Music is universal 
I don’t see a reason not to play Irish music. I’m in Malaysia…most of you might not know where it is, so just imagine me on top of a tree house in the Far East It’s a wonderful instrument, easy to learn & play, but horribly difficult to pass yourself off as a pro. Now all I need to to is buy my Seery flute and try to get people to play with me.
On 2002-04-03 08:59, TelegramSam wrote:
Martin-The Irish music? I dunno, I sorta stumbled on it. I found the tinwhistle first. There’s this odd sort of band called Jump, Little Children that incorportates both the whistle and occasionally some Irish music into their act. They’re my favorite band, and I guess it just kinda went from there. I guess I picked up the whistle half on a whim because of the guy in the band who has a bunch of them, and though I’d never paid much attention to it (and only been scarcely exposed to it) before, I started listening to this “wierd Irishy stuff” (as my friend put it) and liked it. I guess because it has a sort of spirit in it that is lacking in most modern music. I’m not a complete convert or anything, I still like my weird rock bands, but now I like this stuff too. And I know I really have no business with it, as I’m not Irish nor have I grown up around Irish music, but oh well…
Did that make any sense at all?
Well probably not…
Ah, lucky he wasn’t playing the Tenor Ultramenzadiatron, they’re devilish hard to get hold of even in London, and the fingering is, well, let’s not go there.
I didn’t grow up with Irish tunes either, but I lie the energy of them! If you’ve got recorded sources to listen to, you’re doing OK.
In Killarney I heard Fields of Athenry sung about 5 times, each with a different interpretation. Ditto Wild Rover, Seven Drunken Nights, etc etc. I walked out when they called for “When Irish Eyes are Smiling”.
So I think my point was meant to be just 'cos you’ve heard a tune played one way, that isn’t the only way it can be played. As someone pointed out above. So this whole posting was wasted!
On 2002-04-03 11:23, Martin Milner wrote:
In Killarney I heard Fields of Athenry sung about 5 times, each with a different interpretation. Ditto Wild Rover, Seven Drunken Nights, etc etc. I walked out when they called for “When Irish Eyes are Smiling”.
What else would yo uexpect in Killarney???
I’ve been lurking here a while, just joined up today. I picked up the whistle tutorial from http://www.madfortrad.com and it helped me progress a lot. It covers things from basic fingering to the more advanced ornamentation that I still can’t do right.
I learned to play the alto sax in school, so I could already read music, and the D whistle fingering is almost identical to the sax fingering for the same notes, so it was an easy transition for me. I could already play the notes, but the MadForTrad Whistle tutorial helped me to learn how to play the whistle. The videos help a lot. I would totally recommend it to anyone wanting to learn the whistle.
Just out of curiosity, what exactly was that “weird Irish stuff” you started listening to? What musicians/bands?
I was bored one day and started downloading a bunch of random stuff off of Morpheus (R.I.P. 
) and then I grabbed a couple of Mary Bergin’s cds off of amazon.com. I keep meaning to get some more cds, but I am majorly broke right now as my parents take all the money I earn and stash it away for my “college fund” for next fall…
Sam:
Something about your original post has stuck with me. I wasn;t going to opine but after looking through the posts I decided to anyway.
Get elemental for a moment. People have a need to make music. Presumably you have had music throughout your life and only you know what it does for you. I used to lay on the floor and listen to my mom’s Electrolux vacuum cleaner and get goosebumps. It wasn;t until I was older that I realized it was a musical response because Scottish warpipes do the same thing to me. I am a musician and organized sound is something I work with, shape and am transformed by. Some people are not as musical, which is almost incomprehensible to me.
Jumping to the issue at hand: you probably need to make music as part of your life. The whistle is a very simple tool to make almost any kind of melody with and I love it for that reason. If this is your vehicle, drive it. Many people play guitar for the exact same reason but they are gravitating usually to rhythm and harmony more than pure melody. I have played guitar for most of my life, 40 or the last 46 years. I am an accomplished classical guitar player, performer and composer but I find the whistle is a much simpler and direct to way to express a tune. I got into classical guitar from playing more simply and I have to tell you, the technical route is perilous and can put you into the kind of funk you got in.
I think that the Forum is kind of the wrong place for you now because many of the people are micro-focused on a style and technique. I think that Brother’s Steve’s site is great to learn something once you know you want to learn it. But I found myself being distracted from the overall shape of the reels because of the microfocus on rolls (PLEASE DON"T FLAME ME, I KNOW THAT THEY ARE ELEMENTAL TO IRISH MUSIC) for example. I have enough technical experience to spot this happening and back off but I think its just givin you the blues and you don’t exactly know why. I do.
