Is there really any point in me trying to learn Irish music seeing as I don’t live within a hundred miles of any Irish musicians and only barely know the stuff???
Am I completely wasting my time here?
I keep trying to figure out these jigs and reels and whatnot and I keep sounding terrible. about 4 or 5 months of whistling and I can only play about 3 tunes halfway decently (and only halfway. I can play plenty of stuff horribly though!). I haven’t figured out ornaments or anything yet, and I have the rhythm of a dead moose half the time.
Should I just keep at it or drop it and find something else to play?
There was a time when there was no way to learn this music if you weren’t surrounded by it, but the world has changed and we have so many resources now. If this is the music you love, you should stick with it. Please remember that 4 months is very little time when it comes to learning music and it will take much longer than that to feel proficient at anything.
We are all so mobile now that you could very well find yourself in a community where there are other musicians doing what you do at some time. Then you will be glad of what you know, and will be in a position to learn fast. I do think that we could all learn much faster if we could spend our time surrounded by good musicians, especially if they were generous with their knowledge. But if you love it, you may inspire other people and build your own Irish music community.
Sounds pretty good for 4 or 5 months.
I’ve been at it for 4 1/2 years,
and I’m still struggling. This business
is for the long haul, you know.
Patience. You’re quite young, consider
where you will be in a decade.
Have you good instructinal materials?
Can you get to a celtic fair where
there are workshops? Suggest you
find a way to work on ornaments.
On 2002-04-02 14:34, TelegramSam wrote:
Is there really any point in me trying to learn Irish music seeing as I don’t live within a hundred miles of any Irish musicians and only barely know the stuff???
The answer is another question. What do you want to do?
I keep trying to figure out these jigs and reels and whatnot and I keep sounding terrible. about 4 or 5 months of whistling and I can only play about 3 tunes halfway decently (and only halfway. I can play plenty of stuff horribly though!). I haven’t figured out ornaments or anything yet, and I have the rhythm of a dead moose half the time.
That actually is not too bad. About where I was with an instructor. Before Conal O’Grada posts about Scoiltrad.com, I’ll beat him to it. The Scoiltrad folks have an awful nice and unique educational product. I’m a repeat customer myself.
There is a discussion about this at the top of the flute list. Check there for some more feedback and other ideas.
Don’t worry about the ornaments too much yet. They will tear your rhythm down and the tune will not sound so nice.
[ This Message was edited by: Mark_J on 2002-04-02 14:48 ]
On 2002-04-02 14:34, TelegramSam wrote:
…Should I just keep at it or drop it and find something else to play?
Why can’t you keep at it AND find something else to play? If the jigs and reels are making you crazy, try playing some more simple tunes for a while, try a few waltzes, anything slower and more relaxing. The other tunes don’t even have to be Irish, just anything that you really have fun playing, and that you can make sound beautiful on your whistle.
Once you’re comfortable with the whistle, and know that it’s possible to enjoy yourself by making lovely music with it, you can always try again with the Irish music. It will always be there.
If it’s making you miserable, it may not be right for you. If you like it but are frustrated, take a break for a while, that’s what I did. We are always harder on ourselves than we should be. (Advice people are constantly giving me but I never apply it to myself!)
Playing music should be just that: “playing”. If you’re not having fun, take a moment to reconsider what you want to do with your time. It may be whistling. It may be something else. And it may change in the future anyway.
Hey TelegramSam, there’s so many ways to learn the whistle! I’ve got 'em all conned here in Deadwood thta I’m pretty good! (awful squwak, shriek, squeek!)
If you don’t particularly like Irish trad, but you like the whistle, try some other music! Try show tunes, hymns, other ethnic music (whistle does great with Israeli music!) listen to some native American music.
If its the whistle that’s getting you down, put it aside for a bit and come back to it. Try taping yourself. You may find that you sound a lot better than you think!
Hi TS,
I’ve had friendly conversations with you in the past–thanks. I wonder if maybe you just need a music buddy more than anything else. There’ve been times in my life when I had to be a solitary music practitioner and it was tough to stay motivated. Then there were other times when there were people around to play with, but I had to play an instrument and style that wasn’t my first choice (electric bass, rock, country). But I was much happier to at least enjoy making music with other people. Maybe you’ve already sought music buddies in vain in your area (the middle of nowhere)–that has happened to me. It always took me lots of effort, though, to find people to jam with, no matter where I lived.
On 2002-04-02 16:02, cj wrote:
What others have said–do you like Irish music enough to try to play it well? If so, it takes time. Here’s another helpful link:
Has lots of explanation of tunes, ornaments etc., plus you can hear things fast and slowed down.
That’s the stupid website that was making me depressed in the first place. That guy goes on and on and makes it sound like unless you were born in Ireland, have massive musical talent, have never played or listened to any other kind of music, and are completely obsessed you’re doomed to suck forever. Blah. I think I’m going to avoid that page for the rest of eternity…
That playing other types of music is a really good idea, and so is finding other Irish music - like maybe a nice slow air. In my little repertoire, I have some American folk songs, some pop (like John Denver’s stuff), some songs I really like (e.g. America the Beautiful), and several really lovely Irish airs. My practice sessions consist of playing my whole repertoire through at least twice. What this has taught me is that songs I’d already been familiar with were easiest to learn, easiest to memorize, and the most fun to play, Irish or not.
