (in effect, with no discernableduration or pitch) that form the articulation or attack of a melody note,everything falls into place and the becomes rhythmic waters become clear.
--
Grey Larsen
http://www.GreyLarsen.com
The Irish Tune Bank: http://greylarsen.com/services/tunebank/index.php
Irish Flute Concerts and Educational Programs
Producer,Mastering Engineer, Recording Engineer, Author, Music Editor
PO Box 2652, Bloomington, IN 47402-2652, USA
"Anessential set of tools for the beginning and intermediate tin whistle player. Ihighly recommend it!"
"Grey has,through his research, patience, and diligence, completed a work on Irish fluteand tin whistle that I feel is essential reading for anybody interested ingetting it right."
- Matt Molloy, Irish flute player with TheBothy Band and The Chieftains on TheEssential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle
ORDER GREY's books:
Please order directly from Grey! Thanks!
For the essential guide to irish flute and tinwhistle:
for the essential tin whistle toolbox:
III. FROM PAT O'RIORDAN
HelloDale,
Iam writing to ask if you would please include a message for me in the newsletter.
I would like to let my customers know that for 2 months or so I have beenexperiencing a painful back problem. To such an extent that during that time Ihave achieved very little in completing and shipping whistle orders.
I had hoped it would clear up through medication and therapy, but no luck!
I am scheduled for surgery May 3rd. With about 4 weeks convalescence. HopefullyDuring that time I can get to work again.
I do regret the inconvenience this is causing people, and hope they will keepin touch.
Withbest wishes,
PatO'Riordan.
I'm sure I speak for the entire community in wishing Pat a speedyrecovery.
IV. NICE WORK
Here's a lovely tune by Chiff & Fipple veteranJames Peeples. Check out his website.
V. MAYBE BIG NEWS
This might be a good time to review byreading the following item from the the Chiff & Fipple Unsolved MysteriesDepartment
From the 
sixty zillion copies. The videoshows nice close-ups of Davy playing a whistle that resembles an Overton orChieftain. For some time, questions flew around about what low whistlesDavy played. Some insisted he made his own. Some believed hepurchased Overtons and then modified them extensively. Others believedthat he bought Overtons and made relatively minor adjustments.
A few years ago, Davy, whose email from yourstruly he's either never seen or never answered, abruptly emailed me to say thatsomewhere on Chiff & Fipple was an indication that he played Overtons orChieftains or something and, his email went on to say, the truth is that hemakes his own instruments and always had. Cease and desist,yada-yada. In addition, his own website included a whole sectionabout Davy offering for sale his own whistles, which I think he called"D500' or something like that. Should be end of story, right?
Well, maybe it is. But I must point thisout: I'm not sure that anyone on the planet has received more whistlerelated email than I have. In these five-plus years, not ONE PERSON hasindicated to me that they have (a) purchased Davy's whistles, (b) played Davy'swhistles, or (c) seen one up close enough to describe it.
Now, there's no reason to believe that Davy islying about making his instruments. So, I assume that he does and that hehas sold whistles to very few players because his touring / recording scheduledoesn't allow enough time to make many instruments for others.
As of today, I must modify the above assertion thatI've never heard from anyone who has a Spillane whistle.
If you are interested in following this breakingnews story, check back on this page from time-to-time.
VI. The Undisputed Jig
Dear Dale,
as I'm afraid your mailbox will be full up to the rim on your birthday, thislittle gift for you comes a few days early, but so with a little room left inthe mailbox for the two attachments.
Actually this jig is not as undisputable as the title suggests, but in factit's a strange mix of a jig and a slip jig instead. As I wrote it with you inmind of course it's all your fault in the end, isn't it. We had no Morris Openrehearsal in time, so here it's played just with whistle and harpsichord. Ihope you'll enjoy it.
Have yourself a great birthday on the 25th and a mighty fine new year comingup, full of life's music (not that much blues!) and our good Lord's blessing.
Best wishes
Claus
http://www.chiffandfipple.com/UndisputedJig.mp3
I've suggested Morris Open do a concept Album. Claus has suggested the title"Over Dale and High, High Hill", which I like. I'd prefer"Aqualung," but Claus seems to have some kind of problem with it.
I have seen the future of Germany-Based Music From the British Isles and it'sname is Morris Open.
