Here’s my situation. I played Irish flute for years, including in a fairly popular band in northern Alabama. I know all the ornaments, cuts, rolls, crans, etc. (thanks to LE McCullough’s tinwhistle tut from the early 80’s). But I put the flute down for over 10 years. I’m rusty, but it’s coming back quickly. Would the recent offerings from Grey Larsen or June McCormack bring anything new to the table?
not sure either provides instruction for rust removal. what else do you feel you need or lack? from reading your post looks like you got the knowledge.
june’s got some nice tunes, keeps it simple and accurate. and because she can play quite slowly without losing rhythm, such things as rolls, cuts etc. come across well. her technique is great and doesn’t get lost in that process. great for someone who is serious and wants solid essentials in a direct way. if you are wanting to re-visit old ground, i’d recommend hers. she’ll get you up and running in no time. ymmv.
june’s tutorial is good, but also try to find fintan valelly’s tutorial- timber flute, together with tape. from my point of view it is best flute tutorial so far.
marin
June doesn’t use a lot of ornaments. Grey does. So if you want to listen to a lot of ornamentation Grey’s better. But if you want music that sounds more traditional, then June’s better. In my opinion anyway.
But why don’t you just look up the flute geezers and listen to them?
not sure what you mean she doesn’t use alot of ornaments. what do you mean? doesn’t she clearly and succintly demonstrates most, both on paper and on cd?
She doesn’t use as many ornaments as Grey does, or as many as say, Matt Molloy. I prefer her use of ornaments myself. It’s just enough and it makes sense.
gotcha
Hey, while we’re on this subject. I have two tutorial CDs that I really like. One is June’s and the other is a fiddle tutorial by Matt Cranitch.
Both these folks are Irish but they have totally different rhythms. I really like the bounciness of Matt’s rhythm, but June’s is what I usually hear. She’s a little more straight.
Why the differences? Is it a style from different regions? Is one way better? Does it matter?
no. you would be best served listening to recordings very attentively and repeatedly. in your case, you have all the knowledge, it’s just hiding behind some cobwebs. save yourself the money… spend the twenty bucks or whatever on getting speed 78 by mike rafferty.
better yet, listen to free recordings like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abi-lhnXoSY
also, theres a sticky here, with old recordings from 78’s.
ask us here if you have any questions about stuff you cant figure out or cant remember.
the best way to learn is to listen. listen to music, and listen to yourself. listen to your flute. great people to listen to are seamus ennis, willie clancy, mrs crotty, coaimhin o raghallaigh, tony mcmahon, james kelly (my fave!).
your flute can teach you how to play it, if you’re willing to listen. if you dont understand what it’s saying, ask us! maybe we can tell you why it’s not doing what you want it to.
the recordings can teach you ornamentation, breathing, phrasing, emphasis, and the different tones you can get out of the flute. we can always give you the specific fingerings we might recommend, the ways we have found to use certain muscles that might elude you, etc.
Yes, there are different regional styles. If you want to generalize. More accurate to say personal styles, but guided by the the players that are in their area. There is some debate about whether regional styles exist or not.
Matt Cranitch is a Sliabh Luachra fiddler, and the area is known for a strong back-beat. I think this leads to more swing(syncopation, if you will) in the music as well. For instance, listen to how a polka is played by Cranitch versus a Sligo or Clare fiddler. The difference between accented and non-accented beat is huge. There are other differences in the types and amount of ornamentation between areas. I’m far from an expert, so I’ll leave that to others. I do like the droney style of some of the older Sliabh luachra players. I think that mostly ended with Denis Murphy. Too bad the “regional” styles are losing their distinctiveness.
No one style is better. Whatever you prefer.
is this supposed to be a response to a different thread?
Nope, follows right on from Sbfluter’s comment earlier in the thread.
Kevin Krell
I reccommend “Have Ye This One” by Skip Healy. Many tunes from slow then up to full speed in 3 steps.
i can see that. part of me really wanted to be talking about the show canuinti ceoil, so i was hoping maybe they did, too!
Would you reckon this tutor to be any good for a flute player ? It might be full of tunes in funny keys and fiddle tunes i don’t like to learn on the flute, like the mason’s apron… I want to give it a try but i’m not sure what to expect. what 'd you reckon ?
I like Matt Cranitch’s book. He doesn’t specifically tutor flute-related techniques, but I like hearing his style of rhythm and things like triplets that fiddlers are so fond of. You can certainly add triplets. And I haven’t found too many tunes in there in keys that I cannot play.
Oh and another thing I like in Matt’s book are the photos and the background information he has on some tunes.
I originally bought it because I thought I would try to learn the fiddle. That was before I realized there are flutes in Irish music. I much prefer flute.
Sorry. Don’t really know, since I have only glanced through the book. I only know what I’ve read, seen, or been taught. And I’m being taught by ear, without books. I have heard that the book does have good coverage of ornamentation. A lot of that will transfer to flute. You might do better with some flute-specific media, but if money is not a big deal, then why not?
i think it sounds like a good idea. if anything, it will challenge you to grow more than a flute book would!
I’m not an expert, but I can tell you that having both a good flute tutor like June’s book and a good fiddle book like Matt’s are helpful. In the end the flutes and fiddles all play together so the music is the same.
There are different tunes in each book with a few the same so it makes for an interesting comparison to hear the different rhythms and the different ornamentations.
Nothing beats a flute book for helping you learn where to breathe, though. You’re going to get a lot of information about bowing in a fiddle book and nothing about breathing.