Greetings,
would those more experienced of chiffandfipplers be so kind to help me?
I live in Czech Republic, and he have no real competetion around here, nor teachers (the closest “good” teacher is about 7 hours and big money for that from me). Could you check my late videos and tell me if I don´t have some big style problem or something like that?
I hope this is not forbidden, and I realize that if everyone did this, it wouldn´t be really great, but whistlethis is more or less dead, plus I didn´t really like most of the tunes there.
Thank you very much, it´s really big help to me. I hope I´ll spare enough money for Willie Clancy summer school next year…I´d love to become really good one time, but it´s difficult I´d say (not meaning others have it easy, nor that I´m crying in a dark corner, while cutting my wrists ).
Well everyone has a different style so others might disagree but I think your reels and hornpipes could do with more lift or a more bouncy rhythm. They seem to be too slurred and a bit rushed. Like you are rushing through them to play fast and have lost the bounce. What you are doing however worked well for the slow “The lakes of Ponchertrain”. That was played nicely, but I definitely think your faster tunes need more lift. I’m not quite sure what to make of “Star of the County Down”, it’s not how I remember that song at all
Indeed, with reels, I need 1/4 a year of playing them until they “settle” and I can play them more relaxed. Maybe I should upload them after that When I play it, it sounds rather allright, but when I record myself and listen to it - it´s like “What? Doesn´t sound too good”.
Harvest home is my first and yet only hornipe, I probably need to work on them in general. Would it be allright to play it slower? I think it could be easier to “smuggle in” the bounce.
To matter of Star of the County Down - as I mentioned on the video, I play different version when sung (quite similar to how the Pogues play it). This version took inspiration in the Chieftains playing it in a pub in Treasure Island(1990)…
G’day Pyroh,
I just listened to Sporting Paddy and…In my humble opinion,as Blaydo says,it’s a bit rushed…too fast …
The great thing about Irish Traditional Music is that most of the tunes will sound good when played at a slower tempo,or ANY tempo for that matter…If played too fast,they lose their beauty…
Way back in the old days,my guitar teacher told me ''Son,its no good playing fast if yer cant play clean"…I think that was good advice and its a philosophy I use in my aproach to Fluting…
All the best from Australia…weedie…
I’ll just drop 2c in here Pyroh, but not as criticism (as I’m at work and haven’t had a chance to view the clips).
Everybody is talking about rythm. That is the most important thing you can get down. I recently picked up playing ITM on the Harmonica (as I was having troubles with my hands). There aren’t a lot of ornaments you can do on that beastie, so it’s very important that you concentrate on the rythm and phrasing…keep everything clean.
I noticed that after concentrating on that, when I pick up a whistle, I sound better now. I’m more focused and it shows. It’s something I seem to have allowed to get sloppy over time. Now, I’m playing at 1/2 speed again, hitting the woodshed, so to speak.
Start slow and speed up as you can while still on time and clean. It’s not a race…it’s a wonderful ride.
Pyroh OK so why not start working on your Hornpipe rhythm before moving to the next type. Slides might be a good step next, they’re quite distinctive and I can give you some excellent examples that will help you understand the rhythm. But start with Hornpipes and don’t be such a hurry, these are lovely bouncy tunes played at a slow enough pace.
You asked if you should slow down, yes you should slow down but I don’t think that will solve everything, I think you also need to get the rhythm down too. Certain notes need to be emphasised to give it the bounce. I’m sure Brother Steve’s page will explain the different rhythms quite well.
Here are 5 popular Hornpipes you should learn or relearn, I’ve uploaded all except the Belfast Hornpipe as I don’t have a good example in audio. Combinations of these are often played together in sets.
I think you are doing pretty good there! While I certainly won’t bill myself as having an opinion that anyone cares much about, I have been a musician of some variety (not notoriety, however) all my life.
I bought my first whistle in December of '06, and have been playing away since. I’ve been through books, instructional cd’s, and listened to countless recordings in my whistling journey, aside from having read a innumerable posts here. A conclusion I have personally come to, and one that is perhaps shared by others here, is that while it is indeed remarkable to hear it played cleanly and musically at absolute break-neck speed, it isn’t something I really aspire to do. I enjoy the subleties of the tunes as I learn them, and if that speed comes along, then so be it. But in the mean time, I can think of few things I have ever done that bring me such enjoyment.
That said, if you see fit, you might slow down a bit, but above all, enjoy the music!
My problem is partly in the money - it´s a little bit difficult to get good records around here - so most things I have are bought from Ireland or England, which is not the cheapest thing to do.
I tend to play better with someone to accompany me, as with proper backing, the tune sounds more joyful, even more speedy I dare to say - while when solo, I tend to push it over, it seems.
Pyroh, one thing I notice especially in your Sporting Paddy clip is your right hand position. Your hand is suspended very high over the instrument, your fingers are very curved, and you’re playing with the very tips of your fingers.
