I have been gone from the boards since Xmas, learning the piano!! Been totally concentrating on that, so my poor whistles have been neglected!!!
However, I live in a VERY RURAL area, with no hopes of anyone even KNOWING what a whistle is…much less play one. I would have to travel 100 miles to even find a session! This week, one of the guests at the Ranch where I work, brought a couple of people with her who play…THE WHISTLE, THE CONCERTINA…AND PLAY IRISH TRAD!!!
They invited me to come down to the lake and play till the sun set. They knew all the songs that I knew–and were gracious enough to play slower for me…I made mistake after mistake, but they encouraged me that it’s hard to learn to play with others. I apologized for being quite rusty with my piano adventures…they were sooooo cool!!! I played by Blackbird and showed them my entire collection (yes, I suffer from Whoa)…plus an Native American Flute.
It was just WONDERFUL to play with someone else…maybe this year I won’t be so shy down at Irish Fest…and actually FIND C & F’rs to play with!!! (I’m buying a bodhran too this year there!!)
Just thought I would share..in case others have the same issues as me…not playing with anyone else.
Also, I just bought a really cool portable microphone–so I can record myself with my various instruments..looking to improve. It’s a Tascom DR-07, so I’m looking forward to learning and advancing in both the whistle and piano.
Thank you!! and Hope to meet some of you at Irish Fest This year…we will be there on Saturday!!!
The sum is greater than the parts. How lucky for you. Besides the folk group at church, I rarely get to play music for enjoyment that I enjoy with fellow musicians.
Sigh…the group that is here for the week invited me again last night. This time, they showed me how to play along when I didn’t know the songs…so that was really cool!!! They tolerated my squeaks and squaks and playing the wrong notes very well! I really appreciated the opportunity to do that. One played the fiddle, one the concertina, their son on the guitar and my friend’s son on the washboard/banjo/mouth harp. It was just so AWESOME!!!
Now…I want more. I so want to find like minded people. Going to go to the stringed instrument shop in Green Bay to see if I can put a note on their bulletin board to start an informal type of group..maybe if I can just get one person…meet once a month…or every two weeks. Then we can grow from there.
Has anyone else started a session??? What were your experiences???
That’s a great idea. It’s really nice to play with someone. It gives you something to look forward to and a good reason to practice. Hope you find someone.
I have a friend who plays harp and we get together a few times a year. I play whistle and smallpipes and we teach each other tunes. It’s a lot of fun. It’s an entirely different sort of experience than playing in a pipe band. Pretty soon we’re going to get together and my wife will be joining us on fiddle, and there might be a flute as well.
Playing with others is a difficult skill. It’s really a separate thing from learning to play an instrument. You have to be able to listen to what everyone else is doing without getting distracted, especially when what you’re doing isn’t really what they are doing ..
Thank you everyone for your comments! I thought if I could find someone out there like me, we could learn together. I have written The Whistle Shop for permission to piggy back off their slow sessions to play with others–in case I don’t find anyone that is more experienced. So, I’m going to try and find someone up here..at least within 50 miles.
It was a great experience to play with them…and Yes, I agree..it is a different skills to play with someone else–and still concentrate on what I’m doing. I have a long way to go, but perhaps there is someone else like me out there.
