L. E. McCullough

Whistle
1

Has anyone here used his book/CDs titled 121 Favorite Irish Session Tunes?

For a few weeks now, I’ve been reading/playing all the tunes I can find on the Internet with sheet music. (like on http://www.thesession.org and http://comhaltas.ie/shop/detail/foinn_s … _volume_1) I have found no sessions anywhere near my home, so its time for me to just pick some tunes in various categories (jigs, reel, hornpipes, etc.) and start learning them with ornamentation.

Is this all recorded on a whistle, or other instruments as well?
Is it all on a “D” whistle? (for using the accompaniment)
Are these 121 tunes indeed a good representation of those played regularly sessions?

This looks like a useful guide to learning some “classic” tunes, since it comes with both fast & slow versions, sheet music with chords. And apparently the solo is recorded on one channel and the accompaniment on the other, so you can use your “balance” control to listen to just the accompaniment for playing along.

2

Howdy, Blazer. . . i see that though 50 folks have gawked at your request, no Good Whistle Samaritans have deigned to assist. . . People, WHERE IS THE LOVE!!! – so, allow me, please to offer my insights as author.

The most recent edition by Homespun features me playing solo whistle and backup by Nancy Conescu (guitar) and T.H. Gillespie (keyboard). They alternate, so one tune has guitar, the next keyboard, the next guitar, etc. All very clear, nothing crazy, just basic playing through the tune a couple times in two versions – first slow, second normal speed.

And everything on a D whistle.

The tunes are ITM “standards”. . . you’d find them played in a session 40 years ago and probably 40 years from now. . . since there are an estimated 20,000 ITM tunes (at a minimum) in the repertoire, you’ve got a long way to go! But every journey starts with a single step and in this case, a single tune.

Best advice? Get a handful of these session books and learn as many tunes as you can in private, then take them out to public sessions. Also take a recording device and grab any tunes you hear that you like when you’re at the session. That’s what sessions are for, passing the tunes around, keeping the trad alive. So play your part and take as much as you can.

Style, you ask – well, the style I play the tunes in is nothing unusual. . . I learned from musicians who were influenced by what they call the Sligo style, mostly developed from fiddle and flute players from that county in the late 1800s/early 1900s. . . don’t know if any of these style designations truly have meaning anymore, but Sligo style-type renditions are pretty clear, pretty basic, nothing wildly idiosyncratic. . . you learn the version of a tune I play and it’s pretty much what you’ll hear other people playing on any instrument, or at least it gives you the basis for adjusting to whatever version you want.

So, yeh, sure, as the guy who put it together, I certainly highly positively absolutely without any reservation whatsoever recommend it!

But don’t stop there, get many others, and always take the live version of a tune you hear as the current standard.

Give a shout if you have other questions – lemccullough@mac.com

Best wishes,

L.E. McCullough

3

Who’s a gawker? I was just planning my response! :laughing:

Yeah, it’s good stuff. Good, standard tunes, well-presented and played. Very useful for learning, and sufficient to keep you occupied for years to come.

You’ll probably find that the more tunes you learn, the faster you’ll be able to pick up new ones. This will be useful for when you find a real session in your area. Then you’ll want to put the books away and concentrate on what you hear from the folks around you. Good luck!

4

Nothing like getting it straight from the horses mouth. Oops… did I just call L.E. a horse? No offense intended. Anyway, thanks for the “LOVE” and your highly positive and absolute “no reservations whatsoever” recommendation!

OK then. I’ll just order me up a plate of McCullough magic and start learning some ITM tunes. Now when I master those 121, I’ll be looking for the rest of those 2000+ ITM tunes. Just give me a couple of weeks!

5

Horses is as horses does. . . everyone realizes that the Mr. Ed Theme is a double jig, right? Add that to your tune list!

6

Actually more like a single jig or maybe a slide, of course. Of course! :stuck_out_tongue:

7

:smiley:

8

Ha ha! And the Gilligan’s Island theme is basically a reel, although it only has an A part. I love to stick it in between the A and B parts of Cooley’s Reel. Try it!

