Ok, I wanted a catchy subject line. I have told you guys a lot that I am mostly a singer, and just a mediocre whistle player. So you know to expect that. But anyway, I just did a recording of me on the whistle (Abell Madagascar rosewood d). Itās got two parts. The first is an improvisational air in E minor pentatonic. I play this sort of thing when my cat is outside and I want her to come back. The second part of the recording is a hornpipey reel that I made up, called Mary Janeās. So, go to the link and click on āMary Janeā to hear it. You are welcome to download it or play it from the site. I think it would sound better as a download. I heard a couple of clicks on it (that werenāt in the original recording) when I listened to it from the site to see if it had been correctly uploaded (one click during the first note, and one when it switches from the air to the hornpipey reel). Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.
The recording of me singing āAt Lastā is also there and you are welcome to listen to that, too. Edit: this song expresses what we feel when the perfect whistle or flute comes into our lives.
By the way, Tony Higgins, why do you ignore my e-mails? Hopefully, the e-mail system just messed up. (I sent you an MP3 of February Air and never heard back and also never saw it on Clips and Snips.)
~J
[ This Message was edited by: JessieK on 2002-12-23 19:26 ]
Iām not getting any sound. . .somehow I think its me and this computer. I get a window for the windows player, and at the bottom it says ādoneā, but nothing.
Any suggestions from someone who knows about these things?
Jessie
Very nice! But please remove the word mediocre because there is no way that applies to your playing.
The first time I tried to play it on line the first three or four notes played and my computer locked up. But not one to take computer rejection to heart I tried again. It stumbled after those first three or four notes then played wonderfully on Quick Time.
Iām not able to critique your playing, but I can repeat: very nice!
Mack
Hi Jessie,
thatās realy nice, especially Mary Jane. The sound quality is crystal clear. If you donāt mind me asking, what programme did you use to record? also, whatās the highest note played? Iāve only just listened to it but it seemās to be well into the 3rd octave. Thankās for sharing it.
Cheers, Mac
Edit; I agree, far from mediocre.
[ This Message was edited by: MacEachain on 2002-12-19 18:08 ]
Jessie - I only got the first 11 seconds of Mary Jane and then my aol media player just jumped back and forth in an endless loop of āplayingā ābuffering.ā Anyway, you were just getting started and it sounded very much like a lovely American Indian flute piece somehow.
Hi Folks,
If youāre having trouble downloading the clip, right click, save target as, and choose where to download to. It took 8 minās for me but played perfectly on Musicmatch Jukebox.
Cheers, Mac
P.S. If youāve tried this already please accept my apologies, Iām not trying to be a know-all, I just want you to hear it.
[ This Message was edited by: MacEachain on 2002-12-19 18:51 ]
Mac (Eachain), The highest note was a second octave b. It was recorded on some high-tech recording device (not the computer). I had help with that part (and I didnāt play the guitar part).
Phil, it sounds sort of Native American because of the minor pentatonic scale. Love these whistles.
Mac (Hoover), thank you very much.
Itās weird that everyone has trouble playing it. The computer Iām on right now is also finicky about playing the recordings. Hmph.
I thought it sounded great. I especially liked the smooth, even tempo. I didnāt hear any breathing sounds, or hesitations. I also would like to keep the file.
The tune was recorded through an AKG 3000 microphone into a Zoom MRS1266CD 10 track digital workstation. It was then transferred to a wav file and then to an mp3 using MusicMatch.
Iām going to kill 2 birds (not really!) with one stone in this post:
#1: I think your playing and singing are especially heartfelt and open, and for that reason you canāt make any missteps. I hope you keep that quality!
#2: As much as I agonized about buying a flute I canāt afford, now that itās here, all my flute dreams have been answered.
Hi, Jessie,
Congratulations for having the courage to put your music up for scrutiny. You and the whistle sound great.
It drives me mad that one thing I simply can NOT do is sing: thank heaven for the whistle, at least it gives me a voice!
Keep up the good work, and best wishes,
Adrian
Mary Jane: Very nice, indeed. I think losing the echo/reverb would improve things and allow the whistle to speak for itself. Itās not a lot, I know, but it detracts from the over-all imagery of the score, IMO. You appear to be a good technician on the whistle, though in āMary Janeā you seem to like slides rather more than other decoration, which is generally appropriate for the piece, though maybe not quite so many? (Opinionsā¦ you knowā¦) The pentatonic nature of the music is quite enjoyable. Not something Iād listen to every day, but a decent ābreatherā between IrTrad and Avril Levigne (whew! One powerful and under-appreciated voice there!).
At Last: The MP3 was badly broken up. The teensy bit I heard before I killed it, sounds a bit like early Aretha Franklin (āEleanor Rigbyā period). Nice. Iāll try to d/l it again.
Nice job!
Bill Whedon
I have told you guys a lot that I am mostly a singer, and just a mediocre whistle player. So you know to expect that. But anyway, I just did a recording of me on the whistle (Abell Madagascar rosewood d). Itās got two parts. The first is an improvisational air in E minor pentatonic. I play this sort of thing when my cat is outside and I want her to come back. The second part of the recording is a hornpipey reel that I made up, called Mary Janeās. So, go to the link and click on āMary Janeā to hear it. You are welcome to download it or play it from the site. I think it would sound better as a download. I heard a couple of clicks on it (that werenāt in the original recording) when I listened to it from the site to see if it had been correctly uploaded (one click during the first note, and one when it switches from the air to the hornpipey reel). Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. 
I thought that āMary Janeā was the first part. To clarify, what was the highest note in the Air.