(sigh!) Not all are born to be virtuosos

Whistle
1

Sometimes I’ll be reading newbie posts here and I get the feeling I should be looking around for a yellow brick road or a man behind a curtain.

The responses, as often as not, assume for everyone a level of talent I can barely imagine, let alone hope to exhibit.

What airs should we know? How large a repertoire should we possess? How does one develop the finger speed of a Mary Bergin? Etc.

I’ve been playing with this thing for a decade now. I know a few dozen tunes and recognize as many more, though no one else might recognize them in my hands. But “memorized” ? I carry a little homemade fake book with me, just in case I have to look up the opening notes to jog my memory. And I’ve long realized that I’ll never, ever, be able to play “Irish Washerwoman” at anything near proper speed.

After this long, I should probably quit in disgust. But the whistle still helps me relax after a long day. And I still enjoy playing for little kids who don’t know - or care - that I just made four errors in “Garryowen”.

Just for the heck of it, am I the only one who can’t really play but won’t quit trying?

2

That statement applies to everyone in every field of human endeavor. In the fields where I am very good (there are a couple but not whistling), I look ahead and realize, good as I am in those fields, that I’ve barely scratched the surface of what could be done. In the fields where I’m not very good (whistling, among others), I look ahead and realize I’ve barely scratched the surface of what could be done. When I compare those two horizons, they’re in the same place - way, way out there with thousands of interesting things to learn along the way.

The only game I know that one can completely master in a very short time is tic-tac-toe. No one plays it more than a few times for precisely that reason.

Short answer to your question: “Yes, all of us.”

3

I keep trying, knowing I’ll never be very good but heck, I enjoy it. Doesn’t seem to bother me that I won’t be up to speed. I don’t/won’t put the time in that I should, but how much can a person truly learn on their own? At best, it’s a challenging diversion.

You might enjoy reading “This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession” by Daniel J. Levitin. It has a chapter on what causes a person to excel at music and the whole nature vs nurture debate. It’s a dry(technical) book, both musically and neurologically, but I enjoyed it, even though music is a more of a hobby to me.
I thought it was out of print, but it seems to be available now.

http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Brain-Music-Obsession/dp/0452288525/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244603270&sr=1-1

4

I can play piano, Great Highland bagpipes, whistles, accordions, drums and guitar. But that does not mean I play each of them like Rubenstein, Donald MacLeod, Finbar Furey, Phil Cunningham, Vinnie Colaiuta and Segovia!

I am very content in my abilities to be better at some of these than others, but never a true virtuoso. I keep trying to get a little better on each of them and always seem to make progress on something with practice.

As a friend of mine says, “When people ask me what instrument I play, I always tell them I’m a multi-instrumentalist, which means that I strive to suck equally at each of them.” :laughing:

I love music and I love being a musician. I make a little money playing the bagpipes for weddings and funerals and I make no money playing with an Irish punk rock band. I can’t imagine not practicing and performing music…

Cheers to everyone who endeavours to become better no matter their abilities!! :smiley:

Matt

5

Chuck, you are definitely not alone! Few may admit the level of playing they’ve actually obtained, but we are legend … :smiley:

I enjoy the whistle and the flute. Most of those who are forced to listen (always pity the poor family members!) to my playing don’t cringe, some even like it … and ASK for it. However, these are people totally unfamiliar with ITM. They don’t know they are listening to bogus music when I attempt “Fanny Po’er” or “Hector the Hero”. That not an important issue here. The sheer joy of music in any form has always been a main goal in my family. The poor musician will be applauded just as freely as the good. The Bible says to make a joyous noise – that I can do! :slight_smile:

Gotta say I did make some people very happy when I switched to playing mountain dulcimer more than whistle … :wink:

6

Why quit? You are enjoying it. It gives you new challenges and pleasures. I bet some folk enjoy listening to you, and that increases the amount of pleasure in the world…

Hell, no. I am in the position you were nine and one half years ago… and I aint going to quit. You should have made recordings all those years ago so you could listen now and see how far you have come.

Keep enjoying whistling.

7

Just remember - there’s always somebody better (and worse) than you… Even in his prime, Lance Armstrong lost bike races and Tiger Woods doesn’t win EVERY golf tournament he enters!

Keep plugging - you’re not alone!

Pat

8

Absolutely you are not alone. I have been playing now and hoarding whistles aplenty for 2 1/2 years now. While I’m fairly pleased with how I play and might even enjoy playing with others, it’s out of the question because these tunes, with a few exceptions, don’t stick in my head, and scores and music stands and sessions don’t mix, I understand. So, away I play, and like you, it’s a great way to unwind at the end of the day. Keep on keepin’ on!

Reg

9

You know what you know. This isn’t a competition.

10

:laughing: :laughing: I can’t get the hand of The Irish Washerwoman, and it has been three years.

11

Feh… It’s a scaly thing anyway. :laughing:

12

I hate you! :smiley:

13

Of course you’re not alone. OTOH, I don’t think it’s a sentiment that should be propagated willy-nilly.

I’ll give myself as an example. About 2 years into playing the flute, I posted something on the flute board about striving for mediocrity, and one poster said that I should set higher goals for myself. It hadn’t occurred to me that I should set my sights as high as possible. I’m not sure I’ve progressed beyond mediocrity, but I’ve damn well progressed beyond where I would have if I’d continued with my previous attitude. There are months at a time when I don’t feel like I’ve made any progress at all, interspersed with occasional epiphanies. What I want is never to have to say that my progress has been limited because I thought more effort was pointless.

