Hi all! I don’t mean to ask how to play as good as Fintan Vallely (practise and exposure, a little luck and talent I guess) but how to sound like him. He makes these really special tonguing effects on the notes he emphasize, that so far, seems to be coming from his recordings only. It seems like a really strong tongue on those notes, almost to the point of huffing/spitting. It gives a really good effect though. So can anyone give me the technical on Fintan’s style?
The more I listen to his whistle stuff, the more I feel that Fintan Vallely plays with a lot of groove. His rhythm of the tunes he plays seems so well set out, that combined with his style of tonguing, makes a really energetic tune. His beat is so stable and nicely emphasized that sometimes you feel the same drive bodhran-playing adds even though he is doing a solo.
[ This Message was edited by: Eldarion on 2001-10-18 04:05 ]
Eldarion,
Fintan Vallely is one of my favourite whistlers! Unfortunately for us whistlers, his recordings are mostly flute (he is a wonderful flute player too)
As far as his punchy style, one of the things you can try, to achieve this, is to add single grace notes/single cuts to your notes (especially on strong beats). Tongue the grace notes with a “Tu” sound (not touching the mouthpiece with your tongue)
When you do rolls, tongue the first note and keep all the notes of the roll clearly defined and rhythmic. Start with this, if you don’t already do it, and see if it is what you need.vLet me know if this is any help.
Hey Sue, I tried the tongue cutting tip you mentioned! It does sound like what Vallely does, though I find it hard to put in all my tunes. For stuff like “Drowsy Maggie” and “King of the Faeries” it seems easier. In other tunes, I’d have trouble stringing up the ornamented notes. I don’t know if I’d adopt it yet, but thanks anyways!