Ok so part of my learning the whistle is listening to ITM. Two of my fav’s so far are Mary Bergin and Joanie Madden. I have all thier albums on Itunes.
Now I am starting to see how ITM is what you make it. Mrs. Madden seems to use more cuts taps and slides for her ornamentation (sp?). While Mrs. Bergin seems to use more rolls along with cuts and taps.
Is this the case?. Personaly I not to fond of rolls (its not that I can’t do them) well mabe a bit but I don’t like the way they break up a tune. Take the tune the South Wind. I like the way Joanie playes it. I am trying to play it in a similar fassion by ear. I can do the slides and cuts and it doesn’t sound to bad. I have heard this tune played so many different ways. I mean even the melody is different the way some people play it. For instance part 2 of the South wind. I have heard this section played 7 different ways by 12 different players. Different than the way its written on the sheet.
I know in formal “bands” the melody is the most important part. With out it the structure of the tune is off. In ITM it seems that each person adds there own take on the tune and as long as it sounds good it’s correct. Or is there a correct way to play a ITM tune.
In a band, it all has to fit together. At its most basic, that means everybody playing the same melody, with similar ornamentation. But there’s also harmonies, which can be playing harmony through an entire tune, or just having variations that harmonize with what everybody else is playing. You can hear some good harmonizing in Slainte’s recording of The Butterfly ( http://www.archive.org/details/CupofTea ). In a large session, you can get away with playing a slightly different version of a tune, because there’s 10 other people playing along with you, but in a band, if everybody’s playing a slightly different version of a tune, it can sound pretty off.
Every ITM player has their own style of playing each tune, and their own style of ornamentation. Once upon a time this was influenced a lot by the region they came from; these days it’s sort of a “take what you want from everything you hear” thing.
There is a correct way to play an ITM tune but at the same time there’s no definitive. While everyone agrees there’s no definitive, there’s considerable disagreement as to what is considered correct.
I’d broaden that to say “there are correct ways” and “incorrect ways”. You can play any way you want, but if you want to play “in the tradition”, then it’s not a game without rules. You can’t really play traditional Irish music without rolls, cuts, taps, etc…
Of course, the whistle lends itself to all kinds of other styles. The best advice is probably to follow your own instincts.
