I have enjoyed hearing tin whistlers play two or three tunes in a row, usually starting with a slow paced tune, then a moderately paced tune, finishing off with a fast tune.
Is there a term to describe such a performance of tunes?
Would members be willing to share their recommendations of tune titles that work well for this fashion of playing?
Many thanks.
Well, one of the reasons that your original first post got no responses in the whistle forum is that what you’re describing is not really common at all.
True, sometimes the playing of a slow air will be followed by a dance tune or set of tunes, to lighten the mood and create a contrast. But the “trick” of playing successively faster tunes, changing tempos, is just that: a trick. Associated mostly with commercial bands and commercial, arranged recordings by the likes of Solas, Lúnasa, etc. It’s a kind of artificial showmanship, not really a fashion of playing.
Or there’s the Chieftains’ mixing tune types and meters and tempos up and down in a longer performance suite - an approach influenced, I think, by Ó Ríada’s original classically-derived concepts in Ceoltóirí Chualann, and which never caught on in the wild.
If you want do what you describe, just pick 3 tunes and do it. 
If you choose compatible tunes that are successively more “driven” - a single jig followed by a double jig, or a straight hornpipe followed by a reel - you can create the impression of increasing energy and lift. But that’s mostly in the nature of the tunes, and not in changing tempos.
Hope that helps.
Yeah, it’s trad as performance art. Strictly stage stuff. Not that that’s a bad thing; I do it myself, only not necessarily a faster-as-you-go trifecta. Maybe an air, waltz or slow reel followed by a rapid-paced reel (usually in the same key, as I like to do it). Sometimes the audience likes it. 
I’d give some personal examples, but I don’t want to give away proprietary info.
One thing that might have nice impact would be to take a jig and turn it into a waltz, and follow it with the jig in question. Some have taken reels, turned them into waltzes (yes, it’s not easy, but can be done), and then followed up with the original reel.
I dunno. If you want a three-fer, maybe air/hornpipe/reel.
What you describe sounds like the common practice in Scottish music of playing a march followed by a strathspey then a reel. This is a traditional approach within scottish music and is very common in sessions where Scottish tunes get played. Heard more often on fiddles and accordeons though than on whistles, due to the dominance of the first two instruments in the Scottish music scene.
If it is the MSR approach that you were thinking of, then I’d not entirely agree with Nanohedron (Nanohendron:“Yeah, it’s trad as performance art. Strictly stage stuff”). The MSR is quite “performancy” I suppose compared to a set of jigs or reels etc, but it definately isn’t “stagey” or artificail, it is a part of the Scottish tradition (which generally does feel/sound slightly more formal than the Irish tradition at least to my ears).
Cheers - Chris
Interesting points, Chris. MSR wouldn’t have occured to me, and I think you’re right about the greater formality.
Given the OP’s username, avatar, and the ITM Forum, I think Nano and I were interpreting the question in an Irish trad context.
Yeah seems more than reasonable
Here in Glasgow sessions can be either predominantly scottish or irish in repertoire. Our regular session in the Oran Mor basically irish with a smattering of Scottish from some oft he players. Occasionally (eg this week) we’ll get folks in who do a set or two of SMR. In other sessions in town you get a lot of these sets.
I stand corrected, and a bit more educated for it, Chris. Thanks. I know little of the Scottish Tradition, I am embarrassed to confess.
There’s one fellow I play with, a fluter, who has a set starting with a strathspey, then a reel, and then an even faster rant. Would this approach also fall recognisably within the Scottish Tradition?
rant?
Here’s one discussion on the matter, but it appears that most participants in it are dancers rather than musicians. Some differing ideas, but as I gather it, the upshot seems to be that a rant is intended to be played fast, and musically lies somewhere touching on a realm of character that includes reel/hornpipe/polka. I am prepared to be corrected on this. In any case, in The Skye Collection there are tunes, metered in 4/4, called rants.
back to the Irish again, in’he!
Gotta go with what I know, hey.
I rant all the time, but that’s another story.
I have been trying to get my head around english rant rhythms (as a change from the irish tunes). Found some useful info in the comments to this tune http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/3360. There are some clips of them played ‘country dance style’ here: http://www.asaplive.com/FARNE/Learn.cfm?ccs=229&cs=935
po|ta-toe chips z po|ta-toe chips z po|… for the dance, but the tunes often do stuff in the z so does not seem to be a good place to breath.
Hmmm I may have inadvertantly created the false impression that I know what I am talking about
I’m pretty much an Irish player, but like to listen to scottish music when I hear it. I don’t play any strathspeys etc myself, I don’t think they suit the banjo (to be honest I only like listening to them on the fiddle). But I know enough to recognise that the MSR thing is quite a standard type of set in scottish sessions.
For someone likely to know more about it though: is Big Davie reading this?
Tech note for cw67q:
Chris, you have BBCode disabled in your Profile, so your quote function is not working. You can enable it on a per-post basis by unchecking the “Disable BBCode” box in your post. Or go to your User Profile | Board Preferences | Posting Defaults, and turn it on globally.
Cheers!
Yep Chris I am reading this.
The March, Strathspey and reel set is a standard competition set in GHB piping competitions and currently within fiddle competitions, including in the Mod, (though in the fiddle competitions it is Air, March, Strathspey and Reel). There has been a lot of work put into tune selection and arrangements over the years and so a lot of the more popular sets have made it into the tradition. It may be that the current CCE senior instrumental competition rules (slow air + 3 other types of tune) has at least in part been taken from the Mod instrumental rules.
David
Davy, what is “the Mod”? Thanks!
Thanks MTGuru, I’ll try and do that now.
Oddly I read your message before logging in and thought my post looked fine. Then I logged in and the quote formatting disappeared.
Thanks Davie. - Chris
The Mod is a big annual festival of Scottish Gaelic culture. Lots of competitions for choirs, singers, music and poetry. It has been going for well over a hundred years. To an outsider much of the performances can seem very much on the more formal side of the scottish tradition.
Here are a couple of links:
http://www.acgmod.org/
http://www.scotland.org/about/entertainment-and-sport/features/culture/gaels-en.html
and of course
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_National_Mod
Thanks, Chris, much appreciated!