Ston,
Well, it seems like you already got the riot act about getting one on one help, but since you are in LA, that shouldn’t be a huge problem. Okay, here’s my take on the two tutors that I have direct experience of, NPU and Clarke’s. I’ve been mostly using NPU (almost to the end of the 2nd vid). If I were you, I would use the NPU vids for the simple reason that you are used to reading music. The NPU vids will help you get used to just getting things by ear. There is a little booklet of sheet music that comes with the vids, but it might be a good idea to just toss it and work from the vids. Almost all the notation in it is jacked up anyway (i.e. it doesn’t represent what is actually being played). You can tell the people that wrote it are not used to using sheet music. I came from a highland pipe background and so was used to slavishly following the written notation. The NPU tutor helped me break away from that, and now I actually prefer getting things by ear.
I think that the NPU vids are probably a bit more difficult technique wise as they seem to teach a more ornamented and tight style than Clark (esp Nollaig McCartaigh’s playing). Also, while the difficulty generally flows evenly upward, there are a couple places where they toss you a whopper. I remember thinking, “well that last tune was pretty easy” and then getting slam dunked by the next tune. “The Plains of Boyle” comes to mind. While "Sixpenny Money and “The Gander in the Pratie Hole” are currently doing the slam-dunking on my white hiney.
Oh yeah, one other good benefit on the NPU vids is that you get introduced to some different tune types besides jigs and reels. There’s plenty of slow airs in Vol2 and then Vol3 gets into Mazurkas, a march, a set dance, polkas, plus more of the obligatory jigs and reels. Honestly, I don’t really have a bad thing to say about the NPU vids. I can’t wait for Vol4, providing NPU doesn’t go under before then.
Clarke’s, being a book, obviously tends to rely a bit more on written notation. However, ear training is not neglected as only the first time through the tune is written out. She then plays variations on the CD which you can get by ear. The only danger here is that some players, being anxious to “get on with it” will skip the ear part. She doesn’t really emphasize in the text that this should really be a mandatory part of the learning.
As I said, the ornamentation seems to be a bit lighter on most tunes than in NPU. I think you could call her style more of a “session” style. Honestly, most of the pipers you hear will probably play more like this than the NPU way. At least thats been my experience. My teacher often found the NPU tunes to be a bit over-ornamented for his taste. And sometimes commented that I might get funny looks if I played it that way in a session.
Anyway, one strength of Clarke is that she teaches at a very measured pace. There’s a bunch of chapters and a bunch of tunes in the book. You might learn two new tunes just to practice one new note on the chanter. Probably very few of the difficulty jumps you might find in NPU. Also, my favorite thing about Clarke’s is the tune selection. I guess my and her taste must be very close, but I loved alot of the tunes she picked out for this book. NPU sometimes throws you a few duds. Tobin’s Jig comes to mind. Although they redeem themselves in Vol3 with my current all time favorite tune, “The Ace and Deuce of Piping.” Anyway, one complaint I have is that Clarke doesn’t include on the sample CD the tunes which are contained in the “mini tunebook” appendix. This is a real deficiency, especially when she includes stuff like “Colonel Frazer.” One consideration, since you are on a tight budget, is that Clarke’s represents a good couple years of tunes and instruction (YMMV) for the cost of one book. While the NPU vids might end up costing more if you get them all. However, at a guess I would say that Clarkes stops at approximately the same level as the NPU Vol2. If you want anything beyond that, you’ll have to go to NPU 3 and (hopefully) 4.
Given your age and previous piping experience, I would be inclined to tell you to jump right in to the NPU vids. This applies to anyone with previous musical experience, a good ear, decent finger dexterity, and ambition. However, for others who are maybe a bit older, are starting from scratch with a muscial instrument, and/or have more modest finger dexterity, I can definitely understand why Clark is King (or Queen in this case). Much more measured approach, clear explanations, lighter embellishments, Clark has it all.
Well, all that aside, if you ever run into some money, I would recommend buying all the tutors you can get your hands on. It’s always useful to have things explained or demonstrated in different ways. And with Irish music, 5 different tutors could all have the same tune but played 5 different ways. I plan on going on to Clarke’s after I finish NPU Vol2 rather than continuing to Vol3 because I want to take time to get my basic embellishments solid, work on my musicality without having to worry about new technical bits, and expand my repertoire. Besides, a good review never hurt anyone. Then I’ll be sure not to be in over my head in Vol3. Like I said, just about any tutor can help you along the path. Hope this helps you make an informed decision about which may be right for you.
Good luck,
J.
Not exactly, but that is one method of making one of my many “bannana” whistles.