Last week I get my first tin whistle. I was very anxious for to star to play it, but when I do it I felt a little disappointed. You must to know that this isn’t the first time that I try with a wind instrument. I’ve played recorder since I was a child and I play flute and Kena (the peruvian flute) too.
The reason of my deception was that I felt that I couldn’t play it with the “spirit” or the “style” of the all the celtic music that I’ve heard before.
I can play the notes good, even, I think that I can get a beautiful and clear sound, but, how to learn that special tone that have the Irish music (for example)?
Is that special quality based in the ornamentation and the arrangements of the interpretation od the whistle?
Another question deal with my wish of to play faster and faster, how can i get it?
And finaly, how I can clean my Whistle?
I suppouse that after hours and hour of practices the whistle must be cleaned.
Beforhand, thank you all. I feel very proud of belonging to this distinguished community.
And, of course, any advise will be welcome.
pd. Plese excuse if my writing isn’t the best may be you have noted that the english is not my native language.
Don’t expect to have the magical sound of good celtic music right away. When you first started the kena I am sure you did not sound very good the first time but you practiced a lot and got better.
Playing faster. As many will tell you, start slow. Learn the tune then you can begin to speed up.
You can clean the whistle in many ways. A pipe cleaner can be used to clean the fipple (the blowing part) and I use a flute cleaning rag on a cleaning rod to clean the main part of the whistle.
and buy a slowdowner, you can slow down music without changing the pitch, http://www.ronimusic.com/
and put the music into any key you like. good luck!!
Learning to play Irish music involves a lot of things, but the biggest one in my opinion is ‘listening’ to it. I recommend checking out CDs of Irish whistle.
Good luck, and don’t dispair, playing ITM won’t come over night, but it will come eventually…keep at it.
Bienvenidos, Jose. I think your English is very good. It is more understandable than some native speakers I know…
I know that Irish music (or any style for that matter) can be discouraging at first if you expect too much of yourself.
Give it time; it takes some people many years to learn the proper style, but it is worth it.
And remember that a lot of Irish music that sounds like it is played on a whistle was actually played on
a flute, which can do some things that a whistle cannot.
I use a pipe cleaner to clean the head of my whistle, because the small openings can be hard to get into.
Also, in music stores they sell a rod with a hole at one end that it used to clean flutes and piccolos.
You put a paper towel or small cloth through the hole in the rod and shove it into the open end of the whistle
to clean out the moisture. If you can take the head off of your whistle, that’s even better: just push the rod
all the way through and pull it back to clean the whistle out.
I am curious: how did you get exposed to Celtic/Irish music in Columbia? Is it very widespread
there, or did you hear it outside of the country? My friend from Guatamala hadn’t really heard
any Irish music before she came to the States.
You have to get drunk for it to sound right. You’d be supprized. As you get more and more intoxicated, its sounds more and more celticer by the minute. Putting on beer goggles doesn’t work, btw.
My answer is, it’s a lot harder than it seems. Not that it’s particularly hard compared to, say, an oboe, but it’s not like riding a bike either. Musicality takes time. My advice is to just enjoy it and the improvement will come.
Jose,
To echo Joe Smith, the most important thing for you to do right now is a lot of listening. Any ITM will do, it doesn’t have to be just whistle. Solo instrumental stuff might be best.
I agree with Father Emmet. Listen to as much ITM as possible (and even some non-traditional Irish music). I’m still working on this concept, and may never be finished with it, but once you get the technique down, try to play with expression and heart. Don’t think of playing as practicing, but as singing. I can’t think of any better way to phrase it, except as to play with emotion.
Ornamentation is very important in Irish music-- the cuts, rolls, crans, etc. are what give the music its “Irish” sound and feel. You will surprised how much a few strategically placed grace notes can change the character of a tune. See if you can get a copy of Bill Ochs tutor, it will be a big help.
it’s rhtyhm and phrasing that provide the ‘Irish feel’. You can play with barely any ornamentatio nand have it while you can put in a lot without ever coming near. It’s what’s in between the notes what matters
Peter makes a great point. I’m not one for too much ornamentation either. An occassional “chirp” goes a long way. Listening is the best way to get the feel for it. But, you know, if you play it with a Columbian flavor, that’s ok too.
may be you have noted that the english is not my native language.
