Here’s the reason I want to play this music http://www.kerrywhistles.com/dl.php?group=23
4th file down
Totally inspirational. Does anyone here have a regular session that’s as good as this?
Who is Dave Williams?
Also does anyone have a tweak to make a Susato vsb sound a bit mellower?
That clip is my favourite clip too! Just check my topic to get the tune names and start learning.
Visit this site. You’ll learn a lot about the guy, the other guys (and the one and only Becky) and those sessions.
Thanks Ostekjeks, I’ll check out the site. To me this is about as good as it gets, I would feel blessed to be in the company of such great musicians.
I agree, great stuff, thanks again Mr. Hardy. I think it’s interesting how high the players’ fingers fly when they’re playing. I’d been thinking about this, and seem to recall some people recommend moving your fingers as little as possible to achieve “economy of motion.” But it seems so many good players really make 'em fly high, on whistle, pipes, fiddle even. And it seems to me that bringing them up high like that really helps with the precision, you can really pop them down and lift them off so much more quickly, ornaments really “pop,” and everythings sounds bright and burbly and snappy. Maybe this is common knowledge, but it helps for me to be reminded.
I’ve also decided to take a guitar to a session. I’m going to stuff foam under the strings near the bridge, not bother fretting anything, and just wail away frantically with a very thin pick. That’s what a lot of the guitar I hear sounds like anyway, even on some of the great videos posted there. Like a plasticky washboard.
Cut away the blade with an xacto knife, then glue a piece of a thin guitar pick to the inside of the bore so it forms a blade that’s closer to the top of the window than the old one. You can then trim it down gradually til you get the mellowness you want. Bloomfield knows a lot about this if I’m not mistaken. I’ve done it with great results, but I’m not sure if I’ve described it adequately, especially as it’s 2:30 am or something and i should really be asleep.
Very nice playing all around.
I’m find particullarly interesting the bohdran beat. It’s very modern, very much like a rap or rock beat (base and snare) with a swing, yet it still holds the traditional quality I ultimately desire.
I’ve been thinking about this, too. Classical music teachers always tell their students to move their fingers as little as possible off the instrument/keys/whatever, but in such videos, where you’ll find some of the very best musicians, they lift their fingers as high as it gets. You have some interesting theories, and I think it serves a purpose, too, but does anyone have experience with this and can tell me exactly what this technique does? Does lifting a finger high, and then slapping it onto the hole, makes it easier to get the ornaments right, maybe? Maybe having the fingers close to the hole makes it somewhat harder to get the tap precise. Is it also about the speed of your movement, as you can make the finger go on and off the hole quicker if its start position is further away?
I’d like to hear what you experienced musicians think. For all I know, it may just be a learnt faulty technique or just a individual thing.
I think learning to play keeping the fingers close to the tone holes helps with a number of things:
–it makes sealing the tone holes easier; you don’t have to go “hunting” with your finger to fine the tone hole;
–it promote relaxation in the fingers and hands, which helps speed and precision and also helps the player to avoid injury;
–it helps the beginner to hit the tone hole with the fleshy pad of the finger rather than just whatever part happens to land on the tone hole.
Later, as you progress, you may find yourself starting to lift your fingers higher off the whistle, but by then, you won’t need to keep your finger right over the tone hole to find it or seal it cleanly.
When you see professional-level playing, like in Phil’s clips, you are seeing folks who have played for years and years. They have tremendous energy along with tremendous control, and this is especially true of their fingers.
But if a learner tries to play with their fingers like that on purpose, I fear it’ll do their playing more harm than good. It needs to happen in its own time.
–James
Good point, I think it’s an “advanced” technique, and it may not fit every style. But it’s interesting how counter-intuitive it is that a larger motion can actually be more precise.