Just wondering…
When you play this tune.. do you ‘tongue’ the notes or do you play it continously using cuts and taps?
I find it almost impossible to play it without tongue the notes, but it’s also difficult to me to tongue the notes very quickly (it gets ‘tired’ soon).
Cheers,
Bothrops
I try NOT to play this tune unless its requested, but when I do (and if I do on the whistle) I use mostly taps/cuts for articulation and such. I will tongue some parts along with (less) finger articulation, but I find I get the most consistant good results relying on finger articulation above all.
But its largly a decision to be made by the individual player and their abilities/tastes. If you found it more pleasing to tongue instead of finger articulate, go for it. Individuality is great!
also always done this question to me … 
I play it same way as other tunes - i.e. mostly no tonguing, but at places, where it adds intonations, I use it. In my opinion, style without little tonguing is sort of…lacking something mostly.
I play it same way as other tunes - i.e. mostly no tonguing, but at places, where it adds intonations, I use it. In my opinion, style without little tonguing is sort of…lacking something mostly.
please delete, accidental multi-post.
Usually I tongue it, but sometimes I use taps and cuts.
Brother Steve has a great page about tonguing in jigs:
http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/jigsI.html
In my opinion, The Irish Washerwoman is a great candidate for
tonguing only the third note in each group of 3. This gives it an
interesting swing: “waddle-doo-waddle-doo-waddle-doo…”
I don’t like it as much with the slur-tongue-tongue method
(“wa-doo-doowa-doo-doowa…”), but it’s better than tonguing
everything.
I always lead into it from Danny Boy. I prefer to tongue it more like be-bop-bo-diddly-bop-be-bop-bo-didda-wadda.
Best
Quote
Ever
That’s a great idea. Is there a third tune to make this a trifecta of American Irish requests?
End on “I’ll Take you Home Again Kathleen”. Kills 'em in Peoria.
And a happy Wocka-Wocka to ya’ll!
That tune has had such a strange arc in the world of Irish traditional music. It was SO popular among Irish players in America in the early 20th century that it became synonymous with Irish music. It entered the pop music world and began to be used in Hollywood soundtracks whenever anything Irish was happening on screen. It then became not only unpopular amongst Irish players, but actually taboo, being in effect banned from Irish sessions. Ironic that current Irish players roll their eyes when anyone plays it, because some of the biggest names in Irish music history played and recorded it in the early 20th century.
I have never actually heard the tune played by any current ITM player.
I had to learn it years ago for a band I was in, and I had to come up with a traditional-sounding way to play it, as the tune as usually heard (in film scores) really doesn’t fit the shape of traditional jigs. I came up with a very trad-sounding way to play it using NO tonguing, as I don’t tongue on the flute. I altered the shape of the tune, putting in rolls etc and am pretty happy with the result, which passes the “smell test” of an Irish tune.
One thing that strikes me is that a some beginner books like to include it but it’s not really a beginner tune IMO. It’s a bit tricky in spots and would be frustrating for a beginner to think he can learn it as one his first tunes.
Yes, that’s true.
Although I can play it, I still can’t do it perfectly. It’s not THAT easy.
Get yourself BARFLY and learn the editing of ABC notation it shows you , it will be alot easier to learn and invent ornamenttion
Don’t forget Garryowen, which also shows up in most Westerns of the B&W era whenever the yellowlegs appear, especially for either the saddle-up-and-head-out or the high-spirited-drunken-brawl scene.
Regarding the original question, mix in all the note separators, including the glottal stop which, in spite of its name, sounds less abrupt than tonguing.
Interesting post, but I believe this tune is on the NaConnery’s session cd.
Pretty major-league players in that “band.” They blast it out at top speed, like almost everything else on that disc.
It’s actually a pretty good tune, if you erase the built-up animus. It’s certainly more interesting than Kesh…
the fact that its considered cliche now adays is exactly why I’ve worked it into my new bands set 
We do it a bit differently in that its on stringed instruments and we do it sort of "dueling banjos’ style with us going up against each other as a little competition but… I’ve always looked at “Cliches” as a way for people to be snobby about what they do without being actual snobs.
There is a nice donegal version which I personally prefer over the original.
X: 1
T: Irish Washerwoman (Donegal Version)
M: 6/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj
|: dc | BAB DGB | DGB dcB | cBc EGc | EGc edc |
| BAB DGB | DGB dcB |1 cBc ed^c| dfa g :|2 cBc BGB | AFA G ||
|: ef | gfg Bdg | Bdg bag | fef Adf | Adf agf |
| gbg faf | gfe dBG | cBc BGB | AFA G :||