I have been around, giving my humble and typically uninformed opinion for some months now. However, that must now change.
Just today, I took a visit to Bro. Steve’s tin whistle pages and read the meditations. Reading this page made me realize just how much I don’t know - and how much I want to know. Please forgive me for saying this, but some parts of the page actually made me tear up a bit - embarassing for a 47 year old man, to say the least.
Usually, I use my lunchtime to read and comment in this fourm. I have enjoyed talking with like-minded people and I have gleaned a great deal from all of you - for that, I am grateful. However, it is time for me to “dig in” in earnest and really make something of this whistle obsession that I have. To that end, I will be searching out what I can on the internet and studying the books that I already possess on the whistle and practicing. Unfortunately, that means that I will no longer show my smiling (and idiotic) face on this forum for awhile. I’m sure that I will pop in from time to time to see what you guys are up to but, for a time, I will no longer be posting on this forum until I feel that I have the time and something more to contribute then some pedantic ramblings (see above).
I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, except that whistling and your esteemed company has come to be very important to me in a very personal way. I guess I’m on a journey to find out why.
This might be a good thing to do. However, I don’t really understand why you can’t post while you’re learning. We are all on a journey, and everyone is welcome here regardless of how far they have travelled. We are all learning and teaching here, some are learning more than teaching, and some are teaching more than learning. As long as you don’t become one of those who try to teach when you should shut up and learn, but I’m sure you won’t do that.
Whatever you decide to do, I wish you luck and hope you’ll come back soon enough.
Well, one reason for telling us this is so that we don’t start going “Where is shadeclan? Has anyone seen shadeclan?”.
I wish you the best of success with your practicing. My only advice (hmm…I guess you didn’t really ask for advice…oh well) is to make sure that whatever you are practicing (if you are talking about Irish music), be sure you can listen to an accomplished player play the tune on a CD. And spend a lot of time listening.
I would also have to vote for not leaving. For one thing questions will probably come up and often this is the best place to get answers from. I did read here for awhile myself and now much regret it and so recently returned to reading this board every day and even tossing out the odd comment or bird picture
So to sum up.. go on your journey but let C&F takes some steps with you.
I dunno, I often feel like I’m travelling backwards with my playing, and I keep expecting someone to pull my C&F membership card!
Seriously though Shadeclan, hitting the woodshed is a good thing to do, and sometimes this place can be a bit…distracting. No shame in signing off for a while, most of us who’ve been around for a while have done so from time to time (Jim Stone however NEVER seems to take a break), so you’re in good company.
Good luck with the practicing, and remember: Learning to play Irish Traditional Music is much like studying Zen:
“Learning Zen is a phenomenon of gold and dung.
Before you understand it, it’s like gold; after you understand it, it’s like dung.”
I think what shadeclan is suggesting is very mature. Sometimes we
have to spend time in a vaccum in order to think clearly about a
subject. Perhaps BroSteve’s “Meditations” section is very aptly
named…
Anyway, back to shadeclan. Sorry to see ya go, hope you come back
soon, and that you learn all you wish to. I like the exuberance and
joy your posts have displayed thus far. Don’t lose that.
Ya think he’s exuberant here? You oughta meet him in person!
Relax Woody-- you have the rest of your life to learn this humble little flute. Learning is not about the destination-it’s about the journey. Obsess about it too much and you run the risk of burning out.
Get to as much live traditional music as you can. Even if you’re not playing at the session, you’ll be amazed how much you learn by osmosis.