Your left hand position looks much better, so try imitating that with your right hand. Get your hand down closer to the whistle, flatten out your fingers, and play with the pads or flat joints of your fingers. Leverage the motion mostly from the big knuckle of your hand. You might find that you get better control and precision. It’s hard to get a nice, tight bounce in your rhythm when your fingers are flapping around loose like that.
Also, I can see that you are using no right hand support when playing the upper notes A, B, C. You may have much better control of those notes if you physically support the bottom of the whistle with the R4 and/or R3 fingers. That’s especially true for cuts and rolls, and the timing of your left hand ornaments can definitely use some work.
I also see no evidence of “lazy fingering”. This involves leaving right hand fingers down when you don’t have to move them. As one example, when playing the notes d (un-vented) to B, you can try leaving all the fingers of your right hand down, and just lift L2 and L3. You use your breath to adjust the intonation as necessary. The result is an economy of movement that can increase the precision of your playing. Most good whistlers I’ve met use lazy fingering to some degree, sometimes a lot.
I know that some good players may use fingertips, and curved fingers, and the bottom pinkie always waving in the air. But I’m just not sure that it’s working for you, and modifying your physical technique at this point while you’re still learning the basics might have a positive effect. It’s worth trying.
But I think what some people here are saying is that it SOUNDS like you have too little physical control of the whistle. The lack of control is reflected in your playing.
Honestly, if you came to me for a lesson, I wouldn’t let you get past the first note of the first tune until you corrected your hand position and balance.
But it’s only free advice, eh? Really, I’m just trying to help …
You may as well post them here so others can give you help too. In fact you can even post them to this thread even if it’s in 6 months time as we’ll get email notifications that someone has responded to a thread we’ve posted on.
By the way, aren´t you familiar with Walsh’s hornpipe from Bells of Dublin by the Chieftains? It seems to me like two tunes, where I really love the second one, but I don´t know the name…and on thesession, there is some Walsh’s horpipe, but it doesn’t look like the tune…
I had the same issue maintaining a good steady rhythm/playing too fast when first learning, and still can get a bit ahead of myself, so it’s amazing how much practicing with a metronome helps to load a sense of steadiness into your head. Using a metronome is extremely eye-opening, and most people find themselves rushing and getting ahead of the beat, slowing down, speeding up, etc. On many occasions, I’d start the metronome, start playing, and within only a few measures, already be ahead of the beat. Do you have a metronome? I use a simple, inexpensive one where you can either select the speed or tap in the beat you want. Great tool for musicians.
I’d like to weigh in with a couple of comments. I’m no Mary Bergin, but I’ve been taking lessons from a student of Mary’s for 8 years now… I hope I’ve at least gained enough to help a bit! We’ll see, haha.
First, I don’t really see a problem with your rhythm on the reel “Sporting Paddy” that you posted. Actually the rhythm in my opinion, isn’t bad at all! The problems come from a couple of other sources.
You’re playing too fast for your finger’s skill level. It takes a long time for your fingers to be able to catch up with your brain. MT Guru had it right on when he said you need to work on the stability of how you hold the whistle. Also, slowing down will make it easier for you to see where the rhythmic emphasis needs to be. The best advice you take is SLOW DOWN! It won’t be forever =) You’ll get it, and THEN will speed up and it’ll be great!
Tounging. You’re tonguing notes that shouldn’t be, and not tounging some that ought to be to make the tune clearer. If you don’t get the tounging right, then it turns out “muddy” sounding. Adding a tounging emphasis on the wrong note with slow you down too! So, hop on over to either Brother Steve’s Tin Whiste Pages or to Ryan Dunn’s youtube video teaching site http://youtube.com/watch?v=0JUtg8uL5rY
Ornamentation - I noticed that you’re not including rolls in your playing. The fact is you don’t have too, some players don’t and it sounds fine. Most all advanced whistle players do though. So, again, one of the tutorial websites can show you how they fit in to your playing.
I found a you tube example of Sporting Paddy http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=MoiKwM5s_9Q&feature=related
This is the speed you should be working with now. The rhythm is good, she has a solid grasp of the tune, a solid, steady grasp on her instrument (physically), the tounging emphasis is fine, a solid performance. Study it, and play along. She is puting in some rolls, but you can get alot from this performance.
The thing is, you’re going to be a really good whistle player! It’s obvious from your progress so far. Don’t start the habit of playing faster than you’re able, there is NO value in it at this point. If you’d like, I’ll email you a couple of mp3’s that my whistle teacher made for me to study. PM me.
I’m sorry if it sounded like I was thinking you´re not right - I just said it didn´t feel like problematic…on the other hand, yesterday I tried to lay fingers on lower holes…and it was easier to play then So I guess that some re-learning will be helpful in the long run. And I´m still too young to say “I´m never gonna change that, I´m too old for that”
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