14

Chuck Clark,
You are a hero to me.
Mack

15

Thanks, Mack, and eveybody else.

It isn’t all bad. Little kids at the park like to hear me and their mommies and babysitters are happy for the respite I bring, so they don’t complain.

Mack’s weighing in brings back another incident. A few years ago I was confined to a rehabilitation center/nursing home for a couple of months. TV sucks when its all you have, and my CDs got boring, so I asked my wife to bring in my Hoover brass narrow D. To assure not bothering anyone, I’d close the door when I played.

After a day or so, the head nurse asked if I was the one playing the “flute”? Thinking I’'d offended someone, I admitted culpability. She then said that the staff and other residents had asked if I’d leave the door open when I played.

So its true - your hearing really does fail as you age :laughing:

16

My current goal is one song at a time. First off, Amazing Grace. Next up will be one or two airs that my new music group will be playing that our singer will be singing, and not playing the whistle. The bodhran doesn’t make sense in those songs, and I hate to just sit there and twiddle my thumbs until they are finished!

17

Thanks Chuck! I’d always meant to start an “out of the closet” thread for remedial whistlers like myself, but never quite got up the gumption for it.

I consider myself an experiment in what musical progress can be made by an intelligent and (sporadically) motivated individual who has, alas, never shown any particular signs of musical aptitude… well, I was a good dancer, but that doesn’t involve making actual sounds! The answer seems to be “much slower progress than can be seen in those individuals blessed with talent”. I’ve seen people appear as newbies, and months later they post clips in which they’re much better whistlers than I am (sigh!). That’s often point at which I get discouraged and give up on whistling until the next spring…

I’ve discussed this discouragement with various people, and one friend pointed out how there is a cultural meme that music should be reserved for the talented few, who shall be anointed with special status to perform for the rest of us. At the other end of the sprectrum, in this vicarious, watch-but-not-do TV culture, it’s fair game to amuse ourselves by mocking the efforts of those who “put themselves out there” by playing music, yet who fail to live up to the standards (and tastes) expressed in our CD collections. There’s definitely a stigma to playing music “badly” – but then again, how else is one to learn?

I often wonder how different it was before the advent of recorded music, when, if you wanted music in your house, you had to pick up an instrument and make some happen. It seems that, in that context, there would be room for people at all different musical skill levels… or maybe I’m just idealizing the past. But it seems to me that there’s a participatory aspect to Irish music culture that speaks to an earlier era, a kind of golden age in between when mass production made musical instruments less rare and expensive, and the rise of recorded music, which set the standards of “ordinary music” so high that very few measure up.

18

I am certainly in the same or similar boat. Having come to whistles and flutes later in life, and not being blessed with great manual dexterity, there are definite limits to which I can aspire.

A couple of months ago, I went to a one-time flute class held at a conservatory, where most everyone else was a virtuoso, or would-be virtuoso. I reminded myself that the kids practiced 4, 6, or 8 hours a day, every day, and probably all started before age twelve. There is no chance I can ever “catch up,” given the nature of the instrument.

In the rare instances I meet other whistle players, I have an embarrassing tiny list of known tunes that I can even attempt to play, much less play at speed.

Still, I whistle away, though I have fallen off the wagon at times and gotten away from it. There is something about the music. Because of my difficulty in learning most tunes, and playing fast, mostly I play original tunes. When I perform in public, I often get many compliments. People are moved and touched by my music. That reward is plenty, even if I can never aspire to be as good as those kids at the conservatory.

As for SquidGirl’s comments about music only being for the top performers, there is some truth to that. Keep in mind that those new folks that post clips, are probably the top 10%. Those that aren’t much good usually don’t bother. For those of average talent and limited practice time, there are venues. There are sessions, song-circles, community choirs, folk music groups, and more. Certainly, even in those groups, there are a few prodigies or former prodigies in the mix. Still, most groups will welcome those that are willing to show up an play, or sing, or just listen and learn, as long as they have an idea about the limits of their current capability.

19

Marvelous post. Actually, in my time I’ve played at numerous instruments; whistle (of course), dulcimer (both types), trombone in high school and college band, recorder, celtic harp, keyboards. Note I said “played at” I didn’t say I played well. My HS bandleader actually voiced doubt about the judges’ hearing when our trombone trio won a medal at State. I know that I frequently feel cheated that however much I love music and want to make it, talent was not given in equal measure.

As you rightly suggest, in “olden times” if you wanted music, you had to make it. Fiddle, banjo, a hollow gourd or even a set of wooden spoons, whatever. Every town had their town band, and I imagine some were more quaint than melodic. “Professional” musicians were reserved for big cities, royal courts and occasional tours of the “sticks”. Sometime around the middle third of the Twentieth Century, recording and broadcasting equpment made it possible for musicians to be heard beyond the doors of the place - and Time - where they were performing.

Eventually, the current picture emerged, that of the non-musical, or at least non professional, taking to itself the role of “spectator”, sitting placidly and waiting to be entertained. Was it better before? Not really. My life would be different if I’d never heard Glenn Miller or Paul McCartney, that’s for sure!

I never realized until just now how much ITM, folk and bluegrass are really alike. They’re all places where the pros haven’t entirely taken over and there’s still a place for folks like us. Sort of, anyway.

I really appreciate the other comments in this thread. Its less easy to be discouraged knowing others have the same concerns.

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“As long as you know you’ve got something to learn, you’ll continue to improve.”
Matt Molloy