You have gotten great advice and support from your friends at C&F. My contribution is: figure out how much music you need in your life and how to attain it, by doing or listening. Focus on the joy and the raw sound of whatever instrument you play.
Irish music will always be there for you. I have loved it all my life but never tried to play it until the last several years. It is a very specific tradition with many informal rules, maybe too many for your immediate enjoyment. Remember that Irish people have this as their local heritage, many Americans don’;t and are not predisposed to it even if they like what they hear. Don’t be caged by those conventions at such a young age until you can walk in there with the key in your hand.
Sincerely,
Lance Beeson aka Weekenders
Well said, Lance/Weekenders, great perspective on the technical and the intuitive parts of musicmaking.
I can’t speak for Sam, but I know I sometimes wonder why I was given the intense desire to make music, yet not too much talent! We hear professionals and wonder how they got there. We mere mortals wonder about how much of it is inborn talent and how much is pure hard work. And, if not terribly blessed with inborn talent, can hard work overcome? And if hard work can’t overcome very much, we got down on ourselves and wonder why bother. For myself, I’m stubborn and continue to make music anyhow, whether it’s good or not! And we musicians (like actors, artists etc.) tend to be a sensitive lot since music involves the heart but yet can be very technical.
All part of the nature/nurture controversy as it pertains to music, I guess.
[ This Message was edited by: cj on 2002-04-03 15:37 ]
[ This Message was edited by: cj on 2002-04-03 15:43 ]
WELCOME HOMECHICKEN!
It’s nice to see somebody from CDA.
My twin sister used to live in St. Maries and I’ve got a cabin on a lake up in the panhandle. Happy Whistling! Notwistanding the high concentration of Swedish and Norway heritage up there I’d imagine between CDA and Spokane there’s some Irish venues!
Lance/weekenders- as far as music goes, it’s always been a part of my life. I can’t stand silence. I hate silence. My friends can attest to the fact that I drag my poor beaten cd player everywhere, and I go through more batteries than someone with a pacemaker, a hearing aid, and a gameboy.
I’ve always wanted to play an instrument, but never really tried to play music until I was in middle school, mostly because I thought I had no talent and it would be a fruitless endeavor. And frankly, I only have minimal talent. I never got very far on that clarinet I played in the school’s band(but then I didn’t practice much 
).
I picked up the whistle because I thought I could do more with a simpler instrument than I could on something like a clarinet with the stupid (often split in my case) reeds and billion keys, and I can confidently say that I’ve done more in less than half a year on my own than what took me about 9 months under instruction on that clarinet.
Ugh. Am I making any sense here at all?
Ramble ramble ramble…
[ This Message was edited by: TelegramSam on 2002-04-03 17:57 ]
By the way, Sam, any idea where you’ll be going to university? That will open up whole new worlds for you one way or the other - and maybe with Irish music, who knows.
Cheers,
Ellen
On 2002-04-03 17:59, Blackbird wrote:
By the way, Sam, any idea where you’ll be going to university?
The University of Georgia
Oh, and I’m planning on either finding some people to play with or making some.
Hi Sam
I’m with you mate! I bought my whistle on a whim years ago and just recently did a 4 session course on “Irish Tin Whistle”. We got music of sorts for about 20 songs, and the only one I’d ever heard of was Danny Boy. I do a real mean cover of Danny Boy! I’m not at all into the Irish trad stuff so after finishing the course I went back through my sheet music (I play guitar mainly) and found some songs I liked and photocopied them and scribbled the fingerings under the notes and I’m having a great time! Some of the time I play one of my tin whistles, some of the time I play a couple of cheap wooden whistles. Just play whatever you like! If you’re an old fart like me try something like Stairway To Heaven. It’s not hard and sounds great on a C whistle and at least I can relate to it.
As Jimmy Page said “It doesn’t matter what you play or how you play, the important thing is THAT you play.”
My second favourite musical quote is from Les Paul: “No one ever cried to music made on a synthesiser.”
Thanks CJ. Thanks for details, Sam. Don’t belittle silence though. Its like the dark. It’s just a different feeling, same world. And there is not enough of either dark or silence left now unless you live in the country, which maybe you do. Noise is the most toxic pollutant to musicians because we like our racket organized.
Go play/listen/enjoy/dance to music.
At the risk of sounding like Confusius, “it will take many small steps to travel a long way”.
Keep going TS…I don’t think you need to be Irish..you just need some fingers, an ear maybe, and half a brain [like me].
Boyd.
http://www.strathspeyinmay.com
A festival teaching traditional music to adults.
