Hi,
I was wondering, what does greensleeves, panpipes and newly composed original tunes got to do with the subject matter of this forum, namely Irish traditional music? The topics on this board nowadays seem to have little in relation to discussions on Irish traditional music, the musicians, their styles, sessions etc.
Some people would probably say “instead of complaining, why dont you start a few on-topic threads?” Yeah I can see their point, but I still feel that the board would benefit from retaining some form of focus. Check out Bloomfield’s Welcome post: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=5288
Well Eld, I just started an on-topic thread. Look at the interest that’s generated.
In fairness to the regulars, I must say that I think discussion here is usually much more focused than on the main board. Also, in my thread, I didn’t ask a question, I simply recommended a pure drop CD. People who haven’t heard it are probably not in a position to comment. That wouldn’t deter people on the main board, it’s perhaps a good thing that it does here. The information is still there for anyone who’s interested and still will be there when it slips from the first page.
Here, Here!! Lets get back to our roots. Lets have some more transcriptions, lets have some more talk on the tradition cause I bet most of us don’t know it all and could benefit from some discussions. I’d even be willing to get the ball rolling myself on a transcription or two.
Fair point, Eldo, but you’ll note that the mildly “offending” posts came from newcomers who were probably not fully aware of this forum’s somewhat purist ethos. So I hope they won’t be put off by your gentle slap on the wrist.
Perhaps Bloomers’ welcome could be made a sticky thread?
Hmm nope I wasn’t talking about your thread Wombat.
And Roger I think thats a good point. I hope I didn’t scare off any newbies to the forum, but I did feel it was something that was worth bringing up before this board becomes a Postructural Irish Traditional Music forum.
I’ve just sent Rich a PM suggesting that he applies some superglue to Bloomers’s welcome thread - and in checking it out noted that I was myself guilty of some poststructural levity therein.
BTW, it may be that the mere mention of “green” in Greensleeves created some subliminal confusion in the poster’s mind, and in fairness the panpipes thread does include some reference to ITM, even if the instrument itself is more new-age-paracelticoidesque than pure-drop.
I know you weren’t Eld, and I hope I was careful to explain why my remark wasn’t a case of sour grapes. But look at the number of hits those OT threads have attracted. I’m not sure I like what that is telling me.
The Greensleeves query was definitely in the wrong place, but I think the other threads mentioned had a right to be here. The panpipes query was about playing an Irish tune on the panpipes, and the original compositions were tunes that could be played in an Irish style. I think you’re being a bit harsh Eld.
Plus, maybe, just maybe, the requests for constructive criticism of original tunes were posted here because the composer thought they’d get a better or more useful response out of the more refined audience who frequent this area of Chiffdom.
Greensleeves was originally a Tudor-era English song, am I correct? And yet it is featured for some reason in O’Neill’s original collection of 1850 tunes among the double jigs, #994 on page 185. Curiosity up, I decided to check the thread in question and saw that Pat Cannady had also pointed this out. Either the Irish got it from the English, or might it have been vice-versa? And for what it’s worth, it sounds like a single jig to me. Still and all, most single jigs don’t sound all that “Irish” to my ears in most cases. Where’s a musical archivist when you need one?
Plus, maybe, just maybe, the requests for constructive criticism of original tunes were posted here because the composer thought they’d get a better or more useful response out of the more refined audience who frequent this area of Chiffdom.
Agreed. The response that I recently gave re: a particular tune was very difficult to do, by the way. Combining honesty, tact and constructive observations (in which I hope I succeeded) is good exercise, I’m thinking, especially when we consider that somebody is taking a big risk by exposing his/her creative efforts to public comment. That take guts.
Hmm.. a couple of replies to make here…
Martin: I agree that my tone was on the harsh side but still I stand by what I was saying in my first post. It could have been said better thats true.
Nano: I’m not disputing that it takes guts to post an original tune in public for criticism. However the threads on newly composed tunes and critique had little to do with ITM, and I think, would more apt on a general board like our postructural whistle forum.
My 2 cents.
At first I found myself agreeing with you on this, Eld, but then I started thinking: all tunes are composed by someone. Doesn’t matter when. One hundred years hence, I’ll bet that a new tune or two composed today will be a solid part of the tradition. So, I’m thinking that composition ought to be as acceptable a subject here as on the whistle board, perhaps moreso. Or were you thinking Clips ‘n’ Snips would be preferable as a venue for this?
Hmm yes all tunes were newly composed at one time I guess thats a given. But for them to be relevant to the topic of traditional music, I think, they ought to be accepted/integrated into the tradition first. A rough indicator of that is how widely/well it gets accepted as a session tune in Irish music sessions, etc.
I think its a good idea to put posts of this nature to the Clips and Snips board where . That board seems currently under utilised and not fulfilling its potential. There’s a drawback to that though, is that not many people browse that board as often. So maybe the whistle board might be the best option for now?
