Hi,
I wonder if anybody out there has tried to use the whistle to play Scottish music in a Scottish way, I mean, not just playing Scots tunes in an Irish way but experimenting borrowing phrasing or ornamentation from living Scottish traditions.
Cheers,
Manuel Waldesco
I know there is a Scottish tradition of whistle playing, I just don’t know if there is or where the information on it is. Also, a useful approach might be to find information on the ornamentation and style of other instruments, such as the fiddle and bagpipe. Information includes recordings, music notation, instructional books, and actual people that do that sort of thing who might be performing, actually able to talk to you or willing to give lessons. I have listened to a lot of older country and bagpipe recordings, as well as a lot of classical music, as well as playing the baritone sax in my high school stage band, giving me a rather idiosyncratic sound to my whistle playing. I tend to play Scottish music in a style imitating the Highland pipes.
Hwistle,
Here is a link that someone suggested I should check out, it may have some examples of what you are looking for.
http://users.argonet.co.uk/users/gatherer/whist.html
Kathy
Since my first love in Celtic music is Scottish, play pipes, I have always played those tunes on whistle. I had never thought that they are played a bit differently(since I hear them in my head as a pipe tune that’s the way I play them). But hey, whatever works for you, I always follow Foggy Dew with Cock of the North.
A related question; what is the interval that people play on the highland pipes when two pipes are playing close harmony? What key of whistle played reading the music as if the whistle was a D would come out in that form of harmony when played with a D whistle?
[ This Message was edited by: Rod Sprague on 2002-08-10 14:36 ]
I belong a group called Border Folk in Scotland. We play all sorts of Folk tunes and a lot of Scottish tunes. Most play well but ornamentation can be difficult at the speed of some of the scottish Jigs. Tunes we play. Jimmy Allen. Shetland two step. Highlanders Revenge. Highjland Cathedral. Caledonia just to name a few. Ian Lothian our tutor and leader writes a lot of tunes as well.
I found a nice, easy pipe piece, a lament, and play it on the whistle almost as written, though I’m pretty lousy on my throws on D. It takes a mental disconnect to look at the music and play it as if I had a chanter in my hands as opposed to the whistle, but doable.
Neil Gow fiddle tunes do nicely on the whistle!
I started on the Pipes so naturaly my towsey 'heid is cluttered with GHB Tunes moreso than anything else.
There I was at the GJ Games last year, trying out Mack Hoovers whistles.. the quietest, mellowist and easiest to overblow whistles on the planet I am standing on. HE hands me a Low G Susato, and says “its likely your only chance at playing a whistle.. Its yours now”.
Not choosing to adapt myself to the tool, I adapted the tool to fit me. To include more agreaable tuning. I have arrived at what I affectionatly refer to as “the thing that should not be” the Catywampus Whistle. Feel free to contact me offlist Jan 2003 or thereabouts.
It doesnt do Birls (I substitute a “din”), grips or throws, however Toarluaths are possible albiet a bit weak. Standard doublings work very well, echo beats from top hand notes slamming down hard to lower notes work ok, but dont come out all that hard. Forget about thumbsweeps on the top hand, as in “clumsey lover” pt #6.
Most of the Pipe Tunes I play do come off quite well. “Masons Apron”,“Duncan Johnstone”, “Fleshmarket Close”, 79ths, Mist Covered Mountains, Alan MAcPherson Mosspark to name a few.
Maybe you should get a whistle that has holes structured like a bagpipe chanter…also with the same number of holes, of course. (I think I’ve seen one somewhere on the internet, but I don’t know where). You could also make one that way (web site with instructions on doing so:
http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/chanter.htm)
you could also get a whistle in mixolydian mode…(http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/kadima/whis-metal.htm)
I hope that helps.