I grew up in the more classical end of music… teachers, music, long hours chained to the piano by my evil step mom (actually she was my real mom). Irish/celtic music tends to follow a more laid back learning style I believe. Do teachers for whistle (or even flute) exist and how would I go about finding them? I live in PA, down near Hagerstown, MA. I already have the ubiquitous “Learning Tin Whistle” type books and CD, various trad Irish whistle/flute CD etc and I’ve picked up the basics. But learning always seems to go better when you have a teacher. Both for the instruction and for the motivation to actually practice. Any advice?
Barak- Welcome. I assume you mean that you live neare Haggerstown Maryland. I used to live in Gaithersburg, Marlyand. I don’t know of any teachers up your way, but here is a link to a thread a while back that we had on teachers in the D.C. area. There are some good links in it that might help you out. Good luck with the search.
Hi Barak! It isn’t easy to find a whistle instructor. My suggestion is to find the local Irish club (ours is call Ancient Order of Hibernians, or AOH, and can be found in the yellow pages under CLUBS) and ask around if there is anyone there who plays. You’d be surprised at how many folks would be happy to share their music with you.
I have live teachers for both whistle and flute, and there’s nothing like it, of course. Tyghress’s suggestions for finding the Irish cultural organizations is excellent.
Barak,
You are a hop, skip, and jump from Marguerite Plank place (probably less than 15 miles). She sponsors a number of classes and seminars. You should drop her a line, I’m sure she would be knowledgable of who might be available in your area or in the Fredrick, MD - Gettsyburg area.
if you have a music background, (and i am in the same situation) what you need is instruction in the irish idiom (rhythm, phrasing) more than whistle instruction. i would second the advice to contact wendy morrison, that is what she does, and does well.
also listen to alot of trad.
if you have not yet, i would read the " meditations" section of “brother steve’s” website. its prominant on the links page of chiff and fipple.
i live in your area and would love to help, but i am probably at your skill level so could not help much. but pm me anyway if i can help.
Welcome, Barak, and thanks to Lee for the kind words.
I’m not planning another whistle workshop until next year. However, I think there are a couple of beginner-friendly sessions in Frederick. I work in that town, but hear the call of home and hearth at the end of the day so I rarely hang around in the evening. If you’re interested, contact me off-list by clicking the e-mail button below.
Something else you might consider, especially since you can “read,” is Bethesda piano player Liz Donaldson’s “Band Aid” ensemble playing workshops. The emphasis here is playing tunes together in a small group, listening, and blending. You never know who your bandmates will be until you get there, and she swaps people around partway through the day.
It’s about a 90-minute drive from my place just over the MD/PA line, so it may not be much farther for you.
She holds these workshops about every other month and you can find out more and get on her mailing list by contacting her at (assemble the address yourself) “liz (at) us (dot) net”. I believe she’s away at a dance camp this week, so you probably won’t hear back from her before 7/13.