VII. A LITTLE BUSINESS MEETING
The costs associated with doing Chiff & Fipplehave risen a bit. In addition to my broadband internet access (which, Imust confess, I would have anyway), I pay for website hosting and a new pay servicefor distributing this newsletter and maintaining subscriptions. (Regarding the latter, I reluctantly went with the pay service becausemaintaining everything manually had become too much of a time drain. Inaddition, it is getting harder and harder to send out emails to a list of 3300subscribers. Too many email systems now understandably see those messagesas the dreaded spam. )
Anyway, I frequently get very kind messages frompeople offering to pay a bit to support Chiff & Fipple. I want tointroduce you to some ways to do that. Obviously, this is entirelyvoluntary.
1. The Amazon.com kickback.
If you use amazon.com, this one is reallyeasy. Establish the following "bookmark" or "favorite site" link that takes you to amazon.com. Owners of independentbookstores are exempt from this request to use this link.
When you use this link to buy anything, Chiff &Fipple gets a cut. It's not much, but it adds up.
2. Cafepress.com merchandise
We make a little money from selling Chiff &Fipple merchandise through our cafepress store:
Honestly,if you don't have a Chiff & Fipple lunchbox, what is wrong with you
UPDATE: For an update on C&F finances,
Thanks very much for even considering this. Iam happy to say that I am richly rewarded by doing Chiff & Fipple with amultitude of intangibles and the occasional free whistle. But, the costsdo add up and, since there have been many offers of support, I've decided togift people with the opportunity to, uh, gift Chiff & Fipple's vastPublishing Wing, which, of course, is mostly, uh, me.
And, by the way, if contributions roll in far inexcess of my needs, be assured that I will use the funds on a future gamblingexcursion.
Which reminds of a favorite joke. Abusinessman is on vacation in Las Vegas. A bum comes up to him in frontof a casino and asks for money for his mother's upcoming surgery. "Oh, please," says the businessman, "How do I know you won'tturn around and walk into that casino and gamble away the money I giveyou?"
"Oh, no," says the bum, looking trulyconfused, "I've already got some gambling money!"
VIII. THE HEART OF THE WHISTLER
Members of the Chiff & Fipple Forum(http://chiffboard.mati.ca) just concluded a fundraiser/raffle for a dedicatedmember of the forum, Jerry Freeman, master whistle-tweaker, whose wife recentlyhad heart surgery. 62 fabulous prizes were donated and 209 peoplepurchased 541 ten-dollar tickets. The winners were drawn on May 1and have all been notified.
I want to thank Jessie Driscoll for conducting thisraffle. When I last wrote in this newsletter about the raffle, Jessie waspregnant. In the midst of the raffle, she gave birth to a beautiful babygirl.
Thanks also to
Jerry Freeman writes:
I've said it before; you're changing the world.Every act of kindness, no matter how seemingly small, changes the recipient'sexperience of humanity. I'm convinced that small, and not so small, acts ofkindness done by individuals, are the most positive force in the world today.They are the best answer I know for all the things that are wrong in the world,and I'm convinced that they do counterbalance the bad things.
Ultimately, I believe the world's problems are all spiritual. By spiritual, Idon't mean necessarily having to do with God or religion, but rather, with thespirit of humanity. Every kind of violence and exploitation, every form ofconflict and every manifestation of hatred, reflects a sickness and poverty ofspirit in individual human beings. Those spiritual afflictions in the hearts ofindividual people, multiplied, are the big, pervasive problems of the world wetalk about here at length.
Every act of kindness, no matter how seemingly isolated or small, nourishes thespirit of the recipient, and also of the giver. Even though seeminglyinconsequential in comparison to the size of the world's problems, I'mconvinced there is no other place where a real solution can happen.
With my profound thanks and best wishes for all ofyou,
Jerry
My thanks to everyone who participated and mycongratulations to the winners, of which I am not one. (I had so lookforward to the grand gesture of turning down a prize to avoid any appearance ofimpropriety. Turns out--There was no need!)
IX. people who, so faras we know, don’t play the whistle
a rotating gallery of people who don’t play thewhistle, and aren’t likely to take it up.
Stay tuned for more people who, so far as we know, don’t play the whistle (AQuinn-Martin Production)
Chiff & Fipple is a productionof the North Central Alabama Home Gorilla Breeding Association
Havingtrouble with your whistle? Call Amy at Chiff & Fipple customer service.
Lord,help us see how near is your kingdom.