I first discovered C&F about 4 years ago and finally put to use a Feadog I had gotten from my wife as a “lark” of a gift several years prior. Needless to say, WhOA quickly set in and I began acquiring whistles at an alarming pace! However, despite my diverse musical education (piano lessons, self-taught guitar and organ - along with playing keyboards in a few “garage” bands) I found the only whistle tunes I could manage halfway well were airs.
I was wondering if anyone might suggest some fairly easy to play jigs or other fast tunes I might learn to set me off on my quest to commence learning the whistle more “fluently”?
On 2002-09-20 01:28, The Weekenders wrote:
Swallowtail Jig is easy but really fun. Its at Norbeck’s site.
I’m reminded of Brother Steve’s comment about the Swallowtail Jig:
I don’t particularly like this tune. Mind you, I have nothing against it. Well… actually yes I have. But only because it seems to be a great favourite of beginner whistlers, and any tune that is a favourite of beginners tends to get massacred. (Sad but true.)
More helpfully, “Out on the Ocean” is a fairly easy, common jig. Brother Steve illustrates his jig lessons with “The Connaughtman’s Rambles”, which is fairly straightforward but which I personally find (for whatever reason) difficult.
– Scott
[ This Message was edited by: srt19170 on 2002-09-20 10:11 ]
My Darling Asleep… lovely jig at any pace. To hear a fairly leisurely version, get My Favorite CD of all time: Lover’s Waltz by Jay Unger and Molly Mason (also has some lovely whistling by LE McCullough)
I’d say invest in some CD’s and stay away from sheet music as a learning tool for jigs, reels, etc. I tend to learn tunes I’ve heard that grab my attention. Pick out the tunes you really enjoy from recordings and start working on those. You’ll have a better idea of how they should be played by listening to them. Of course, the sheet music is there as an aid, but isn’t going to supply the nuances.
Dear Scott: I bet you (or BSteve) hate Pachelbel’s Canon too.
Hey, things are popular for a reason. i give the guy an easy first tune and you shoot it down. Sheesh…Nobody answered him until I did and yer answers were to criticize mine, then give him an alternative! Lay off LeWeeque!
More helpfully, let him decide if its awful or not. Its still a good jig because it builds confidence and rhythm even tho’ obviously advanced players like yer selves all now disdain it.
And Teri, what;'s easier FOR A BEGINNER, to download ONE norbeck tune and practice it, or go out to a session, try to memorize it, or to the record store, buy a CD , bring it home and cop it off the record. FOR A BEGINNER?
Cheers anyway, I whistle in your general direction..
And Teri, what;'s easier FOR A BEGINNER, to download ONE norbeck tune and practice it, or go out to a session, try to memorize it, or to the record store, buy a CD , bring it home and cop it off the record. FOR A BEGINNER?
Cheers anyway, I whistle in your general direction..
Larry’s not really a beginner. I’ve known him through the board for 4 years. He’s just zeroed in on airs. You’re idea is a good one. I’m assuming you suggested what works, or has worked for you. I’d assume that anyone’s advice or suggestions are based on just that. So, I offered up what works, or has worked for me. When I started, I learned from hearing tunes that I really enjoyed. To this day, if I don’t like a particular tune, I tend not to spend much time with it.
I did say that the sheet music is a good aid, in conjunction with hearing the tune. Again, what works tends to be individual.
And to your whistle pointing… “How you English say, 'I one more time, mac, unclog my whistle in your direction”
Hey, things are popular for a reason. i give the guy an easy first tune and you shoot it down. Sheesh…Nobody answered him until I did and yer answers were to criticize mine, then give him an alternative!
Sorry, I didn’t mean to come off that way. Personally, I rather like the Swallowtail Jig – it just always reminds me of Brother Steve’s comment.
In the little book that came with my first whistle, The Irish Washerwoman is the frst jig they have you play. I don’t know about you all, but the changes between Cnat and A and B in the first verse are killer for a beginner. I don’t recommend that one.
Well poodle snot! I just looked up a version of Washerwoman on a site and it’s very different. It has almost none of the C naturals of the version my book has. And the second verse is totally different. If it wasn’t so late, and the family asleep, I’d play it.
Hi!
There’s a really easy jig called The Leg of the Duck (which also ties in nicely with Loren’s post on ‘Duck Tape’ on the ITM board !)
I don’t know where you can find this… so I’ll do my best with ABC.
X:1
T:The Leg of the Duck
K:D
M:6/8
L:1/8
R:Jig
fdd ede |fef dBA |Bee ede |Bee e2d |
fdd ede |fef dBA |Bdd dBA |Bdc d3
|: fga efg |fef dBA |Bee e2d |Bee efg |
fga efg |fef dBA | Bdd dBA |Bdd d3
I’ll keep my fingers crossed (as they may have been as I tried this format!) that it works for you!
Deirdre
[ This Message was edited by: fluter_d on 2002-09-21 11:22 ]
Thank you, Teri!
And has it really been 4 years since we first met here?!
Thank you all for your input. I remember now that I had been working on The Swallowtail Jig before I “laid down my whistles” and I’m working on it again.
Being as I play for my own and my grand kids" enjoyment primarily, I suppose I could learn some jigs and play them at an easy tempo for them, right? Until, that is, they get older and discover our wonderful music for themselves!!!
Lover’s Waltz is also one of my all time favorites. Did you know that a board member, can’t put my finger on name at the moment, has a CD that starts out with Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms and then morphs into Lover’s Waltz. I’ll look around and see if I can find the name. It was available from Amazon.com and it’s past time that I ordered it.
Sorry everybody else for taking the thread off topic.
On 2002-09-21 11:20, fluter_d wrote:
Hi!
There’s a really easy jig called The Leg of the Duck (which also ties in nicely with Loren’s post on ‘Duck Tape’ on the ITM board > > !)
The leg of the duck goes quite well in G as well, whatever you prefer [my nine year old son prefers the G on the concertina, Chris Droney’s D version didn’t convince him]but it tends to trnsform into tunes like Petticoat Loose fairly easily then.
And there are words to it too in different varieties. My son went off too school proudly with the words he heard me sing to it [‘I gave it to Kitty, because she was pretty, The leg of the duck the leg of the duck…’ there’s different sets of words floating about]I told him to stick to Auntie Mary’s canary for school. I hope he did.
[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-09-22 11:03 ]
One of my favorite easy jigs is the Munster Buttermilk. It has another name as well - Behind the Haystack, I think?
As for teachers being exposed to the ditties heard in children’s homes: When my folk group was working on a song called The Condom Song, my singing partner had a son in pre-school. Luckily, he had a very progressive teacher, but even so, she must have been surprised to hear a five year old singing “You wear a condom, a big rubber condom, and I’ll wear a great big smile…”
The first real tune I learned was “Banish Misfortune” which is a bit difficult to pull off at first, but if you play it slowly at first, after a couple hours it’s easy and you can play it at a normal speed without too much trouble.
Kerrigan’s Jig is another one people tend to go for early on.
!)