[ This Message was edited by: boyd on 2002-04-03 19:38 ]
Sam, when you’re learning a new instrument or a new music style, you will sometimes come to a “dead point” where you feel there is no progress at all. At these moments you should just relax and take it easy for a while. For one morning you’ll get up and discover that you’ve overcome it, that your playing has suddenly improved. The whole thing probably takes some time to get ripe in your brain. So there’s no need to despair, just be patient.
I was on the point of giving it all up, too, as I’m not irish either and didn’t know any irish people at all. But your aim is to play the music you love, not to make a metamorphosis and become a perfect irish woman. It is their music, ok, but they don’t own it. Classical music had its origins in Europe, but today it is played all over the world, same thing for jazz (except, that it came from America). Why should it be any different for irish music? If you love it, just play it.
And don’t listen to people saying “music should feel effortless after one year of playing” or “if you don’t enjoy it, look for another hobby”. Maybe it feels effortless if you play the same tune again and again and don’t ask for any improvement. I think this is just arrogant nonsense.
And you have a right to feel sometimes depressed if you have to play on your own all the time. If you want to meet other musicians to learn from them and enjoy your music together, that’s just the way you should feel. Music should bring people together, that’s a basic truth for me.
So don’t loose courage, accept the ups and downs, and go on playing. And - please - excuse my bad english.
On 2002-04-03 18:41, Mastersound wrote:
My second favourite musical quote is from Les Paul: “No one ever cried to music made on a synthesiser.”
As much as I respect Les Paul, at lease ONE person has been brought to tears by synthesizer music.
Charlie
Hi Chas. I’m sure you’re right, but I like what he’s trying to say. He might have said it back in the early days before sampling and decent keyboards. Damn… I need a new second favourite quote now!
And boyd, your “it will take many small steps to travel a long way” reminds me of a docco I saw on the making of the Kung Fu series with David Caradine. Apparently the crew would have competitions to see who could come up with the cheesiest pseudo Chinese philosophical saying for Kane to utter at an appropriate moment.
On 2002-04-03 19:26, The Weekenders wrote:
Thanks CJ. Thanks for details, Sam. Don’t belittle silence though. Its like the dark. It’s just a different feeling, same world. And there is not enough of either dark or silence left now unless you live in the country, which maybe you do. Noise is the most toxic pollutant to musicians because we like our racket organized.Go play/listen/enjoy/dance to music.
With you there. When it’s really noisy on the underground I put a blank disc in my CD player and listen to that.
Frankly, anyone who has posted to this site, and therefore presumably plays something on a whistle, has more musical talent in their little finger (which they don’t even use!) than most of the people I work with. One girl has recently started playing guitar at age 30, but other than her I know of only a dozen or so out of over 300 people in the building who play any sort of instrument. And our choir for christmas carols numbers about 10, of which again I’m one.
So Sam, don’t be down on yourself, just wanting to make music is to me a sign that you have ability, from there on it’s practise, practise, practise!
On 2002-04-04 09:16, Martin Milner wrote:
Frankly, anyone who has posted to this site, and therefore presumably plays something on a whistle, has more musical talent in their little finger (which they don’t even use!) than most of the people I work with. One girl has recently started playing guitar at age 30, but other than her I know of only a dozen or so out of over 300 people in the building who play any sort of instrument. And our choir for christmas carols numbers about 10, of which again I’m one.
In the Post-Edison Age, music has become a spectator sport instead of something everyone participates in, and that’s a shame.
I had a conclusive demonstration of this one evening when my wife and I went with some friends to a movie in a neighboring burg. The movie house had a pipe organ in it, a Wurlitzer, of a size obviously intended for a much larger auditorium. It was a Thursday, and it happened that on Thursdays a local musician came in to play the thing for a half hour before the show. He played a lot of American folk tunes, and the audience began to sing along after a fashion. At one time I counted four separate fairly large pockets of people singing the song off the beat with the organ and with respect to everyone else in the place. There was no problem with hearing the instrument: When the guy struck a chord the walls bulged and the roof lifted a foot or so. I concluded that modern people generally don’t know how to make music, certainly that they cannot keep a beat, because they never do it.
Neil, you’re right about music being a spectator sport. I know it’s very intimidating for me to listen to perfectly mastered CDs or even awesomely produced live music and then do my pitiful attempts at playing. Then, if I tell someone I’m playing an instrument, some folks expect that you’re supposed to sound like a pro in a year or so, otherwise why do it? And some don’t see music as productive if you’re just playing for your own enjoyment–they think you should take up woodworking, sewing (which I suck at) or something more tangible. Also, music education has been horribly cut in most schools.
I think we have to try not to be so hard on ourselves and try to balance any technical improvement goals (determined by each person for him/herself) with what feeds our soul. At least I try to do this.