I only got the flute on 30 December 2008, so have only been playing for 8 months. Seems like I should have made more progress in that time, but there ya go …
The John Kelly’s one was the first take, so here it is, warts ‘n’ all; the Johnny Cope one was about take number 10, by which time my brain had become addled with re-doing it, and I thought I’d finished when I got to the end of the last but one part, and slowed up. Sorry.
I’d really welcome constructive criticism - or any, really - that would help me improve.
… oh, and Arbo, since I dared to quibble, even if only in a very minor way, about your fantastic and haunting air, do feel free to give it to me straight.
Sounds good to me for where you are at, just lots of practise - breath control, embourchure, etc. etc. and if you haven’t tried it already one to one tuition is fantastic and saves a lot of time.
After half hearted attempts at learning to play (self taught) over the years and picking up lots of bad habits, I’m now sitting down regularly with a decent player and relearning techniques and tunes slowly and properly - wish I’d done it long ago.
If you can’t find anyone local then I think June McCormacks books are great and getting info from this forum.
Well, first off, I wish I played this well at 8 months (or 8 years, really!). What I thought was good about your play was the tempo, rhythm, pulse (I could tap my foot along), and phrasing generally. I think you lose a lot of clarity in the tounging, and over blowing, and as a result your tone suffers. I am certainly not as well equipped as others to comment, but i did feel obliged to say something. Great work, keep it up. Play lots and lots of looong tones!
If anything I’d venture that this might also be an area to focus on. It’s an awful lot to keep in mind at the same time, internalising rhythms, fingering the notes/ornaments, and developing your embachure/breathing. I’d be interested to know if you were playing or listening to ITM before you got the flute.
As said earlier, lots of positive potential to suggest you’ve made progress on technique in a short time. I actually thought the second tune was stronger. I’m only a beginner myself (about 18 months on the flute) so I know how you feel, but I found previous hard work on whistle paid a lot of dividends in reducing the number of things to think about while learning flute.
For what it’s worth my initial thought was to focus on two things - your long note practice every day and listening/playing along to good solo recordings (slowed down if necessary). The suggestion of a good teacher is obviously helpful, although b******d if I can find one!
Kudos to you for putting it out there. I focused on listening to your second clip, Johnny Cope. After listening to it several times, I think the one thing that needs most improvement is tone, and I think you seem to struggle with your breath because of that, or vice versa. It’s difficult to make a tune come together when you’re struggling with your embouchure. Arbo suggested practicing long tones. I agree. I’d suggest playing the scale up and down. Play first octave D and blow until it breaks into second octave and back again, real slowly, then E, etc. See how slow you can make the transition from one octave to the next. I think it’s a great learning exercise.
Thanks guys. I was doing long, slow tones a while ago, but had stopped, 'cos it felt like I should get to ‘the next level’. But maybe it’s never time to stop practising long, slow tones.
Oh, and MarkP, I’ve been playing this music for the last 40-odd years - on fiddle. But keeping the rhythm when doing something as alien - to me - as flute, is really hard. Great to know that someone (Arbo) at least thinks I’m getting there with the rhythm, at any rate.
You’re totally right, Mahanpots, the reason I struggle with breath is because of losing embouchure, not because of any inherent problem with breath itself. When I do practise long notes, I can hold the damn’ things (first or second octave, any note) for 45 seconds or more with decent tone. As soon as I try to play a tune, something goes. Believe it or not, for tune playing, my tone was unusually good when I recorded those tunes earlier today. Ho hum …
I love this instrument so much. Wish I could play it …
Good Points:
You’ve got the feel of it down right. Great lilt for a beginner. Easy to listen to.
Issues:
Notes kept popping octaves and harmonics. Articulations were ok but kinda muddy for ITM and were more like ornaments. Lack of air and running out before the phrases were complete.