I went through a stretch of the blues when I was trying to learn the fife. It seemed like everyone could play better than I could, and I didn’t have anyone to practice with. But, I’m very seriously stubborn ( That thunk you just heard was Bloomfield falling over in shock. ), and I didn’t give it up. One day I realized I was doing all right – still had things I could learn, but I was doing all right with it.
When I started with the whistle, I’d already been through this so I didn’t let it bother me. Something that I have found to guard against, though, is the depression that sets in when you’ve worked on a song forever and then you listen to Paddy Moloney, or Mary Bergin, or Joanie Madden, play it. Remember that they’ve been doing this all their lives, and you’ve only just started. Remember also that you don’t have to play “just like them” to play a song beautifully “just like you.”
You’ve gotten some good advice elsewhere in this thread. Be patient with yourself and with your music, and don’t give up.
That’s the stupid website that was making me depressed in the first place. That guy goes on and on and makes it sound like unless you were born in Ireland, have massive musical talent, have never played or listened to any other kind of music, and are completely obsessed you’re doomed to suck forever.
To paraphrase either Ford or Edison: Don’t listen to people who say you can’t do this or you must do that – if Michelangelo had listened to these people he would have painted the floor of the Sistene Chapel and it would have worn away long ago.
Different people like different things. The whistle, believe it or not, can fit into many different types of music. The Simpsons prominently featured the flageolet this past week when they went to Brazil. It fits into lots of Carribean and African music. The Corrs aren’t exactly traditional (and they had the advantage of growing up in Ireland).
I play because I like it. I’m not that good after a few years, but I enjoy it. It relaxes me in traffic, and despite my protestations, my wife and baby think I’m pretty good. (I’m not so sure about the cats.)
So if you enjoy the whistle, play it, and play whatever you want.
TelegramSam: There is some excellent advice in the posts I have read. I find that no matter what the instrument being learned, if one gives it a chance, the person develops a style of their own, in time. At first this style is a combination of the styles of many others, but slowly and surely the style coalesces into one’s own. It is not necessary to continually strive to sound like the great players. They don’t even sound like each other. Set small goals, attain them, and go on. My bass player has a law. It is called Muench’s Law, and is applied to our accepting playing jobs. Simply stated, the law reads: If in the end, it is not fun, we don’t do it. I hope the worry concerning what you are having trouble accomplishing goes out of your playing, and you simply allow yourself to enjoy this unique instrument, with or without ornaments and all the other ‘stuff’ of whistledom. Life is too short…
Cheers.
Byll
If, on the other hand, you want to play jigs and reels, get McCullough’s 121 Favorite Irish Session Tunes- book and cd’s. Put the cd into the computer with slow down software and play along while reading notes in book. If that doesn’t work, well…you could take up recorder or bodhran. Seriously, that’s what I would recommend in my expert opinion. Good luck,
Tony
I know what you mean about Bro. Steve - I was so depressed after spending some time on that site. However, there are other great sites that have lots of music clips, tutorials, sheet music (if you read music). Try a few of these sites and see if you don’t find some help - I did: http://www.whistletutor.com http://www.sessioneer.com http://www.tinwhistler.com http://www.frii.com/~ktcrumb/tunes/index http://www.fingertrip.net/whistle
And if that’s not enough, there are links on those sites, too, so you can get completely lost but have a good time doing it! I’m a complete beginner and have immersed myself in these sites and learned a lot.
Susan
I am new too Sam. And I dont have anyone to play traditional music with…and until I get better I probably wont be playing the whistle much at the other music circles either. BUT what I am finding I really enjoy is playing along with a few of my cds that have whistle friendly songs. Some of these are mostly irish music but some of them are just folk music, and some are bluegrass. None of them are specifically whistle cds (I am looking at purchase options for some of those). The only real trick for me at this point is to find music in the right key as I only have a d whistle and as a beginer I am only really comfortable playing it in d g or em. Some of the folk stuff is great for whistle and has lovely simple tunes that are really good practice. The jigs are usually still too fast for me, although I finally (after practicing it SLOW for a week) could almost keep up on a jig. The waltz stuff and airs I am doing better with. I can play along now with two whole cds. If it is a tune I am not familiar with it helps if I keep playing the recording until I have the tune in my head. Even with the music in front of me I cant make it sound right until I can hear it in my head. I wasnt getting too far with the whistle…until one day i realized I was humming one of the irish tunes from a cd…the sally garden. I went and picked up the whistle put the cd in…and played it along with the cd. It was like a whistle break through lol. Good luck.
), and I didn’t give it up. One day I realized I was doing all right – still had things I could learn, but I was doing all right with it.
Seriously, that’s what I would recommend in my expert opinion. Good luck,