I’ve just confirmed an interview with at least one member of the Tannahill Weavers on the subject of whistling in Scottish music. I’ve been doing some reasearch on the subject and have some ideas of what to ask but I wanted to ask for suggestions from the forum.
What would you like to know about whistling in Scottish music in general or in the Tannahill Weavers’ music in particular?
Ask Phil why he’s still the only professional traditional flute player of Scottish music in Scotland some 30 years after Matt Molloy’s first recording came out. And tell him kenny says, “Fit like ?”…
You could pretend you’ve got them confused with Silly Wizard. That should get them going. 
Maybe I should be interviewing you! 
Regarding your questions, is there a story I should know here? You’ve got me curious…
Ask them why we haven’t seen them in the Los Angeles area for years.
And if Phil wants to contribute to a Wooden Flute Obsession CD.
Kevin Krell
Hi, Craig. The background to my suggestion for a question is this, and I apologise for the length of it.
I’ve known Phil Smillie and the “Tannahill Weavers” since they started playing Scottish folk clubs and festivals in the early 1970s. At that time, to my knowledge, there were no musicians playing Scottish traditional music on the wooden “simple-system” flute. Eddie McGuire was playing flute with the “Whistlebinkies”, and Sean O’Rourke with the “JSD Band”, but at that time both were playing silver Boehm system flutes. Eddie still plays Boehm system but Sean later switched to “simple-system”. There may have been flute players in the Irish communities of the larger cities in Scotland, but they , of course , were playing Irish music, not Scottish. Phil, myself and Jimmy Young in Edinburgh all took up the wooden flute around the same time, playing Irish music to begin with, but also increasing the amount of Scottish music in our repertoires.
I mentioned Matt Molloy and his first recording because that had a major impact in increasing the number of flute players in Scotland at that time, and in fact I think it was Phil who handed me a cassette tape recording of the “black” album before it was possible for me to buy it in Scotland.
My point is that it is now some 30 years since that LP came out, and since Phil, Jimmy and I started playing flutes in the Scottish folk scene. Despite our best efforts, and the efforts of many others, I still don’t think that the flute is accepted as a “true” traditional instrument in Scottish music, and it is certainly not accorded the status it is in Irish music. Most Irish bands have flute as a main instrument. Phil is the only musician I know of in a Scottish band who has the “simple-system” flute as his main instrument. There are many, many recordings of solo Irish flute players. I know of only one recording of Scottish music on flute, and that is by Chris Norman, who is Canadian. The situation with the tin-whistle is almost identical.
I suppose what I’d be interested to know is what Phil thinks of the state of traditional flute-playing in Scotland today, how it compares to the past, and where it is going. I’d be very interested to hear his thoughts on the subject.
Could you please also ask him if he’s going to the Auchtermuchty festival in a few weeks, which I know he has gone to in the past. If he is, please tell him we can discuss the subject over a few pints and tunes.
Many thanks.
Kevin and Kenny, I may or may not talk to Phil. Colin has confirmed with me, but I did invite Phil, too, since they’re both whistlers. Kenny, to be honest I wasn’t sure if your question was hyperbole at first but I now understand what you mean by “traditional flute” (meaning the instrument itself and not just the music / style) so thanks much for the clarification.
What Kenny writes about the flute strikes me as true about the whistle as well. It seems to have been popular in Scotland since at least the invention of the Clarke whistle in the first half of the 1800s and popular bands like the Tannahill Weavers have been selling recordings featuring it prominently for decades now, and yet information on the “Scottish whistling tradition” seems relatively difficult to come by. It’s sort of amazing to me that some of the whistlers mentioned in Nigel Gatherer’s history were barely even recorded. (Or if they were recorded, their recording are very hard to come by.)
At any rate, I’d like to make at least a small contribution to the public “Scottish whistling knowledge base” with this interview, but my limited whistling experience leans much more towards Irish music, since my books, my teacher, and my session are all focused on ITM. Hence my request for questions from others.
Kevin, have you emailed Phil about the WFO CD? You can find his address here. I don’t know how often he checks his email, but the band seems very approachable to me.
Hi Craig
If you are looking for nice whistle playing in a Scottish style, then try listening to Annie Grace (Iron Horse and the Annie Grace band) or if you ever get the chance Kenny himself (he is a s**t hot player on both whistle and flute in both Irish and Scottish genres).
David
I’ve no questions to contribute, but please do tell them that we’d love to see them here in Santa Barbara again! (I guess this qualifies as the “Los Angeles area” if you stretch it a bit.)
I poked around a little and listened to some samples, but none of them seemed to have any whistling. Before I comb her entire repertoire, any recommended tracks?
Would love to, although that’s a big “if.” I’m lucky to have been to Scotland once.
Thanks for those kind words “BigDavy”. [Cheque’s in the post!] In the words of that famous Scottish philosopher, Rab C.Nesbitt, “Ach, ah dae ma best”.
If you want a really good example of whistle playing by a Scottish player, get hold of the CD by piper/singer and whistle player Julie Fowlis. It just came out at the beginning of theyear, and features a couple of members of “Danu” as well. Best playing of Scottish music on whistle I’ve heard in years, and her singing is superb, too.
Hi kenny
Nothing but the truth your playing is s**t hot. Especially your strathpeys and airs.
Why don’t you post a set of strathspeys on the flute on clips and snips and/or a nice slow air and show them how it should be done.
David
Before you interview the Tannies, Craig, you ought to realize that Northumberland is not currently part of Scotland. (If it were, it would be southeast, not northeast, so the website you link to would not be “FARNE” but “FARSE” 
).
Thanks; I fixed that line. I also hadn’t realized that the Northumbrian smallpipe and Scottish smallpipe were different instruments. This article explains the difference for anyone who is interested.
If you do get a chance to talk to Phil, ask if he has any advice or playing tips for newb Scots-tradition fluters. All two of us
Craig, I finally got around to reading your interview.
In case it hasn’t already been said: Good job!
Your pictures are also excellent (and your daughter is adorable).
The session tent at the Dublin Festival intrigues me. Is this just
an open session the whole time, or is there some sort of schedule?
Thanks very much, fearfaoin. I wasn’t going to post a link here until Colin had a chance to review my transcription, but since you mention it, here is the interview (plus photos, a review of the show and historical comments on Tranent Muir). I didn’t talk to Phil at the show (he is the group’s business manager and was quite busy!) but he emailed me later and volunteered to answer questions that way, so expect a follow-up sometime…
I have more Dublin Irish Festival posts yet to come – I took a lot of photos!
Yes, the session tent is open continuously at the festival, and anyone who cares to can sit down and play. The session post also had Bardic Circle session playing at the Emerald Isle marketplace, and that is a tent with a schedule. Performers there get exposure, but are not paid.
Oh, and I did ask Colin about the scarcety of players of simple system flute in Scottish music, but he wasn’t really sure of the answer, so I omitted that part of the interview. I’ll ask Phil soon.