I’m posting a few clips of my cranning. I love my crans when I play the hop jig The Dusty Miller. And then, every once in a while, I manage to play one I like when I play Flagstone of Memories. I can’t for the life of me figure out why they give me such a problem in the Vincent Broderick reel.
Oh, by the way, there’s a rude suprise at the end of the long version of the reel. I apologize if I offend anyone.
I’d love to hear comments about my cranning, your own cranning and anyone else’s cranning, and if anyone else has trouble with crans in some tunes and not in others. Maybe it’s just one of those things I need to let go of and move on, something I learned improperly or the like.
I don’t know from listening what your cran technique is, but I don’t think that is where your problem lies. Often when we learn a technique for say a roll or cran, there is a tendency to do them in one fashion only. Instead, I think you need to feel how it fits in rhythmically. There is a certain warble to both rolls and crans produced by the length and snap of different notes. Rather than trying to pick it apart, try varying the rhythm of crans that you play and see if you can go back anf feel how it might fit better rhytmically.
I remember when I was a still new to flute and Tim Britton pointed that out to me while I was playing Bird in the Bush. There was a reel that I heard on a Chris Norman record where the cran seems so mechanical I cringe. Hearing that really drove the point home for me.
Stephen
Rather than trying to pick it apart, try varying the rhythm of crans that you play and see if you can go back anf feel how it might fit better rhytmically.
The way I play the cran in the reel is BD{B}D{G}D{F}D, with the D{G}D{F}D going by quicker than the beginning of the cran. Works in other tunes briliiantly, like Maybe not in this tune, although, it works when I play in the middle octave.
I’ll mess around with BD{G}D{F}D and see what happens, or maybe I’ll just leave it be.
There’s another tune I play that’s got a cran that I play with BD{B}D{G}D{F}D that sounds great. It’s in the same time signature as a reel, but I’ve heard it called a Highland.
Nice playing, Michael… this doesn’t answer your cranning question, but I like your strong rhythm and phrasing particulary on Dusty Miller and Moneymusk
Thanks Tod. Those are two tunes that came easily to me.
I checked out your profile because I didn’t recognize you, and I see you’ve been away since Summer. Welcome back. Or maybe you’ve just been lurking about.
I’m not sure about the notes of cranning, but personally I find I can do a smooth fast D cran when I cut using the (e,f) fingers on the flute. Although I’m trying to work on using other finger combinantion for a d cran (such as cutting on the A & G, f and E holes). Theses sounds better I think because of the wider seperation in the cuts but my finger can’t do it fast so I’m still practising it.
Does anyone cran on a E ? I do sometimes I don’t know is it an ornamentation that used that much ?
Yeah, it’s a tune that’s easy to do some variations in, and it’s very repetitive, but in a great way.
Checked your profile, and this is your third post. Welcome to C&F. I feel like I’m still getting to know my way around in here. Interesting environment to hook into.
My wife and I are coming to Ireland in a couple of weeks
Flying in to London to visit a friend for a couple of days, and then to County Limerick (Murroe) where we stay with my wife’s family. We’re planning to visit a potter in Dingle and a fellow C#Fer in Tralee. Possibly Cork city, and hopefully Roscommon.
Well Micheal as promised I tried to record something first time trying to use box.net hope it work. This is a reel with some crans in the 2nd part. I think its a Josie McDermott tune not sure why I think that. This is on my Seery Eb Delrin.
Thanks Connie. Nicely played crans there. The part of the tune with the crans reminds me of a tune I play called Pretty Girls of Mayo. I’ll have to post it when I get a chance. I don’t play crans in that part, but I could. I’ll have to give it a try. You’re cutting with the e and f?
U know something I used to play the pretty girls of mayo with that tune and would have played the 2nd parts of both tunes quite similar .
The only reason I cut with the ef is I find it easier (probably because I’m right handed). I’m sure a wider cut would giveit more definition. But as it works easier for me I thought it might work for someone else who is struggling with other type of crans.
Thanks for that. Those sounded like happy crans, not crappy crans. Nice sound, I thought. When I hear you play that section, I recognize the tune. At least I think I do.
I was giving a tinwhistle workshop a couple of weeks ago and one of the pupils asked me about crans. I told him I could play them but doubted if I could describe how I played them. There followed ten minutes of me playing things like Fraher’s Jig with crans aplenty. I had to get the pupils to analyse what I was doing as I couldn’t play crans whilst thinking about them (!). Even after this it was hard for us to describe the method of playing a cran. I solved the problem by telling the class to listen to crans and experiment with various combinations of fingers until they could replicate the rhythm. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you do to achieve the effect as long as it sounds like a cran.
m.d.