Suggestions:
On the first tune, use a metronome and take it down to 1/2 speed. You won’t have to think about the fingering so concentrate on the embouchure and getting the best tones you can. Add as many breathing spots as you need. On the second tune, focus on the low notes as they are your weakest. Over-emphasize them at first and really get them to honk (save some air for them). You can ease off on them later Also remove all tonguing for a while and go legato. You can put them back in but right now, it’s messing up your embouchure and causing you to lose your note during the attack.
I wasn’t as good as you at my 8 month mark. Actually at that point I wondered if I’d made a mistake taking on the flute. You’re doing great.
Yes! When I’m playing, I don’t hear it like that, but you’re dead right, of course. I should have believed Mr Troy. He told me my cuts were [insert word that would otherwise get auto-translated by site]. Actually, it’s not that I didn’t believe Mr Troy. But I can hear it better now I’ve recorded it, and even better still now that you’ve pointed it out, celticmodes. Thank you for that.
Ah … just tried the long note thing after not having done it for a while - it’s back down to about 30 seconds. I should have done this before. And then kept doing it. Grrr …
Fine job. I am in the exact same situation as you. Got my first flute Dec 08 and have been working my butt off on it as well. I have been playing my Mandolin way too many years to be this bad at the flute. I don’t remember the Mando being this hard to learn, but things one does for many years seem easy and we don’t remember the struggle we had when we learned them.
Kudo’s to you for being brave enough to put it out there for others to comment on as well. I recorded a tune and got it on box.net ready to do the same thing you just did, but chickened out.
It is great to hear from someone else playing about the same time as me, to compare and realize that I am not doing as bad as I thought. It is kind of tough for me because every other flute player I know in my city is really good, which makes me look really bad. Two of them just returned from Ireland and played for the Fleadh. Thank you for posting your tunes.
I don’t have any constructive criticism as I need it too, but I just wanted to let you know that at 8 mos new, I am doing about the same as you. I find that somehow reassuring.
Thanks, that’s kind of what I guessed, could really hear your strong grasp of the tune in the second clip but with the flute somehow getting in the way of it. Mandoboy’s comment says it all. I know just how you feel when I record myself… and I’m only transitioning from the whistle, feels like frankfurters for fingers sometimes! But I’d still vouch for playing along with those good solo recordings and with good session players, it keeps me on the rails even if I miss a few notes along the way. Just back home from playing an afternoon session with Grace Kelly (playing her fiddle) and some talented young teens (they make the learning look so easy). It’s so tempting to just drop the flute in those situations and pick up a more familiar instrument but worth persevering. Good luck to you.
Ok, well it is a little less scary when someone else went first. I am out of town at the moment, so I can only post what I had on Box.net. It has reverb on, as I like the sound a bit better. It also has some background with a friend on guitar and me on mando.
I recorded this about a month ago right after I purchased my new flute from Doc Jones. I had been playing for about 7 months at the time.
I know I still need a lot of work and am plugging away at it a little each day.
I fooled around with the whistle for a bit, but never learned how to play it. I really wanted to play the flute. So here I am plugging away. But as Ben said, this is a very difficult instrument to learn to play.
What I have found the most helpful is that a friend has worked with me to record backgrounds to the tunes I want to learn. I can take these into audacity and alter the speed to what I need. This helps keep me honest and keep the tune in my head.
Ben, once again. Thanks again for the reassurance that we are on track. Let’s keep practicing and see where we get in another 8 months.
Ben
Just to say yes there is some struggle showing it the blowing of the notes. As the lip muscles develop this will get easier. BUT just wanted to say the actual sound or tone you produce is nice. IMHO no need to change that. It reminds me a bit of Tom Morrison’s, a nice difference to the ‘possibly?’ too overused tone that’s fashionable now.
With the slide listen for the rhythm within the rhythm that a good player puts on slides. If you watch a slide being danced it will help, you probably get it fine on your fiddle so apologies for cat and milk,or granny and eggs.
