It’s all because I’ve always been a sucker for flattery…
I have just agreed to teach an hour-long whistle workshop for beginners to intermediates. I’m probably just about competent to pull it off, but I thought I better make confession and seek absolution here just to be safe.
I figured I’d have handouts covering helpful web pages, books, and other resources; fingering charts and a couple of tunes (Irish only, I’ve been cautioned) in sheet music and probably teach most the tunes by ear, assuming there will be non-readers there.
What should I be sure to cover?
What should I leave out as totally irrelevant?
Do beginners ask (or care) about ornaments?
I’m not sure I’ll do much damage in just an hour, but I’d like folks to learn something and have a good time.
I humbly entreat your suggestions and advice.
M as in “Mad”
(“mentally disadvantaged” not “angry”)
Having been in exactly one (1) workshop, I would suggest giving out TAB too. It seemed like a lot of people went by tab rather than notation, from what I could see.
That’s great! When and where are you teaching the class?
Beginning classes go pretty quick. I’ve taught a few and I’ve only had time to teach maybe one tune in the first hour other than 3 Blind Mice.
What do you know about your students? How much, if any experience do they have with irish music? Is this at the Adam’s County Irish festival?
You got it in one, Lee. Saturday, July 17, at the Adams County Irish Festival. Their original leader (I didn’t get a name) bailed, and Brian e-mailed me today, giving me much more credit than I deserve. Brian expects beginners to intermediates, but you and I know that people like you and me will show up. That’s why I thought handouts of resources would be good, too.
Just so you know…if you do show up, I’ll get you to demo one of your low Ds. I can’t play the blasted things–just don’t have the reach.
No, I mean writing out the letters of the tune…DAGA DAGA def’e…something like that. I don’t really use tab, so I couldn’t tell you the rules for it, but I’m sure there are a million people here who do.
A couple of generous folks have already offered to share their notes. I’m certain in a day or two I’ll have enough data to teach seven or eight one-hour classes.
Robin–I’m going to wait expectantly for someone to explain what you mean, but I sort of get it.
I’d say the fingering map is a good idea - most beginners books start with it. You can put ABC notation as well, and sheetmusic. Do all three for two tunes and you have a neat handout that people can use to learn other tunes with.
I was going to ask why only Irish tunes, but that’s been answered above. Which two tunes? The problem is you’ll get poeple who have never held a whistle or any other instrument before, and some who are pretty competent.
I think if you can get the COMPLETE NOVICES playing in both registers within an hour you’d be doing well, so maybe look out tunes that cover just one octave. Maybe pick two tunes they will already know - say Happy Birthday, and Silent Night? That way they now what they are supposed to sound like.
I’d give the old Kesh a break, it’s actually a hard tune to play, I think. Instead I’d do Road to Lisdoonvarna or the Swallows Tail Jig. (GEE BEE…). Also, I’d skip the reel for beginners and to a barndance instead, like Lucy Farr’s (I wen to a workshop where that was the first tune, and it worked very well).
Well, duh. Never occurred to me, but it is pretty much ABC, isn’t it? (Or maybe we should say ABC is pretty much Tab (or whatever you call it) – I wonder which came first?)
Anyway, it’s basically a system of using letters for notes with festive little symbols drawn in to indicate slides, rolls, cuts, etc. Capitalized letters indicate notes below middle D; small letters indicate notes above middle D, thus:
(I think that’s the A part of Connaughtman’s Rambles, but as I’m playing on a pencil it’s hard to be 100% sure about certain bits, shame on me)
The ‘s are cuts or taps; the ~s indicate a roll or some such (the stuff I have is handwritten – and of course, I dont’ have any here with me – so thus has all kinds of slurlike, etc.-looking things on it. Besides, alas, I probably couldn’t figure out how to translate it on the computer keyboard anyway).
Anyway, the way I’ve seen it work is that someone writes a whole tune of that up on the board and everyone copies it down and surprise! It works! But the down side is, people do have to know how to finger an A before they can play one, even if they don’t have to make the extra leap of translating it from note form …
But I have gotten to see several teachers fill up a whole chalkboards with it, and it’s rather amazing.
My suggested first tune is Hot Cross Buns. They learn the fingering of the left hand, how to make a note, and how to keep it from jumping the octave. BAGBAGBBBBGGGGBAG. You can also then teach them a simple cut to make the BBBB and GGGG. Its a tune everyone over 6 years old knows.
My second tune suggestion is the Rakes of Mallo. simple to play, and some of the older folks will recognize it from the John Wayne move the Quite Man, with Maureen O’Hara. Introduces them to the second octave, and it gives them their most familiar rythm: a march. Another easy tune to play is Scarboro Faire.
If you get through both of those tunes, in under an hour, along with a general introduction the instrument, and irish music; then you are doing well. The most important things I try to teach are the basic scale, to listen to what they are playing, and how to …
Might I suggest something I have had fun with. Bag of Spuds, played in a round, or what ever the Irish would call it, if they did rounds. You know, someone takes the first part, then someone repeats it with someone else going on to the second part.
Remember what happend when you picked up the whistle, what you thought was important but discarded and used again.
You will now analyse how you learned, what traps your stepped in and how to avoid them.
A steady rhythm between half and 2/3 normal (what pushes you to reach just a little but get rhythm and ability to “lilt” or sing the tune in their head, then match the finger to get that sound.
You will now learn how different folk learn, your first success is a rush…
That’s why I thought handouts of resources would be good, too.
