Well, I thought that might make me feel better…it didn’t. Why oh why can’t I get my rolls down??? I practice (since it’s supposed to make perfect, right?), and I still don’t get it. I don’t know…maybe it’s my whistle. Maybe I need a new one or something. Maybe mine’s defective and I should get a few to find one that isn’t. Maybe I’m losing my mind. Ay yi yi… Anyhoo, I just wanted to vent my frustration. I think I’ll just look for a new whistle, and keep on with my WhOA denial. That’ll teach me how to do rolls, right?
Yes. Defective whistle. You need more.
Actually switching back and fourth between a bunch of different whistles helps me get stuff down better.
If ya can’t manage it on one whistle try it on another. And another. And another. Makes it more interesting at least.
I had a coach who had a saying that “practice didn’t make perfect, practice made permanent”. If you practice incorrect technique, you make the mistakes permanent. The key is to practice perfectly. Slow down until you can get it just the way you want it. Then practice it that way. Speed up only as long as you can keep the technique perfect.
Angelo
What trouble are you having? What’s coming out wrong? Are there some notes you can roll on well, and not others? Maybe somebody here can help (hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me).
Just to add one thing, Conal O’Scoiltrad-Grada told me to practice rolls 10-15 minutes a day, every day, until i felt comfortable with them. This worked very well for me. I would just do 10 minutes of rolls, starting on the E, then F, etc, do the whole scale up then down. Better practice slow at first. The most hardest thing in the roll is to get the final “tap” crisp. It can always be crisper, quicker… Brother Steve has good advice on rolls too. If you don’t know Brother Steve’s site, you’re missing out on the best whistle tutorial on the Galaxy. Just Google for it.
I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong…it just doesn’t SOUND right, if that makese sense. I do think that I’m trying to go too fast before I have the technique down completely.
Thank you all for the advice! And glauber, I did find Brother Steve’s website. Here’s the link for anyone else that might be interested:
I don’t worry about practicing a specific technique. I learn songs. From sheet music, tab and by ear. After I have the basic tune of the song down to memory and can easily play it without thinking about it, I listen to other players versions, if I can find them, and see what their nuances and ornamentations sound like. I’ll pick and choose what works for me and what I can do at my playing level. My ornamentation develops that way. If I worked at just trying to learn what Grey Larson (for example) says to do and sound like on a cut and couldn’t get it just right, it would take a lot of the joy out of playing.
Anyhoo, I just wanted to vent my frustration. I think I’ll just look for a new whistle, and keep on with my WhOA denial. That’ll teach me how to do rolls, right? 