Hi, all! This is my first post as a member (I’ve been lurking around anonymously for about 6 months now). Anyway, a quick question: I was browsing the sheet music for a particular tune online, and came across the notation for a roll on middle D. Is there an easy way to do this that I just don’t know about? I’ve seen most all other rolls used, but this one just seems akward…
Matt
May not be the best way, but I find that something like:
XXX XXX
XXX XX0 or XXX 0XX (cut)
XXX XXX
000 XXX (“tap”)
XXX XXX
Works reasonably well for me. For this one, I don’t vent the high D - ie, XXX XXX, not 0XX XXX
A heck of a lot easier (for me) than one-handed rolls.
On a middle D, you’d want to do a cran rather than a roll, if you really must do something there. To play a cran on the whistle in that situation, use two cuts, for example
d{e}d{f}d
Typically you hear this played not evenly, but the first d stretched. But if you listen closely, very often the middle d does not get much ornamentation on the whistle.
A couple of points: Crans on a whistle are different from crans on pipes (which are topic unto themselves, as I gather). Also think about whether it wouldn’t be nicer to either just play a straight d, or to use a group of three eigths there: dBd or ded or dfd.
And dare I suggest that you listen to a recording of the tune you are trying to play? 
Here’s another approach for a roll on middle D:
xxx xxx
xxx xox
xxx xxx
xox xxx
xxx xxx
For me, it depends on the rhythmic effect I want. Cranns are nice and bubbly, and I favor them, but sometimes I want something more straightforward and defined-sounding.
Too, the fingering you’d best use will depend on your instrument.
Thanks, guys. Actually, the reason I was browsing the sheet music was because I wasn’t having much luck figuring out the fingerings from the recording (it was a Chieftains clip, played on the pipes). I guess I just couldn’t pick out a quick cran from a roll on that particular piece. Oh well, thanks!
Matt
keep in mind that one trick to keep in the rolling-notes arsenal is double-tonguing. i’m personally not a big fan of doing a real roll on either high or low d. my solution is usually to avoid having to actually roll altogether the d thru phrasing. this can be accomplished in one of three ways: 1) phrase the tune such that you end on the d, 2) sustaining the d, or 3) dipping up to E or down to the C#. it’s quite fun for variation to do all of the above in a tune with alot of d notes around (e.g., in ‘speed the plow’). Where i must do a roll on a d I usually double tongue it. works okay. real cranning on the D often (at least for me) turns into a slop fest.
You know, a couple of years ago, I spent a good bit of time worrying about D rolls, D crans, whatever. The notion was mostly justified by books.
More recently, I started studying the flute playing of Peter Horan pretty hard, particularly (for the purposes of this conversation) his playing of “Devils of Dublin.” The tune has a bunch of spots that I would consider “logical rolls” – middle D for the length of three eighth notes – and indeed, they are notated as rolls in the Peter Horan section of Trip to Sligo.
But listening to the two commercial solo recordings he made of this set, I don’t think he plays a single D roll even once in the tune. He has all sorts of different constructions for the “logical D roll”: from just holding D, going down to C and coming back (two different rhythms for this), something which I think is going back and forth between D and the A beneath (but I’ve never checked closely enough to be sure), a D-C-B descending pattern, variations that involve taking a breath, plus probably one or two other things I haven’t caught onto yet. If the D roll starts on the off-beat, he usually seems to just play two eighth note Ds with the third eighth a breath.
Now, I won’t say this is how he always plays (I haven’t noticed differently, but then, I haven’t studied the matter that carefully) or that no one rolls on D.
But these days, I spend a lot more time worrying about interesting musical variations for those “logical D rolls”, and a lot less time worrying about perfecting my actual D rolls.
Very good points, Colomon.