I’m starting to make less disgusting noises on my whistle (Walton Mellow D). I’ve been slowly working on learning Kerrigans Jig in McCullough’s tutor. It occurs to me that it may be advantageous to be simultaneously working on something entirely different based on the principle that sometimes a change is as good as a rest. Perhaps an air?
Does anyone have any suggestions of an air that would be appropriate for a rank beginner? (Also where I might find the sheet music for it.)
Here’s one which sounds great even when played without any ornamentation. Be sure to read the lyrics (a poem by W. B. Yeats) to set the mood. Both the tune and the lyrics are hauntingly beautiful beyond description.
Down by the Sally Gardens http://www.tinwhistler.com/music/sheet.asp?code=sallygar
I disagree, they might be difficult to get an authentic Irish sound but that applies to all this type of music.
At least with an air you have time to think about what’s happening, within the tune. It’s also a good opportunity for practicing tone and smoothness.
GKF,
I started a year ago with McCullough’s book and was having a tough time of it. I started taking lessons and my teacher had me start learning some marches and polkas that were a bit more straightforward than Kerrigan’s (aka Kesh Jig). I learned Dawning of the Day, Star of the County Down, Roddy McCawley and Foggy Dew (marches) and Egan’s Polka and Rattlin’ Bog. These are fun tunes but a bit easier for a beginner. It cut down my frustration factor greatly.
I don’t know if these are all available on line but I’ll bet they are.
Mike
Some that I used when I was at a stage where I couldn’t handle even Swallowtail but was bloody well tired of London Bridge and would not even consider Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star or Hot Cross Buns –
There are also a couple of Mel Bay books with decent beginner tunes that will provide the satisfaction of playing real music – 110 Ireland’s Best Slow Airs and 110 Ireland’s Best Tin Whistle Tunes. they should be retty easy to find; I know the Whistle Shop has them.
Excellent tunes, three of them I’ve sung the words for too, though Spancil Hill has to be my least favourite song of all time after we thrashed it to death.
The Parting Glass is a lovely song, only 3 verses in the version I learnt, so well within my memory capabilities.
Buachaill on Eirne our singing class attempted in Gaelic - I’d never attempt to sing it in public, but it was an interesting exercise and lead me to learn the tune on the whistle.
The South Wind is also a great tune, well within a beginner’s reach but not a throwaway tune like Hot X Buns! i.e. you can keep it in your repertoire for years to come.
Fainne Geal an Lae is very simple, but a lovely air.
I think all five appear in the 110 Ireland’s Best Slow Airs collection, and if you get the accompanying CD, you’ll know how they should sound from the go. Sheet notation of Airs is not always to be relied on as a guide, they are played very freely, so tempo is not strictly adhered to in many cases.
Thank you all! I printed the sheet music for Down by the Sally Gardens and can play most of it already. The tune sounds very familiar. I also downloaded the mp3 so I have a good idea of the pacing.
The Silver Spear is also a great choice. What are those symbols over the some of the notes? (Looks a bit like the symbol for infinity but not complete.)
I’ll be checking out the ones that gonzo914 suggested later today.
Do you mean the ~ symbol? That’s a roll. You can leave them out (just play the plain note) until you’re ready to tackle rolls, or use them in slower pieces like airs so you get your fingers working.
Allow me to repeat my standard advice to anybody who’s learning whistle or Irish flute: Go check out Brother Steve’s Web site. It’s all there. Plenty of music there too, both the dots and sound files.
It was familiar to me too. I can’t place where I had heard it before. Maybe it was incorporated into some classical piece. Percy Grainger used a lot of Irish tunes.
It was familiar to me too. I can’t place where I had heard it before. Maybe it was incorporated into some classical piece. Percy Grainger used a lot of Irish tunes.
Me, three. I think for me I’ve heard it in music around here, just didn’t know it was Irish.
I tend to like aires. Maybe I should put that in my handle. )
Down by the Sally Garden may sound familiar because it sounds sorta like the theme from Titanic. When I first started a year ago, I got the two mixed up all the time. Now I don’t even remember Titanic, but I play Down by the Sally Garden every day.
A real easy piece to learn is Raglan Road. I’m nowhere near able to read sheet music well, but I got that tune without hearing it first. Now that’s easy. And it’s a pretty song.
I also disagree that aires are hard to play. For me, jigs, reels and polkas are hard. I can put the feeling into the music, but my fingers aren’t fast.
Not really an air, but a great traditional song is Fields of Athenry. Easy to learn (It was one of the first I learned), but gives you enough of a stretch to make it a little bit challenging.
I don’t play it as much in seisun anymore (They all roll their eyes when I start it), but it’s a standard for me when I’m busking or just noodling around.
I’ve been slowly working on learning Kerrigans Jig in McCullough’s tutor. It occurs to me that it may be advantageous to be simultaneously working on something entirely different based on the principle that sometimes a change is as good as a rest. Perhaps an air?
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