Question about some parts of Tim Finnegan's Wake

Whistle
1

The one I’m trying to improve my playing of is in The Clarke Tin Whistle book and CD by Bill Ochs, on page 35.

The eighth and sixteenth notes highlighted in the photo above are tongued on the CD, but seeing that it’s an Irish tune, I probably should try to use cuts/strikes more for the repeated notes. Right now I’m using tongue, cut -and sometimes strike- combos and it doesn’t sound bad to these newbie ears.

For those who play this version (There’s one a little different at the Wandering Whistler site.), do you use all cuts? This is a little difficult for me to do at the tempo I usually play it at, but do you think it would be good to work on this now and build up cutting speed?

2

Possibly alternate the cuts with taps, doing some extended rolls? Nothing un-Irish about throwing in some tonguing either, as far as I can tell.

3

Well, since Bill wrote it out that way, I guess he wants you to play it that way. :slight_smile: Meaning, with those notes tongued. Either single tongued (TA TA-TA TA), or double tongued (hard: TA TA-KA TA or soft DA DA-GA DA).

To figure out what else you could do with it, there are several different approaches.

First, you can realize that the tune is really the melody to a song, with lyrics. So go take a look at the lyrics on Mudcat ([u]click here[/u]). Then try singing along, and notice how the words suggest different rhythmic variations of the melody.

[Tim] Finnegan lived in Walkin’ Street: |B/B/ B BA|Bd ef|
{He] had a brogue both rich and sweet: |BB BA|Bd ef|
[And to] rise in the world he carried a hod: |g f/f/ ed|e/e/ f g2|

and so on. Any of those variants would sound good, appropriately tongued.

Another approach is to notice that the form of the tune, as written, is that of an Irish 2/4 polka.

Now normally, when you have repeated notes over 3 beats (i.e. 3 eighth notes here), you’d think of substituting a full roll: |~B3 A|Bd ef| = |B{c}B{A}B A|Bd ef|. But that’s not so true for a polka, where you want the strong beats to stay strong and distinct. Which brings you back to the variant patterns above, or possibly a few other polka patterns, such as |B>B BA|Bd ef| or |B2 B>A|Bd ef|, with a bit of dotted swing, and again with some degree of tonguing.

You can also play around with phrasing patterns, such as |B/B/ B ({c}BA|B)d (ef)|.

There’s no one right solution, but there are several wrong ones which break the polka rhythm.

I’d say it’s OK, as a learning exercise, to experiment with different cut and tap patterns, like |B {c}B/{A}B/|{c}Bd ef|. But keep in mind that these cuts and taps may not give you the best effect, aesthetically. In general, polkas rely less on rolls, and more on tonguing/phrasing, and cuts on the strong beats.

Welcome to the world of Irish trad music. :wink:

4

I’ve only done rolls a few times, and mostly by accident. It’ll be a while until I tackle them, it’s still a challenge to throw in a cut between two different notes. Will have to eventually get some music by players that use tonguing more. The only tin whistle stuff I have is Mary Bergin- Feadoga Stain 1 & 2, and Micho Russell- Traditional Country Music of Co. Clare. Oh, and a few others from the Clips & Snips page.

Well, since Bill wrote it out that way, I guess he wants you to play it that way. > :slight_smile: > Meaning, with those notes tongued. Either single tongued (TA TA-TA TA), or double tongued (hard: TA TA-KA TA or soft DA DA-GA DA).

Yeah, he probably does. :slight_smile:
Doing TA TA-KA TA has a nice effect on the “bounce” of the tune. I’m just trying not to fall into the newbie-tonguing-too-much category of players. Maybe I’m trying too hard, that’s been known to happen. :blush:

But keep in mind that these cuts and taps may not give you the best effect, aesthetically. In general, polkas rely less on rolls, and more on tonguing/phrasing, and cuts on the strong beats.

Welcome to the world of Irish trad music. > :wink:

Not sure why I’m rushing ahead with this. I haven’t even reached the articulation/ornamentation part of the book yet. I should go with my instincts and concentrate on phrasing and rhythm, while keeping the cuts and taps simple until more familiar with ITM and the whistle. Time to put the Micho Russell CD to one of the top spots in the rotation and soak in some of that Irish rhythm.
Thanks for the help. :slight_smile: