Listening to samples of Irish music
it sounds like the majority of it is slurred. What i have been doing is tonguing to begin each note. When listening to samples each note seemed to flow into each other giving the song a much smoother quality. The complete Irish Tinwhistle Tutor does not seem to explain.
Many people who play trad. Irish music on whistle (and flute) do not tongue very often. They use ornaments (cuts, rolls, taps) to break up series of the same notes and slur the rest. Tonguing is “just another ornament” that is used sparingly.
I don’t necessarily think this is the ONLY way to play, or even the best way, and there are trad. players who tongue quite a bit and sound(ed) great doing it (Micho Russel for one). Grey Larsen also tongues quite a bit on whistle, but much less on flute.
One thing to watch out for is tonguing by default. Make sure you’re tonguing because you choose to at that particular spot, not because that’s what you do by habit.
If I’m nervous or a little unsure of a tune, I immediately start tonguing everything unless I concentrate really hard.
-brett
In my experience, in Irish music, tounging is generally used for ‘effect’ (as an ornament or rhythming)…one should not tounge each and every note individually.
That said, I started off with the Ochs tutorial, which has you tounging until well into the lesson plan…I still know lots of tunes that I never learned not to toungue…
[ This Message was edited by: Wandering_Whistler on 2001-08-22 17:55 ]
While there is a time in place for tonguing, as a beginner I’d advise you to NOT tongue unless you want to sound like a recorder player. Pretend there is a big slur mark above each and every line of music. What makes Irish music sound Irish is that all of the musicians try to sound a bit like a piper. The piper has a continuous stream of air and cannot tongue any notes - hence to sound like a piper a whistle player should avoid tonguing.
Because he cannot tongue notes, the piper will use ornaments to separate the notes - particularly two or more consecutive notes of the same pitch. To do this he will use ‘cuts’, ‘rolls’ and ‘crans’. If you listen you will hear that not only is whistle and flute player trying to sound like a piper by slurring and using piping ornaments, but fiddle players, box players and even guitar and bouzouki players will imitate these ornaments.
Of course, you can play very pretty music with lots of tonguing - but I don’t think it sounds Irish. I’ve no doubt that some forum patrons will find it impossible to avoid taking a contrary viewpoint, but to my ear those Irish whistle players who tongue do so occassionally - not continuously. In general, they slur.
Some time ago I started taking whistle lessons from a teacher.
I had already practiced some tunes, and was basically slurring all the notes. He got me into practicing tonguing in order to get a feel of the rhythm of the tunes. What makes a tune ‘feel’ irish is the rhythm, since almost all of them are dance tunes.
So a jig, reel, polka etc have their distinctive rhythm suiting the dance they are played to.
Tonguing the notes to accentuate the rhythm (like in a Jig every second and third note of every group of 3 8th notes) gives the basic idea, but sounds a bit mechanical.
When you get that down you can start to make it more interesting (to play and listen to) with ornaments and a variation of slurring and tonguing - This is what I’m practicing now.
does it sound Irish???
…depends how many pints of Guiness I’ve had 