I’m another newbie jumping into the whistle world. I’ve been playing about 6 months, and decided to checkout Scoiltrad’s tutors based on some good recommendations on this very message board. I haven’t submitted my sound clip for assessment yet (been putting it off because I don’t have a “suitable” take yet – I guess it’s my perfectionism coming out).
I was just wondering what to expect from the assessment. Have any of you tried it? Did you get good, useful feedback from the instructor? Would you use Scoiltrad again?
Thanks!
p.s. I’ve gotten some very very good tips just reading this board, and am very impressed with how warm & welcoming this community is to newbies.
Conal O’Grada is a professional flute/whistle teacher so you can expect him to say only what is appropriate and relevant to your particular level and style of playing and of course offer encouragement ….This is what you will get, nothing more nothing less.
Desert whistler,
Don’t send a clip of you playing at your best..
..send one that is more representative of what you can do consistently.
Just be natural and be yourself.
Mistakes [and real life] are what we learn from.
I’ve done 4-5 lessons through Scoiltrad and sent them all in for assessment. Conal is very friendly and helpful. The assessments have included positive comments on aspects of my playing with specific suggestions on where to make improvements, including ways to practice certain things (for example, rolls) that will help. I’ve been quite surprised at how much he can tell about my playing just by listening to clips.
And Boyd is absolutely right - don’t wait until you’re playing it “perfectly.” For one thing, if you’re getting into bad habits with something, waiting to send it in only gives you time to reinforce those mistakes. If you were taking piano lessons, would you wait until you could play Fur Elise (poor bedraggled piece) like Beethoven before you ever went back for your next lesson?
For people who don’t have a local teacher available, I think it’s a great tool.
I have taken several lessons on both whistle and flute.
It has greatly helped all aspects of my playing. I can’t say enough good things about the Scoiltrad lessons.
Of course, if you have access to a local teacher, I think nothing beats one-on-one…but, for those who live (as I do) where that is not possible, Scoiltrad is the next best thing, and Conal O’Grada is a great teacher.
Yes, I’d be happy to give more info. The site is http://www.scoiltrad.com. Basically, it is an on-line Irish music school. You pay $14.95 (don’t know what that translates to in Euros) which allows you to download a “lesson.” Each lesson teaches you one song. The lessons are categorized Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. For the Tin Whistle at least, there are several songs available in each category. Once you have learned the tune, and feel ready, you record an MP3 of yourself playing the tune and email it back to the instructor for assessment. That’s the part I was asking the question about on this post.
I won’t recap all the components of the lesson – the site is pretty self-explanatory. They even let you download a free sample. Of course, you can’t send in a tune for assessment unless you pay.
So far, I’ve been very impressed with the lesson I selected (“The Rights of Man”). Based on the feedback I’ve gotten here, I’m going to record my assessment this weekend and send it in (no more Mr. Perfectionist!). I’ll let you know how it goes.
Hello Folks
Conal O Grada here from Scoiltrad. Just to concur with what Susan said in an earlier post, it is absolutely the right thing to get your mp3 in for assessment early. This way you get to benefit from the advice before putting in rakes of time practicing and therefore practice the right things the right way.
Beir Bua
Conal
P.S. just back from a brief dip into the Willie Week…fierce craic entirely !
Based on the feedback I’ve gotten here, I’m going to record my
assessment this weekend and send it in (no more Mr. Perfectionist!). I’ll
let you know how it goes.
Just another rave for Conal’s teaching style here.. he has a real gift for
being able to clearly identify what you need to work on and how,
while at the same time making you feel good about what you can already
do well.
I think if you send up the recording including the things you have difficulty
with, he can tell you how to fix them, which is much better than trying and
trying without someone to help.
I followed the good advice I got on this post and submitted my assessment. Conal gave me some great feedback. I’m glad I didn’t wait any longer, since I found that I was practicing my cuts wrong. Now I can reverse myself before my improper technique became too ingrained. However, as the previous post pointed out, he also did a very good job on zeroing in on what I was doing right.
BTW. Some advice for other newbies like me: Recording yourself is very very useful. I do a weekly recording of the tunes I’m working on, and it definitely helps, since I can sometimes find flaws when I listen to the recording that I didn’t catch when I was actually playing the tune. Also, when I’m feeling discouraged, all I have to do is play a recording that’s a month old and I feel much better. I can definitely hear the progression.
This is very good advice! I hadn’t thought of it (not that I ever think of ANYTHING good like that! ). I think I’ll go ahead and record myself playing one of the tunes I’ve been practicing.
I am planning on taking a few classes from Scoiltrad as well…just have to get settled in our new house, and I think get a cable modem hooked up too. I despise dial up!
am planning on taking a few classes from Scoiltrad as well…just have to get settled in our new house, and I think get a cable modem hooked up too. I despise dial up!
Oh, broadband is absolutely requisite! Dialup is so 20th century Definitely try the Scoiltrad lessons. They are well worth the money.
Cheers
p.s. I originally hail from the midwest as well. Iowa instead of Ohio. I think it’s funny how people always confuse Idaho, Iowa and Ohio. I saw a perfect T-shirt one time that I wish I had purchased. It read: “University of Iowa, Idaho City, Ohio”
). I think I’ll go ahead and record myself playing one of the tunes I’ve been practicing.
Definitely try the Scoiltrad lessons. They are well worth the money.