Hi:
I am a new member of this board, and would like some suggestions on learning to play well. I have played on an off for about 20 years, but now want to get serious at getting good. I am at the stage where I can play notes by ear or by sheet music, (better by ear) but I can’t match the pace of the music I am listening too…fingers just ain’t fast enough! Are there any exercises or methods that I can use to increase finger speed. Or is it just a matter of time?
This is such a great site.
M.K.
Expect a few useful suggestions for exercises from other members. I don’t think they ought to be necessary, myself, but if you like that kind of thing, go for it.
Is it Irish music you want to play? If so, I find that developing a proper style is the best thing to let you play fast. The techniques used by Irish whistle players make it easy to go fast.
So my advice would be - make sure your fingers are relaxed, make sure you aren’t tonguing absolutely everywhere - learn cuts and graces - play in a proper style SLOWLY and then gradually speed up as you are able.
Speed without style = horrible music.
Cheers
S
I’d say give yourself time. Focus right now on playing the tunes well, with the right rhythm and lilt, and let speed come when it comes.
Like you, I’ve played for a lot of years, but I didn’t get serious about learning dance music until about two years ago…and I’m only just now getting to where I can play well at speed (and it’s definitely not an even process…jigs, polkas and hornpipes have come much more naturally to me than reels). I’ve found that, when I get to the point where I can play a tune without thinking about it at all, the speed just naturally increases.
Another thing I’ve noticed is a bit of a challenge for me is playing with other people (whether in a session or when playing with a recording). I’ll play along well for a while, but then miss a note or take too long taking a breath and not be able to jump right back in. A friend suggested I practice starting and stopping tunes at different points (i.e., not just at “natural” points, such as at the end of a phrase, measure or part, but in awkward places as well) and that’s helped a good deal.
Redwolf
Two approaches.
Then
Yes…It’s irish music that I want to play, and I do have to work on tempo as well…had a problem with music timing all of my life, but getting better. I do play slowly and know that playing the notes right is the first step…which is why I use the sheet music. But when I hear people playing well, I come to the conclusion that MY fingers just won’t go that fast.
M.K.
Careful… Too often perceptions are reality.
Give it time. Consistency is the key. Develope a muscular memory of exactly how it is to be done at a slow tempo with no mistakes, then the speed will come without a lot of effort.
If Irish traditional music is your goal, I suggest putting away the sheet music. In my opinion another 20 years with sheet music will not bring you much closer towards your goal. Instead, expose yourself to as much of the music as you can via CDs, MP3s and live performances. Use slowdown software such as Audacity to help learn a tune.
The subtle rhythms and accents of ITM can only be approximated with notation. If your musical goals were in other areas, sheet music and ABC notation would be fine. However, for ITM it is limited and you are well past that stage with 20 years in and the ability to learn tunes by ear.
You can certainly work on speed. I cringe to suggest it, because I don’t like them, but a metronome has been a useful tool for many in this regard. You can get a physical device or there is plenty of freeware. Whatever you do, enjoy your music.
listen to slower players for a while… Mary MacNamara, Kitty Hayes… some of the best Irish music out there is simple, relaxed and steady.
speed is overrated, IMHO.
Yeah, toss the dots, they just slow you down. The dots are the “skeleton” of the tune, you have to “own” the tune (you learn the skeleton, experiment with the ornaments you have learned, such as cuts, double cuts, rolls, cranns, etc) and make it yours. Try never to play it the same way twice, use “fool the ear” with “it’s the same, but different somehow”. That is what puts the excitement into the music.
How do you finger the whistle? Do you use a relaxed wrist with flat fingers, with the pads of the fingers over the holes (the “correct way”), or are your fingers curled and are you using the tips of the fingers (the “wrong way”)?
Try wiggling your fingers with them straight and curved. Which move faster?
I think the tunes themselves (or parts of tunes) make the best exercises.
Here’s a great resource that will give you the building blocks of playing in a traditional style.
http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/
I have been using the sheet music only to learn what the notes should be, but have been careful to drop the sheets and play by ear, often along with the music that I have. (I always thought that the movie “Shine” had the best description of the difference between playing the notes and playing the music.)
I will have to look at my fingers when I play, but I know I don’t always use my fingertips…sometimes I use the second joint pad rather than the end, but I believe that I keep the fingers fairly straight.
I don’t just want to play fast. I wish to play well, but it seems that speed is the most elusive, with proper timing second.
Never play faster than you can. It is dance music mostly, so proper timing takes precedence over speed.
Once it is “fixed in the brain” it will become “fixed in the muscle memory” and you will have time to think about the variations you want to throw in the next turn.
If you don’t learn it well within 7 years, perhaps you need another instrument. I wasted many years on trying to learn stringed instruments from 1957 until 1985 before I discovered that I was actually a woodwind person.
Speed may be overrated, but you can’t play in session if you can’t play at session speed, and
you can’t play for dancers if you can’t play at dance speed (and with rock-solid steady tempo).
My suggestion, fwiw, is to pick five or so tunes to work up. (You can’t spend all your time playing just -one- tune without getting really sick of it), and play those few tunes plenty of times. Try to play as fast as you can with a steady tempo and no mistakes, then speed up a little - if you make a mistake or lose tempo, slow down (you don’t want to train in mistakes), but, often you’ll find that each ‘a little faster’ is actually doable.
of course. i never said speed is unnecessary, but speed is frequently the first thing that impresses people about ITM, and the first thing they go for. if all a person listens to is blazing-fast modern ITM, they’re liable to get the idea that speed = good playing, and i think this is a mistake.
in his first post, Murrayk seems to be equating playing well with playing fast, that’s what i was responding to.
I was just listening to Clips & Snips and realized that I need to get into a more traditional Irish style of playing, so when you learn the best tips on playing Celtic music well, please let me know…imagine…trying to play Jazz on a Penny Whistle…ha 
Can someone please enlighten me when ‘sessionspeed’ was set at a specific minumum. This afternoon I played for a few hours with the Kitty Hayes rh mentioned and we’ll be meeting a few people in a quiet spot to top off the Willie week on saturday. We’ll be playing at the speed Kitty usually does. Please let us know if there’s anything we should know, we wouldn’t want to get it wrong playing a session :roll:
I took ‘session speed’ to mean whatever the speed was that the others were playing at, in other words, you have to be able to play fast enough to keep up.
In the post above it was mentioned that ITM players have techniques that make playing at speed ‘easy’. Other than straight fingers and using pads, perhaps someone could tell me what these techniques are?
Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:40 pm
Brother Steve has an essay on “not lifting a finger.”
http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/notlifting.html
This helps with speed. There are other helpful articles on his site.
Try less lift on the fingers, keeping them close to the whistle. Again, that dreaded metronome, and gradually speeding up 5 or 10 beats per minute, is an exercise for speed (though to me is like water torture).
Part of it is natural ability–some people are born with more dexterity than others, more fast twitch muscles. Part of it can be improved with practice.
I realize the real answer to the next question is “It depends.” However, for those of us in the wilderness, trying to learn the whistle without a nearby session, can anyone give us a rough/ballpark/we-won’t-hold-you-responsible guesstimate for “session speed” in beats per minute? I’m sure the speed differs by type of tune and by which session we’re talking about but a rough idea would be helpful.