9

But to the contrary, sir! I deem it to be of polkoid aspect.

10

And do you have the abc or dots or other form? I’d like to say it was before my time, but really I just don’t recall the tune.

Best wishes.

Steve

11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfR7qxtgCgY :slight_smile:

12

The Leave It to Beaver theme makes a nice double jig medley surprise. . . Clanjamfrey used to call it “Beaumont’s Retreat” after Hugh Beaumont who played Ward Cleaver. . . you can play it in in G (B part kicking off in E minor), though I think the original was in F.

13

:slight_smile: Yes, the original is in F. And it even has a pedigree as “The Toy Parade” … with lyrics!

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/televisiontvthemelyrics-50s60s70s/leaveittobeaver.htm

I’m serious though (well, as serious as one can get about Mr. Ed and Beaver!) in wondering why you call these double jigs (to the extent they’re jigs at all). To my ear, they both have mostly the quarter-plus-eight swing I associate with single jigs. I guess there’s no absolute dividing line. But singles almost seem like triple marches, like “Liberty Bell”, with heavy downbeats (and “Toy Parade” seems intended as a march of the toys). Whereas double jigs have a more fluid feel with frequent double-eighth pickups before the beat.

If there’s a particular heuristic I’m missing, maybe I’ll learn something. :wink:

14

L.E.,

You’ve got such a wealth of material, it’s too much for me to look through. You seem best known for the whistle (and composing, and writing, and etc.), but we’ve got those pics of you with a flute. Are you still playing flute? Are there specific recordings with flute tracks you could point me to?

Kevin Krell

15

“To my ear, they both have mostly the quarter-plus-eight swing I associate with single jigs.”

Hi, MT! Good point!

Well, I guess I think of them as double jigs cause that’s the way I play them (and I occasionally do!). . . in a 1-2-3, 1-2-3 | 1-2-3, 1-2-3 | rhythm . . . so if you hear them coming out of my whistle, and you wanna dance, the double jig is the step you’ll be doing.

I play the Andy Griffith theme in 6/8 and in 4/4. . . recently started playing Peter Gunn also.

Best,
LE

“They teach you there’s a boundary line to music. But, man, there’s no boundary line to art.” – Charlie Parker

16

L.E.

I was getting ready to order one of your packages and noticed that you have 2 similar products… “The Complete Irish Tin whistle Tunebook” and “121 Favorite Irish Session Tunes”. Are these the same set up but with different tunes? (sheet music, CDs, accompaniment, you on “D” whistle, etc.) If so, do you recommend one over the other for learning new tunes.

In a Galaxy far, far away… I was a high School Band Director, so I’ve picked up the technical aspects of the whistle pretty quickly and am now ready to just learn some tunes.

17

Absolutely all different tunes in each book. . . i mean, having the same tunes in separate books would be a little over-the-top OCD, wouldn’t it? :smiley:

And the tunes in those books are different than the 72 in THE COMPLETE IRISH TINWHISTLE TUTOR.

here are the complete tune contents listed on these pages:

http://www.lemccullough.com/LEMcCullough/Music-CITTunebook.html

http://www.lemccullough.com/LEMcCullough/Music-SessionTunes.html

both are equally useful for learning tunes you don’t know, or a different version of what you do know.

and the accompanists are terrific: Don Meade and Brendan Dolan on the Tunebook, Nancy Conescu and TH Gillespie on the Favorites. . . and D whistle at all times.

Best,
LE

18

Let’s not forget the great sea shanty…the Gilligan’s Island theme!! :laughing: I’m not that proficient in music theory, so I couldn’t tell you if it was 4/4’s or 12/8’s…need to read up on that!!!

I did not realize that there were two books! Very cool! I have the Tune Book and love not only to learn from it, but I have it on my ipod just to listen to all the wonderful music!!

thanks for the smiles this afternoon!

Nancy
Crivitz, WI

19

Great idea Nancy… When I get mine, I’ll rip the CDs to MP3s and put them on my Blackberry. Then I can practice while at lunch using LE’s accompaniment!