Inspired by the recent post concerning Scoiltrad I have to ask, why isn’t there anyone offering flute lessons online? People (myself included) would pay for professional quality feedback for our playing.
I’m particularly interested in the style associated with E. Galway/Clare (e.g Coen, Rafferty). I can’t help but to think if there was a respected player from this region on line offering feedback for players interested in this style, not only would they make some money but they would, more importantly, help preserve a precious regional style.
Others would pay - correct me if I’m wrong - to learn how to play in the “irish style” generally (there IS a video out there or this…Mickey Zekeley from Lark in the Morning music).
On this forum a few players have offered sound clips for our study. These are the things that help me as a player. I see the irony of technology working to preserve tradition.
I endeavor to play the flute in the style associated with E. Galway/Clare. Given that there are books/CD’s already available - scant as they may be - I welcome and would pay for the guidance of someone in the region presently to guide my playing.
I salute the brave chiffsters who have put themselves in that vulnerable position.
There are a lot of accomplished players here, though, that jump right in and give advice when that happens. I pay careful attention to that publicly offered advice, too.
I must say though, the way you end up playing should really be the sum total of your own person and your musical experiences. I don’t think anybody got up in the morning and decided ‘I will go and develop such and such style’ and come up with something good anyway.
I would be one of the paying ones too. The nearest Session an hour driving away and through working time reduced to once in 2-3 months and meeting other fellow enthusiasts only with the same span, I would gladly welcome such an effort.
Whistle this is a nice thing, good example how it could work for the flutes.
So far, the on-line business model doesn’t seem to be working out for trad instruction, although I honestly don’t know the inside story of what happened with ST.
Jeff, you (and perhaps others) might consider directly contacting teachers who play well in the style you’re interested in, and see if they might be willing to tutor you (for a fee) via sound recordings on-line or through the mail: They record a bit of instruction and some tunes for you to learn and practice. And then, after a week or three of practice, you record your playing of the tunes/exercises and send that off to them for analysis, comment, and your next lesson. Essentially ST, without the on-line interface. Surely there are trad teachers out there willing to, or likely already doing this sort of thing, I suspect you just have to do some legwork to find out who.
I imagine it would take tremendous focus to learn a particular region’s style without spending significant time there. I know my style (whenever I develop it) will be influenced most by my local teacher(s), and even more so by the local sessions I attend. It’s only natural.
I’ve been experimenting with it (though haven’t really promoted it as of yet). I have a “guinnea pig” student who lives near Toronto that I’m teaching.
The way it works…
20 minute phone call
I follow up with a few mp3 and video files along with a readme file with comments) that I then package in a zip file that you can download
It’s a bit labor intensive at the moment (thus not promoting it so much) but my student really likes it… I’m sure I’ll get the workflow worked out so that the production takes less time but my student had the zip file to download just about and hour after our lesson. We do 2 lessons per month…
So I guess I’m kind of promoting it by mentioning it here but I’m just excited about developing this teaching medium. My friend and piper extraordinaire http://www.mikiesmyth.com/ both worked on distance learning technology during our stays at the University of Limerick… Mikie actually uses a webcam (which i don’t have the patience for as even if you have a fairly high speed connection is still poor at best)…
That sounds like a much better model than online-only, Blaine.
My teachers are both very busy, so I maybe get to see each a couple of times a year. I have once or twice sent one or the other of them the tune he’d tought me, a month or two after the last lesson. It beats the hell out of waiting another 3-6 months for feedback, but is no substitute for immediate feedback, including visual. I tried a few Scoiltrad whistle lessons and was underwhelmed, although I think Conal did a fine job for what it was.
I’m not a very social person, and I’m not a big fan at work of traveling just to press the flesh, but even I think there’s something to be said for being there in the same room with a flute teacher – playing a tune through, getting feedback, playing it through with bigger accents here, feedback, playing it with more lilt . . . You don’t get that via email.
Speaking of which, I’m having my first lesson since (I think) February tomorrow. Yee Haa!
I’ve done it too, with Apple’s iChat program…all of the newer Macs have webcams and microphones built into them although as Harry said it works a lot better with headphones and a separate mic, and you really do need a fast connection. There’s a bit of a delay sometimes, and the picture can go haywire if there’s a lot of internet traffic, but it does work pretty well. If necessary it can also be done with sound only, using Skype or AIM or iChat voice chats, which are free and have reasonably good sound quality (about as good as a good cell phone call).
It’s a very promising opportunity for both teachers and students, and the technology and availability of broadband finally seem to be coming together.
Thanks for the replies. Sounds like the technology is there…or at least getting there. I’m thinking there’s probably a farmer or postman somewhere in Clare who plays the flute in exactly the same style I’m interested in. Hopefully, I’ll soon be able to allow that person to teach me (assuming that person is willing).
I continue to hold out hope that the regional styles will endure. I absolutely love to hear the flute styles associated other areas but I personally have been captivated by a certain style. I’ll have to do some research to hook up with a good instructor. In the meantime please let me know if you know of anyone who can provide flute lessons in the E. Galway/Clare style electronically. Though far from rich, I’d bust the piggy bank open for such an opportunity.
I think that is a very valid point Peter. Comming from a Jazzy improvisational style I don’t want to loose my own style which I worked at cultivating. This is my take on Irish and Scottish music…there are certain “riffs” that make Irish/Scottish music sound like Irish/Scottish music, just like Blues sounds like Blues. The trick is finding the “riffs” and applying it to your own style. Rolls, taps, slides, and grace notes add a lot of “Irishness” to Irish music…and so does the rhythm which (unlike a lot of music) is unbalanced which gives the iconic “pitch” or “sway” that makes Celtic music so appealing. IMHO
The hard part is that these attributes are not immediately identifiable for the learner, partly because they happen very fast, and also they meld so well and are often not notated in the score. I have also found that books (even Gary’s) does not spend enough time and offer dissections of these attributes.
I’m particularly interested in the style associated with E. Galway/Clare (e.g Coen, Rafferty).
Jeff, sorry for coming across this thread a bit late. You’ve had some excellent offers already. Since you particularly mentioned Mike Rafferty, I’ll just add to your choices. I’m a current student of his 8 yrs and I do give e-lessons from time to time. Though I don’t have the high tech stuff, I can send and receive tunes via mp3 attachments as described, and use the Paypal system for it. I give the tunes the way I’ve learned them, so my students basically learn the “Mike way” of the tunes. This week is a bit of a blitz for me, but send me a pm or email if you are interested and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
