I’m a self confessed bibliophile, so I guess that’s where it all started.
First there was Mel Bay’s “You Can Teach Yourself Tinwhistle.” Not bad, but kind of slow. Just the right thing for musically illiterate people like myself, but after awhile it drags. Then I ran across Bill Och’s book. Pretty good stuff! Nice and easy for beginners. Just right for me.
But then the obsession set in. Who’s this guy L.E. McCullough everyone is talking about? He’s got a book? A video? I want it! Wow, this guy is good. A little too advanced for me. Back to Bill Ochs.
Well, for a little while. Cathal McConnell and Geraldine Cotter have books. I got them. Vinnie Kilduff’s video. I got it. Say, anyone hear when Grey Larsen’s tin whistle book is coming out?
Ok, so maybe I have a few too many books.
Anyone else do this?
If this is a new disorder, I propose the name TOA, for Tutorial Obsessive Disorder, to be added to the DSM-I (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Musical Disorders).
Did I mention I have a few whistles? Just a few. Only a few – I swear it!
Yes Dan it is a side effect of WHoA that no one is willing to talk about but it seems that when a new book comes out everybody rushes to get it almost as fast as a new whistle appears.
IN my experience, ALL of the major tutorials out there have terrific things to offer. Once you are a decent player, dipping into a different tutorial from time to time will keep adding nice little touches to your playing and listening to the CDs that come with them will give you new ideas. A worthwhile addiction.
TOAD, I like that…
I can relate to this disorder. I’m trying very hard not to make tutorials the be-all-and-end-all of my whistle-playing time - leaving room for poddling about and practicing random tunes that grab my fancy. In other subject areas I’ve suffered with the delusion that just reading enough books will teach me all I need to know - and then, of course, I have a bad time getting the theory into practice.
For whistling, seems to me that lots of reading and listening can only be a good thing … if they also inspire me to pick up a whistle and play it. Oh, and I do love the incremental achievement feeling of well-planned tutorials. I learn songs by ear from Clips&Snips and suchlike, but that can be a bit overwhelming - tutorials focus in harder and have a different advantage. The more angles of approach, the better!
