I want to regularly gig with my whistle,what other instrumen

Whistle
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Im currently jamming/performing at our folk club once a month with a guitarist. At the moment thats fine, but I intend to gig hopefully 1-3 (if possible) nights a week. We are currently reheasing material, its taking a fair amount of effort and time, now I guess through my ramblings what I wish to know is there a ideal line up for a whislte player??? For example , is a guitarist, whistler and drum/bodran a good line up??? I dont know!! Obviously I would like to keep the number of players down, thus hopefully sharing more of the pie on gigs. Im not being greedy, Music , as well as part time teaching is my source of income (acoustic bassist by trade).

Also what kind of material will help hold down regular work??? In Australia there are traditional Irish Bands, but increasingly more Irish Rock bands performing covers (eg Corrs, U2, Van Morrison, etc…)that seem to get more work, and obviously better paid. I want to hold down regular work, performing traditional Irish with a dash of Scottish and a few originals.

How many of you whistlers are out there performing regularly weekly, and also are making some money out of it to pay off the house, the car and finally the kids???

Love to hear back from you!!!
Regards Andy

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Hey Andy! I remember when I was just starting out, my dream band was whistler, guitarist, bodhranist, and fiddler. There aren’t any strict guidelines but the guitar, bodhran, whistle combination is quite a powerful one if you’re looking for a whistle-driven band. It offers quite a bit of versatility in arrangments, as well as keeps the number down.

However, there is a slight disadvantage (unless you are an extremely good whistler and music arranger), because a whistle lead for melody all the time can go dull eventually, especially for people uninitiated to celtic music, which makes up a large part of your potential audience.

Thats why thing that you might like to do, if you wish to really keep the number down, to lets say, 3, is to learn and play different instuments in your band (at least both high and low whistles), or look for multi-instrumentalist to be in your band. That way you can have various musical textures.

Otherwise do consider having a fiddler or piper in your band. Although it ups the number a little, it makes your band’s sound more “value-added”. Additionally, your other melody-instrument player can cover for you when you need to be excused or are not feeling well for gigs. That way you won’t have so many angry pub owners.

As for what kinds of songs bring in the moolah, I guess it depends on who your employers and the audience in Australia are. Theres really no guideline really. Must haves would be Irish pub songs. Some pop songs, like those from the Corrs, and etc also go well with a trad band. However, you might like to watch out against stooping to playing music that is not you, just to suit your audience’s palates. Not only will you have a miserable time, I don’t think it will make you sound very good either.

Okay that was a very long post! I don’t really know where is all this stuff coming from. Incidentally, I got what I wished for in a celtic band thingy in terms of instruments, plus a vocalist too. I do get enough money to subsidise some of my whistle expenditures though, so thats nice considering I don’t do it at a professional level.=)

[ This Message was edited by: Eldarion on 2001-08-19 09:44 ]

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I’ll second Eldarion’s suggestion,

I would however reccommend a four piece group for the best ‘rounded’ out sound. Whistle (both high and low as previously mentioned), fiddle, guitar, and bodhrán.

I think the fiddle is the backbone of most of the tunes I hear played, both live and recorded. I also hear a lot of accordion, though I don’t like it nearly as much. If you also play flute, that is a wonderful sound to add as well.

Pipers are the creme de la creme, but hard to come by. GOOD pipers are even more rare. If you can find one of those, (and if you were ME :slight_smile:) I’d think about trying to work that in perhaps on a limited basis as well. Maybe just the weekend gigs when there were more paying public to come watch etc.

Hope this helps.

Bri~
http://www.mp3.com/blee

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Hey Andy - sounds like you’re an Aussie too. I’m in Canberra.

I’d recommend a flute and/or fiddle player, plus a guitar and/or mandolin player. My experience is that it’s rare to find musicians into Irish traditional at the intermediate or better standard who play only one instrument. The guys I jam with all play two or three instruments competently. That allows loads of opportunity to mix and match and stop the sound from getting boring.

I play whistle, piccolo, bass & guitar, another band member plays guitar and bodhran, another plays flute and guitar and sings. Even with all that, we sorely miss having a fiddle player.