:sniff sniff:
perhaps,
I was hoping that it was just because itâs been muggy 
hmmm,
could go either way then, couldnât I!
i know its a few pages late, but i clearly agree, and state that it is only a problem if that is what you find fun. if you find writing music more fun, then learning irish music i s a problem.
haha, thatâs funny. should people be ashamed, then?
some might think it strange that we admit we play irish music!
last year, at an informal panel discussion, fintan vallely, paddy obrien, daithi sproule, james kelly, and tommy martin said that when they were children, they didnt let kids at school know that they played traditional music, cuz they would probably have gotten beat up. so no one knew it was what they spent all their free time doing. and it wasnt all of them, two or three who said this. i cant remember who, so i give the whole list.
oy, you should live with it alreadyâŚ
âsomewhatâ 
yer one them optimists, ainât ya?
LOL!
Interesting observation, I know exactly what you mean. My rational side says that using the tin whistle in this manner, and talking about it, is in the end a healthy and constructive endeavor.
I play the old tunes pretty much for the same reason I would
go on playing Bach partitas on the piano or harpsichord if
I could. The music goes very deep, itâs very beautiful
and many tunes are a universe to explore.
I think itâs largely the music itself that explains why
many of us are repeating it. Also it takes a long
while to get it âright.â And ârightâ is only the
beginning.
The only way for most people to get anything right is to study and or practice, depending on your view or definition. In most of my art classes I had some kind of assignment to âcopyâ another artists style or technique by trying to reproduce their painting, drawing, or sculpture. At least at some point with the visual arts you can walk away âfinishedâ. I, however, find it difficult to put my whistles down. Whether Iâm practicing ITM or stretching my abilities trying a classical piece or jazz or anything. I can never seem to walk away from music. Some of the melodies going through my head may be more ancient than I could believe or one that I honestly believe Iâm making up. The creative process is very personal for everyone, no matter what discipline, writing, music, painting, or science. Just trying to describe it for some of the most articulate people can be difficult, and, I believe, if were truly possible, make the people who make the real leaps of genius a dime a dozen. Some of us do our best just trying to get a handle on one tune, let alone try to write one.
I play the whistle because I love the sound that comes from such a relatively simple instrument. But just trying to play a piece by some jazz or classical Great and youâll find how much more room you have to grow. Iâm not sure I have the chops to truly compose, or write. My grammar and structure are quite lacking. He, he.
For that matter, watch one of those jazz or classical greats try to play an Irish tune, and theyâll find out how much more room they have to grow. Irish music is deceptively simple, and the whistle is deceptively simple, and they both have the ability to get very complicated.
âOptimistâ? Me?
Nah, that was just traditional British understatement with a hint of irony - the latter apparently (so stereotypical hear-say would have us think) being something Americans donât âgetâ? Trade off of religious credulity against sense of humour??? (They certainly very often seem to be incompatible facets of human consciousness!)
Sorry folks: I knew when I dropped that paragraph in that it really belonged in Pub or ProctologyâŚplaces I donât normally venture. If this aside is to continue, letâs take it off to the appropriate place. However, Westâs OP statement of surprise did genuinely bring it to mind as one of the more surprising phenomena to be observed on this Board.
I donât know computers so I donât know how to box a quote. But that was kind of what I was trying to say. I try to stretch my abilities by playing like jazz or classical with plenty of half-holing, tonguing ( which can be very difficult to do in time), trills and such. I think the variety only enhances my ability to play ITM. And as for simple, I just meant whistles donât have a multitude of keys and levers or springs. It was relatively simple for me to pick up, but Iâm still learning about it after twenty years.
West said:
Let me rephrase that: from my perspective, playing old tunes over and over again instead of writing new ones is odd. Not saying that thereâs anything wrong with it (on the contrary Iâm glad that people are keeping this old music alive), I just donât get it.
You say it is odd playing old tunes over and over again, then you say there is nothing wrong with that! 
You say, âI just donât get itâ, well Iâll let you in on something: it is called âtraditionâ and the whole point of that tradition it to keep it alive by subtle changes in the way tunes are reworked and passed on through generation after generation. The music may be âoldâ, but the music is as fresh as it has always been.
we can let it drop. it doesnt bother me, though. i was just surprised you were surprised!
Ever heard of the expression âto each his ownâ?
Well, Iâm gonna let you in on something (while weâre being snotty): all musicians are different. Everyone has different reasons for playing music. Your reasons doesnât necessarily make perfect sense to me, and vice versa.
I never said it wasnât.
If you are interested to hear the whistle employed in music other than IrTrad, you might want to dig up a copy of Billy Novickâs âThe New Pennywhistle Albumâ published by Green Linnet in the late 70âs. Billy is a jazz clarinet player who has put out a number of great albums with finger style guitar player Guy Van Duser, and that is Billy on the whistle on David Brombergâs âMidnight on the Waterâ album (really showing my age here). Iâve always been surprised that his whistle album is not mentioned more frequently here because it has the best whistle version of Rhapsody in Blue ever! The guy is a master musician and can make the whistle do things you never dreamed of. There are a bunch of jazz and pop type tunes, and a few IrTrad or more probably American contra tunes (same tunes - different style). I think it is out of print and never released on CD, but you might find a copy here:
http://www.musicstack.com/album/novick,billy/new_pennywhistle_album
Highly recommended - a real hoot - and some great music.
All the best,
Tom
Thanks for the tip Tamadden! Sounds like some very interesting music, unfortunately itâs been like 15 years since I had a record playerâŚ
how about cassette?
Amazon
Nope, Iâve no tape deck either. I gave up analog media a long time ago 
Thereâs ofcourse the old spoof: John Coltraneâs Pennywhistle album
Itâs all regurgitation anyway innit?