Any tips for playing this tune on the flute?
2nd part and 4th part are the problem areas.
I find the fourth part dead easy with a thumb hole for C natural…
For the big jumps, you just need to train your breath support and embouchure flexibility until you can hit the notes reliably… 
Easier said than done, but the trick is to already have enough breath support to play the upper note even when playing the lower note of the jump. Start off by just practicing the octave jumps, e.g. A to a and back.
It will stand you in good stead for many other tunes, in all genres of music.
This is a great reel, but it does have its challenges.
First, you need to practice this very slowly and cleanly. Don’t go any faster than you can play it.
On the c2-g-c-a-c-g-c rocking pedal, use oxxooo for C-natural. Then c to g is just putting your first finger down, dead easy. C to a is swapping your first and third finger, which is harder but still not too bad.
When you have a hard tune, one way to approach it is to break it down to the basic finger movements. You may also find it helpful to “dry practice”–that is, just practice and clean up the finger motions first without blowing. Then once the finger motions are right, add sound.
Good luck! It’s a wonderful tune, it takes work but the rewards are great!
–James
The Gravel Walks , 4th part , cheating .
cheating is good ..
C_ga afge | C_ge dBGB | C_ga afga | gedC BAGB |
C_ga afge | C_ge dBGB | ABCd efga |gedC BAGB |
if you have a keyed flute , with the long C natural key , then try using that instead , for the jumps from the C to the a & g . there will be a bit of clacking , but sure ..
the jumps in the second part , you’ll just have to get used to . with the fingers remaining on the A , then it’s a matter of practising octave jumps . it’s actually a doddle , the first 7 years is the hardest .
you could listen to Matt playing it , on the Stony Steps album , and with your Windows Media Player , slow it down , to hear what he does with it .
John C plays it here , slowed down at first , then normal speed .
http://irishflute.podbean.com/2007/05/12/the-gravel-walks/
great tune , it’ll never die .
i thought it was 'The Gravel Walks to Granny ’ , a play on “May the road rise to meet you”
John, you’ve been holding out on me dude. 
I actually think those tunes and that website belong to Michael Coleman.
you may be right , now that i think of it , it should have been 'Michael C ’ ?
but don’t let that stop you going to the site .
so , tell us , what sort of flute is it ? how long have you been playing ? what are you drinking ? i’ll have one , seeing as your’e at the bar .
Clarkson. He plays the tune well.
well, it did get sorted on the 1st page…
There you go.
I knew that just didn’t seem right… Mr. C seems so young.
Denny , Annvil , that reminds me of an uilleann piper , who used to busk outside the Post Office , in Bray .
Stephen , R.I.P.
he was so enthusiastic about the music , he loved it , and could talk about about it very knowledgeably
he had all the rolls , and he had crans to beat the band .
as nice a lad as you would meet in a days ramble .
he had a full set , they may have been built by Alan Froment .
we knew him as the Cryptic Piper , as it was never , ever clear, what tune he was playing .
he had all of the tunes . he could , and would , play till Tib’s Eve , at the sessions , but the thing was to listen very carefully and decipher what tune he was playing .
i did often throw a shilling or two , into the hat , but i never did get to know what the tune was .
i never did get to figure cryptic either , cannot even do the cryptic crossword in the Irish Times .
I just enjoy watching the eagles circling over the fields.
Rocking pedals are evil. I have decided to sit out any tune that has them. I just can’t do it no matter what.
i have to ask , Diane , what are rocking pedals ?
if you mean the octave jumps , then you have a good basis already set out , in your playing of The Hare’s Paw .
i made a search for the expression ’ flute pedal tones ’ and got some interesting info .
and i see that your recordings are dated 2008 , so how is going now , 1 year on ?
that was good progress , for less than a year’s work .
Rocking pedals aren’t octave jumps (though they can include them).
A “rocking pedal” is a figure where two notes alternate (or “rock”) above a third repeating tone (the “pedal”).
This is a very common figure in reels; figures such as g2 dg eg dg and G2 dG eG dG are rocking pedals, similar to the one in the Gravel Walk, c2 gc ac gc .
–James
Thanks , James , that dragged up in my memory , The Convenience Reel .
never thought to try that on the flute .
Rocking pedals. See Dinky’s Reel http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/24 in the second part. I just cannot do it.
I think I play better than a year ago. I think when I play the musical flow is better even if my actual technical skill isn’t all that much improved. I don’t do many rolls, certainly never do any slides although I really would like to, and don’t demonstrate any proficiency at variation although small variations aren’t beyond my grasp. I am much better at learning by ear and on the fly.
Two things have really helped me: my mandolin and bringing my mandolin to an American old time jam. I can’t play my mandolin at an Irish session. The music is too fast. But I am more able to pick out Irish tunes on it than on the flute, and I can play variations more easily and have the soul of the rhythm come out more easily on the mandolin. This has helped me with flute and whistle a lot.
Maybe someday I’ll record myself again.
Diane , do , do the rolls , oh do .
rolls can make a tune , and there are times when , the whole tune is all about one rolled note .
my piping teacher , Gay McKeon , at the Willie Wonka Summer School , many the moons ago , gave us this piece of tuition, that if we only got to learn the rolls , in the coming year , we would be doing ok .
so , one year for rolls ? and hey , it worked . i am now Master of The Rolls .
you might as well have a go at them , seeing as how youv’e done so well , by the sound of your posted tunes
oh , and Dinky’s Reel ? a little adventurous just yet , and when you do go for that one , find a version for flute .
that one you linked to , is not a great version , even in itself .
The ornamentation is important, but the tune is more important.
You can play quite well with little or no ornamentation. Ornamentation may be icing on the cake, but never needs to be the whole meal.
Specifically, if the ornamentation obscures the melody or the rhythm of a tune, you’re not doing yourself any favors by using it.
–James
thank you , James , very kind of you to say so ( You can play quite well with little or no ornamentation )
nobody compliments me on my playing , anymore ..
( sentence , one week with no rolls , for having the uppitiness ..)
I compliment you on your playing, Jimmy. Those polkas you played last summer were absolutely knockout. Some of the best rhythm I’ve heard anybody do. On any instrument.