I’m looking for some advice with fingering help on the song, “The Long Drop”, from Kevin Crawford’s “In Good Company” CD. I’ve been working on the song and have it down except for one problem in the 2nd and 6th measures where you have the following (in abc format for 2nd/6th measure and part of next measure)
GEEE EDB,D|GG G2
I’ve listened to Kevin’s recording repeatedly and put it through the Amazing Slow Downer and it sounds like he is doing a roll on the EEE and a cran on low D for the EDB,D followed by a roll on the GGG2. I’m finding this extremely hard to do at speed, but am working on it.
Am I mistaken about what should be done in those measures? Does anyone who plays this song have any suggestions?
Here’s the entire song as I have it in abc format for those interested.
I’ve just been working on learning that set,and I know what part you’re talking about.I don’t have the Amazing Slowdowner,and it is hard to tell exactly what he’s doing,at least for me.
I don’t have my flute with me at the moment,so I can’t try out the bit of ABC you have there,and I can’t tell if it’s right just from looking at it.
Hopefully someone else knows what it is.If not,I’ll try to tell you,once I figure it out(if I ever do).
This was a fairly useless post.
Good luck anyway!
-Kelly
FWIW, I’ve long suspected that those supernaturally clean cranns that Kevin plays are in fact triple-tonguing. I just pop the low B up an octave, myself.
This is the second tune on the first track of the album.
I just tried that passage, I’d say he’s doing a short roll on the EEE but I don’t hear any crann on the D, I just hear a D followed by a standard B-c#-d triplet, and then a long roll on the following G.
The passage is a lot easier to play if you split the short E roll across two hands (cut with your left hand, tap with your right); it makes going directly to the next E easier.
Here’s a note-by-note tablature:
GEEE (really G followed by a short roll on E..the rhythm is DUM-de-diddle-um, with the “DUM” being the G)
xxx ooo
xxx xxo
xoo xxo (or xxo xxo if you prefer)
xxx xxo
xxx xxx
xxx xxo
EDBD (actually this should be ED 3Bcd)
Start by cutting the first E in this phrase to help separate it from the E that you just played at the end of the short roll:
xoo xxo (or xxo xxo if you prefer)
xxx xxo
Then go down to D and follow with a B-c#-d triplet
xxx xxx
xoo ooo
ooo ooo
oxx xxx (I’m playing the second-octave D here but you could drop down to the first octave D, I think that’s what Kevin is doing)
For that long roll, it’s a nice touch to start out very briefly on the F# and roll your finger off immediately so you slide up the G, it gives it a little more color…I think Kevin’s doing this too.
You know, I just listened again more carefully, and I don’t even think he’s doing those B-c#-d triplets, he’s just goiing directly from B to d. But those triplets work fine there…most flute players have the habit of putting them in whenever you go from B to d, and it’s part of Kevin’s genius that he leaves them out in this case!
I don’t have Amazing Slowdowner or any such equipment but I could have sworn he’s actually playing the low B there - I mean below the bell note. Does anyone know whether his flute has the keywork to do that?
Yeah, I have to admit that has me confused as well. I’ve slowed it down and listened over and over, and would swear there is a low B being played on something other than the fiddle.
I don’t like the sound of popping the B up an octave though. Maybe someone can offer a different suggestion? Ever since learning to do cran’s I’m enamored with 'em. I guess I could do what I originally thought Kevin was doing (until corrected appropriately by Brad and others) and stick a cran on the low D
I could have sworn he’s actually playing the low B there
I don’t know about a low B but I hear 3 rolls in this tricky passage: on E,G and B, with something like EDG between the E and G rolls, and then a breath between the G and B rolls.
Only my two cents.
Pierre
Pierre, I think you’re closer than I was. After slowing it down as far as Slow Downer would let me and listening to it in a loop, it sounds like he is doing a roll on the E, a cut on the D and holding it for a beat, then doing a roll on the G. Something like (in ABC format)
G~E3 {F}ED{F}D2|~G3{F}G BABc
In any case I’ll stop obsessing on this and just play the darn thing Playing the tunes is always more fun than analyzing them.
Thanks everyone for your advice and ideas. This is such a great forum for learning things like this. 8 months ago I never held a flute, now I’m worried about making sure I’m hitting the rolls and cuts just right. Gotta love it.
OK, and I can hear a roll on the B, it would make: G~E3 {F}ED{F}D2|~G3{F}G ~B3c
Playing the tunes is always more fun than analyzing them.
And listening carefully to them, as you encouraged us to do, is always extremely rewarding. Kevin’s setting of the first part is quite different from the abc you started working on.
This is an “aural illusion,” and it’s very convincing, but in fact he really is playing the B an octave above the fiddle. Most good flute players will back off a little on notes like this when playing with a fiddler: Kevin is playing the B pretty softly so the fiddle comes to the fore. The overtones of the fiddle blend with the flute so the combined effect sounds like they’re both playing that B below the flute’s bottom D. Tunes like this can sound a little odd played solo on the flute; they work best if you’re playing with a fiddler or some other instrument that can get those low notes.
I’ve played Kevin’s Grinter flute and I can vouch that there’s no keywork that extends its range below C.
Brad, thanks for that info. I’ve fallen a ‘victim’ for this illusion also listening to Éamonn de Barra’s playing in a few sessions and he actually plays a keyless flute. Now I know that this is not one of the symptoms of my starting insanity.
Playing the tunes is always more fun than analyzing them.