178 (give or take a triplet or two).
I think using this sort of “quiz” could be quite useful in sorting pipers for tionóil workshops. Thanks for sharing.
In the Southern Hemisphere they’re normal cranns and reverse cranns in the Sthn Hemisphere are normal cranns in the Nth. Kinda like the water down the drain thing.
I’d tell you but then I’d have to go to confession!
Actually I love this self test thing! It’s put together nice and logical like.
To be honest I’d be more interested in having a pipe teacher rate my playing in such a manner. In the meantime it’s a great tool for guiding practise.
Well, I don’t know what a double flap is so ‘0’ for than one, ditto for reverse cranns, nor do I ever or intend to half hole an F# - the key sometimes in conjunction with raising the chanter off knee is the technique I was taught; so ‘0’ again for that one.
So a total of 223.
But…does a high score mean one can actually play? As David said, not to be taken seriously.
There’s probably lots of names for this and reverse cran is not a particularly logical but it’s what we use 'round these parts.
Basically with a normal cran you would start with a quaver on the note you are cranning, sort of;
Dah, d, d, dah, dah.
With what I would call a reverse cran you start the grace notes a semi quaver earlier. So you do not get a longer note at the start.
Like: d, d, dah, dah.
Hope that makes some sense.
This is a term I got from Becky Taylor. This is when you decend onto a note and let you finger “bounce” once, very quickly. It sounds a bit like you have cut the note with itself. Robbie Hannan does it all over the place.
nor do I ever or intend to half hole an F#
It’s not F# it’s Fnat. I find some great effects especially in the second octave from half holing onto Fnat, you have complete control of how the pitch moves. Can be spine chilling in airs.
Hope that clarifies things so far.
This is something I have put together to help teaching at nwup but it is still at the discussion stage and may be honed further or put on the back burner. Comment on it’s content are welcome.
Ahh yess…as used a lot by Sean Potts hence his recognisable style. With utmost respect for Mr Potts, I find this technique rather annoying after a while. I would not say it is a necessary indication of piping ability as it is only by choice that a piper adopts this technique or not. So no real need for it in the check list. There are many other techniques not mentioned, they probably don’t have names, which all go towards contributing to a piper’s style.
Sorry, I meant Fnat. Going by your explanation then it is no different from half holing any other note and thus should be under a category ‘Half Holing any holes on the chanter’ or something rather than singling out Fnat as if there is some particular necessity for being able to half hole Fnat specifically. In which case give me a ‘3’ because I can half hole some notes more than others.
Just some personal opinion. Need to be careful as this sort of thing can be somewhat ‘pigeon-holing’ (adjective).
OK so that makes me a 273 since I was spot on about reverse crans, which I use rather a lot.
Agree that the constant shaky fingering of the Hannan/Potts school can get a little tedious (It’s like they have the DTs).
Seriously, I thought that a “double flap” was simultaneously lifting the chanter and playing a roll on the first octave F# or G, and, using R1 and R2 (for the G)* or R2 and R3 (for the F#), to play a tap (or “flap” the two fingers in question) so as to sound bottom D for a fraction of a second a la Ennis in the first part of the Dublin Reel. It’s a nice effect. I guess this one would go under “off the leg tonal effects” instead, as it is quite possible to play off the leg rolls on these two notes without sounding bottom D at all.
assumes a right handed player. That’s L1 and L2, or L2 and L3, for you ciotogai out there.
All the technique in the world isn’t worth a pile of manure if you lose the tune. It’s good to be able to do these little things well but tuning, phrasing and timing are just as important, and so is remembering the bloody tune in the heat of battle :roll: my biggest problem is I get so caught up in deciding what to do next that I forget the tune sometimes. [/i]
I had a discussion about techniques with a very good piper recently.
It seems you are a good piper when you can stick a tune full of those.
Forget about music, just stick it full of techniques and you’re a good piper..
uhm.., DUH!?
I was wondering why a lot of players do that, it seems techniques score the most in competitions so they’re all hammering away forgetting to make music imho.
Look at me!
I can do a flap.., i have no clue how to use it so i’ll just stick it in anywhere.., okay?
Please.. lol
I have seen a lot of pipers sooo busy with triplets etc they forget to play the tune.
They put in their triplet, screw up their timing and look around like the rest of the people playing are idiots.
I’d say, forget about techniques for a bit, or MASTER them completely before using them.
And even then, use them wisely..
Beat me to it..
(and i actually didn’t read page 2 of this thread )
Isn’t it great when you think of something you want to do in a tune on the spot TOO LATE and you have to run after yourself?
Reason numbero uno i screw up a lot in tunes while playing, constanly mucking about with variations on the spot..
But if it works.., oh man!
I couldn’t agree more. IMHO, it should never be forgotten that each single note of any tune has an inherent value in time… mess around with that, and the structure of the tune crumbles and falls apart, rendering the playing of it nothing more than musical wanking… and a sloppy rendering of it at that.
I would have to disagree, at least in some part.
The “technique list” deliberately avoids any judgements about musicianship. (The scoring system was just something I added to give some entertainment here on C&F.) Some degree of focus on technique cannot be anything but positive in it’s result if practiced correctly.
As has been discussed on the forum before, and stated above, musicianship relies on timing, tuning, phrasing and I would add an element of personal expression.
In order to be a good musician and give each note it’s inherent value, to play in tune and to add expression to your music you need technique.
My humble opinion is that the elusive techniques that allow you to play musically overlap with the techniques involved in playing ornamentation.
I have found that getting to grips with awkward techniques has contributed to an improvement in my musicality, even if I chose to never use those techniques again.
I’ll stick my neck out here and say, there cannot have been many pipers who were considered good musicians, who could not play the flashy ornaments if asked. Whether they chose to use them or not is another issue.
I’d say, forget about techniques for a bit, or MASTER them completely before using them.
I would have to disagree with that as well. Piping would be boring if everyone only used perfect ornaments. But IMHO generally the most important thing is to be a musician first and a piper second.
since I was spot on about reverse crans, which I use rather a lot.
)
