I can tell already this is going to be fun, if rather different from what I’m used to. The kids are really enthusiastic, and the teacher is great (she’s also the drama teacher at the school, and has a real knack for keeping kids motivated).
Musically, this is quite a change for me, but I think it will be a good challenge. One thing that took me by surprise was just how slow the tempo needs to be (granted that these are young beginners, even the experienced adult Morris dancers require a much slower tempo than I normally play these songs at). I think I’m going to be practicing with a metronome for a while, to get the feel firmly ingrained. Too bad we don’t (yet) have someone to play some kind of a rythmn instrument (in fact, right now it’s just little old me)…that would make it easier, but I’m musician enough to manage, I think, now that I know what’s needed.
I think it’s going to be the Susato for this gig. Yesterday I brought along three whistles…the O Briain improved, a Clare and a stock Feadog. The improved was just a little too quiet (interestingly, the audience could hear it fine, but the dancers couldn’t hear it over the bells…I hadn’t thought of that!), the Clare was only marginally better, and I didn’t like the sound of the Feadog outdoors. My Dublin should do admirably…it’ll carry well, and I like the sound of it, even if I do have to blow a little harder
The other thing that was nice was the positive response of the adults and kids to the whistle. Some had never knowingly heard one before, and were amazed at how “pretty” it sounded. A couple of grownups even asked me, rather wistfully, if they were hard to learn to play…I assured them that the basics were easy to pick up (one of those things where you can pick up the fundamentals quickly but take a lifetime to master them) and that there was plenty of music written for the instrument. I also offered to help some of them get started playing when they’re ready. You know, it’s really fun to see an adult’s eyes light up at the thought of learning a new instrument…something about the whistle makes it much more “approachable” than other instruments. People who might be afraid to take up the violin or the piano as adults see the little whistle and think “you know…maybe I COULD do that!”
That sounds like a lot of fun, Redwolf. Will you have some help on the day? If so, you might be able to use another whistle if you’d prefer that.
You might have started something getting all these adults interested. A shame they don’t have time to buy whistles and learn to play for the morris dancing—a whistle choir would be lots of fun.
So far, only one other parent has volunteered to play, and she plays the recorder (I’m rather dubious about how a recorder and a whistle will sound together…sometimes even two recorders can sound awful unless they were designed to play together), but we’ll give it a shot (maybe I can improvise a harmony around her melody, or vice versa).
Heh heh…thought of you the other day, Wombat, as the first song they’re learning to dance to is, indeed, South Australia! It feels funny to practice it so slowly…I’m used to it going at a brisk walking pace, and at this tempo, it feels a bit like a dirge!
It is fun, though…the kiddies are so enthusiastic (well, what elementary school kid wouldn’t get excited about a dance that lets them make noise and bash sticks?), and it’s cool to give them a chance to learn a bit of living history as well.
Heh heh…thought of you the other day, Wombat, as the first song they’re learning to dance to is, indeed, South Australia! It feels funny to practice it so slowly…I’m used to it going at a brisk walking pace, and at this tempo, it feels a bit like a dirge!
Redwolf
To be honest, Redwolf, I’ve tried very hard and just can’t imagine South Australia played slowly. Any chance of posting a clip when you finally settle on instrumentation? I hope you can find at least someone willing to play a rhythm instrument to take on the time-keeping role, especially if the tunes are to be played slowly. Good luck. I’m sure it’ll be fun however you can oragnise things.
Imagining it’s hard…playing it is even harder! From a strictly technical standpoint, this is good practice for me as a musician, but the folksinger in me keeps wanting to wail “this is just WRONG!”
To get a feel for it, if you happen to have a metronome handy, set it to a slow adagio.
To make matters worse, in trying to emphasize the beat for the dancers, I keep hearing an “Ooom Pah” band in my head, which gives me the giggles…ever try whistling when you’re trying hard not to giggle? Oy!
I also find myself leaving out the ornamentation I normally play without thinking, because every time I flick out a grace note, my fingers want to move the tune up to speed. Hopefully, once I get used to this pace, that will be less of a problem.
I think it will be easier when we get to Shepherd’s Hey and The Bluebells of Scotland…both are traditional Morris tunes, and play well at that pace.
I do hope we can find someone to play rythmn…even a guitar would help, though a tabor or a bodhran would be better (they’d have no excuse of not being able to hear a bodhran!).
Good to see more people taking an interest in Morris Dancing!
I think that one problem you may have with the dancers not being able to hear you is the fact that you are playing a whistle in the first place. Most of it (in my 12 years experience) is accompanied by louder instruments like concertinas or accordians. Adding a bodhran would definately help, and you might not want to scoff at that recorder player right away, though a fiddle would be much better. Good luck, and be sure to tell us how it went once it’s over.
On 2002-10-22 11:22, Seth wrote:
Good to see more people taking an interest in Morris Dancing!
I think that one problem you may have with the dancers not being able to hear you is the fact that you are playing a whistle in the first place. Most of it (in my 12 years experience) is accompanied by louder instruments like concertinas or accordians.
Seth
It’s a shame you don’t live closer Redwolf. I could lend you my leaky old Lachenal Anglo. No problems playing slowly here, the bellows are so stiff you can only play slowly. Not exactly oom-pah, but I’m pretty sure that it would make you giggle. It certainly makes me giggle. (You’d be in no danger of swallowing a fipple though.) Ah, I can hardly wait for my new top-end Anglo.
Too true…while whistles are common factors in Morris bands hereabouts, they’re usually part of a group that includes a concertina or accordian, or even a fiddle. Unfortunately, this group is dependent on parents to supply the music, and we seem to have a shortage of traditional instrumentalists.
Hmmm…there is a sixth grader in the school who plays the fiddle quite well. I wonder if we could rope her in?
Not scoffing at the recorder at all…just not sure how well a recorder and a whistle will work together. We’re going to get together and practice tomorrow, so we’ll see. Perhaps it would work to have the recorder carry the melody, with me playing a bit of a descant.
Hmmm…me playing a concertina. Now there’s a scary thought! Poor kids might never recover, my coordination (or lack thereof) being what it is!
Guess what, Redwolf? Whilst scrounging around at the back of the burrow yesterday, I came across a CD I hadn’t played in a while of Morris dance tunes from the Cotswolds. It was by John Kirkpatrick, probably the best known button box player in England. Along with his boxes, there was Martin Carthy on guitar, and others on fiddle, harmonica, dulcimer, tambourine and oboe. The record is a delight. It’s called ‘Plain Capers’ and is on the Topic label in England. (I bet it’s available in the States.) Even though it would be too late to influence choice of tunes this time around, it would give all involved a clear idea of just what Morris accompaniment involves.
The bounce they achieve is unbelievably infectious. And here’s the surprise. I thought I remembered the tempos as being medium (probably because the overrall effect is so rhythmic) but they turned out to be stately, to put it politely, if not quite butt-dragging slow. The trouble is to get that without the full ensemble of players. The boxes are doing so much work holding it all together.
I think we’re going to add a guitar, which will give it some rythmic interest. We tried it last week with me on whistle and the other lady on recorder and, while it sounded OK, it definitely lacked that “bounce.” There didn’t appear to be volume issues with the whistle this time. Sure wish we could dig up someone with a concertina or accordian though!
I think the tunes were chosen more for the dances that go with them than anything else…they’re relatively easy dances for the kids to learn. “South Australia” actually starts out with the dancers putting their sticks in the center (making a wheel) and going 'round and 'round slowly (as if they were pushing on a capstan)…looks very cool.
