Hi all,
How do you, guys and girls, learn a new tune by ear (beginner level). I can’t read notes, so it’s the only way for me to go.
Do you try to learn the ornamentations right away, or do you first learn the melody. And from there, add the ornamentation as you progress. 
Any tips or advices are welcome.
Bernez
Learning by ear and sight;
Free,
http://www.tradlessons.com
http://www.tradschool.com
Ryan Duns’ tinwhistler.blogspot.com
Subscription;
http://blaynechastain.com/
(Yes, I’m a subscriber.)
There is Slowdowner/Audacity/etc software for slowing down tunes for learning strickly
by ear.
This is just a sample of what’s availble.
My daughter is a fiddler. She spent a couple of years taking lessons from a classical teacher. She kept telling her she wanted to learn Irish tunes. A few weeks ago she quit and went to an Irish teacher who teaches by the “call and answer” system. Last night she called me on facetime. She played a set of three polkas. They were all right on. She didn’t learn that many tunes in a year with the other teacher. I wish there was a whistle teacher here that I could afford to go to that teaches this way.
Ron
I can read music, but have learned all the ITM tunes I have by ear, mostly from recordings and sessions at full tempo. Learning by ear gives one the feel and bounce of the music that is not available by sight reading only. I found early on, if I could hum a tune, I could play it. I have leaned tunes at workshops by learning phrase by phrase, by ear. Best way to go IMHO.
First get the direction, then the shape and the details, then the ornaments. Then other ornaments that work to change up the ones used in that setting. Learn in chunks; phrase by phrase. Listen for when phrases begin and end, which is related to but not identical to when the musician breathes. Once you’ve got 'em, practice playing smoothly through the ends of phrases, because you don’t want to inadvertently teach yourself to get out of time at the end of every chunk. When you get better, vary the phrasing as well as the ornament.
You’ll find that irish tunes tend to recycle phrases, and that when you get to the back half of a section you’ll often discover that it’s mostly what you already know shifted around a bit with a couple of new bars at the end..
As a highland piper, I mainly learn tunes from written music.
But when I learn tunes on whistle or pipes from a friend who plays some other instrument I learn the tune by ear and the ornaments come at the same time. It’s just sort of natural.
There are a variety of approaches to teaching beginners. Some favor learn the tune and the feel of the tune. Some favor learn them rote with the ornaments. Some feel you should learn the tune and try to put every ornament everywhere they will fit, and then drop them out until you get something you like.
Eventually it will become natural.
I generally learn by ear but have the dots handy for passages where I can’t quite work out what’s going on. I can then see where the notes are going. I generally learn from sessions and cds. In fact I record the odd session so that I can learn at home. I generally get the basic melody of the tune well set in my head and fingers before I add ornamentation…but that’s my preferred way. I occasionally use ABC and midi files but only as an aide memoir and last resort.