Grey Larsen has agreed to start writing a regular column for the C&F newsletter. Coolness. He is likely to focus on playing techniques. He wants to start with a Q&A format and I’d like to ask you folks to submit questions. I’ll pick one or two for the first column, and then we’ll go from there. So, post your questions here.
Dale
Coolness, indeed!
Question: Can I play his flute? Just kidding.
Exceptionally cool!
(p.s. nice avatar, Dale 
)
(and you can’t play his flute Jim-your fingerpads would shed all over it)
I’ll shave!
Question: If the goal is to make stylistically sound and expressive music, at which point will technical analysis and classification become counterproductive?
I’d like to know how long it takes him to blow-dry his hair…
(SWAT team wrestles evil Emily to the ground…)
BTW,
Bloomfield, you have, in your own verbose way, described the reason why I can only spend a limited amount of time with Larsen’s book at one sitting…but I do think it’s mighty useful to be able to look up the technicalities of a given ornament when one is confused, or just can’t get it.
Question: When am I no longer considered a beginner? It’s just that you quite often see workshops offered for beginners or intermediate players or advanced players but you never see any definitions of whats what.
Andrew.
Andrew, when it’s Time you will know. 
I haven’t got his book yet, but I would like to hear about ornaments on the middle D, particularly crans (rolls?) and how he fingers 'em.
And you might as well drag him into the territory of improved cheapos versus premiums and what he prefers. Let’s make him squirm!!!
I remember reading a flyer for the Irish Arts Week, where they divide classes into Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced. IIRC, Intermediate required you to have a solid command of the technical aspects of ornamentation, to have an active repertoire of 200 or more tunes, to play in sessions regularly. Advanced meant a repertoire of 1,000 or more tunes and that you lead a session or peform regularly.
If this isn’t exactly what you wanted to hear, it may help to remember that very many people who crowd the “advanced” classes taught by Mary Bergin are still struggling with rolls (but can’t resist the big name).
and THEN we’ll mess up his hair.
No, I’m just kidding. I wouldn’t do that. Very nice, and courageous, of him to offer to field questions from a bunch such as this.
Well, here’s a question I’ve been tossing back and forth between a couple of folks, I’d value Grey’s input:
Does all Irish dance music have some degree of swing, no matter how subtle, or are some pieces (reels, say) ever played completely 100% straight?
Perhaps the same question phrased differently: if you play a reel or a jig completely straight but are using another technique such as breath pulsing to provide a bounce to the rythm instead of swinging it, I mean in place of instead of in addition to, are you still playing in a style that is authentic to the tradition?
Thanks for your input–I have found your book to be an extremely valuable resource.
–James
Question: do you ever use any of the keys, on an 8 keyed flute, with any of your rolls? Some uilleann pipers do this, and I wondered if flute players do. (follow up) When would a flute player use the Cnat key most, instead of the regular fingering?
PS: tell Grey this question is from “An Uilleann Piper’s Fruitcake Recipe” and he’ll get a nice laugh.
I’d like to hear about, well, anything. Expert opinion is always interesting.
PS: That avatar is a scream!
Very cool, indeed! I love the book. I’ve learned heaps and heaps of useful stuff from it.
Question for Mr. Larsen: What are your favorite whistle(s) and flute(s)? Why?
Hey Weeks, on his website he talks about crans in one of the tutorial things. He also has 3 different “tune packets” you can download for free.
Be forewarned: I downloaded the pdfs and tune packets and was possessed with the desire to own the book. I gave in, and am very pleased!
Aldon
I’ll second Jame’s question. I’d also like input on style.
Uhm…does he/did he practice scales? 
Andrew: Back on page one, you ask an incredibly important question that has elicited no comment. The differences between beginner/intermediate/advanced player levels seem to also be misunderstood - or ignored - in the hammer dulcimer world. I feel that beginner is pretty well understood (at least at its lowest levels), but the definitions of - and differences between - intermediate and advanced seem to be ignored by most planners of dulcimer festivals. Many classes are marked ‘advanced’, and yet they deteriorate quickly into repertoire sessions. Whether this is by design on the part of the instructors, or is a necessity caused by the ‘wrong’ level players attending the workshop, does not in the end matter. The whole thing has resulted in my not attending workshops in the last 5 years. I miss them… I am an experienced player, but I have SO much to learn… I would truly like to attend ‘real’ advanced classes…
Your analysis is correct. As near to reality as is possible, workshop planners for all instruments need to accurately define the differences between the levels - and then stick to those definitions.
Rant off.
Best.
Byll
I don’t know if it’s as easy as publishing definitions and sticking to them, as far as the whole question of level-of-playing goes. It’s probably easiest (but by far amazingly labor-intensive and time-consuming) to test the players and see what groupings seem to occur.
Given what I’ve seen at tionoil etc., one person’s definition of advanced is another’s beginner. The only de-jure system that I’ve seen work in the “traditional” scheme of things is in Highland piping, where you have various grades. Because of what they see and hear in competition, and because of competing, pipers are generally very accurate as to what grade they fall into. Of course, Scottish grades and North American grades are a little off, but once you learn the conversion coefficient it’s easy.
Stuart
But wouldn’t it be annoying to be someone with a repertoire of say, 60 tunes, a good sense of beat, and the beginnings of ornamentation, and be stuck with the group who can’t read music or play a scale yet?
Not that you, Bloomie, can do anything about the definitions…but doesn’t the word “beginner” imply a certain newness that those of us who’ve been fooling around with the things for numerous years, lack? Rhetorical question.