Slow Air recommendations

The Ultimate On-Line Whistle Community. If you find one more ultimater, let us know.
User avatar
Mr.Gumby
Posts: 6606
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:31 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: the Back of Beyond

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by Mr.Gumby »

No doubt you also know the air from Jackie Daly's playing - named after another song (A Ógánaigh An Chúil Chraobhaigh)
I had forgotten that one actually but that is why it sounded familiar in the first place. I just looked up A Ógánaigh An Chúil Chraobhaigh and found Diarmuíd O'S.'s sister singing the same song he sang in that clip. Same song, same air, different name.

I haven't listened to Jackie's recording for a long time. Having him handy and hearing him often will do that, I suppose. Does remind me of a night he brought Seamus C. to Gleeson's when they started playing again. Tom Munnelly told him on the night it was like having the Beatles getting back together. It was a good night.
My brain hurts

Image
iskandar taib
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:35 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Just started making whistles after coming across some in Thailand. Hope this is long enough. Apparently it isn't. Here's another sentence. Or two. Is that long enough?

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by iskandar taib »

Probably doesn't count as a slow air, nor is it traditional, but one of my favorite tunes to listen to and play is "Weeting Fair" by a group called "Straight Furrow". The only version I can find on YouTube is this one, played on viola. The lead instrument in the original version was a recorder, if I'm not mistaken.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLV_12yvQ7U

Iskandar
kenny
Posts: 1633
Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 7:50 am
Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by kenny »

Jackie was at an event here in Aberdeen some years back, playing away in a session, which was just winding down, and he asked to borrow a whistle from me. He played a slow air - may have been "Tir Na Nog", which is another great tune - and played it beautifully.
"There's fast music and there's lively music. People don't always know the difference"
User avatar
Peter Duggan
Posts: 3223
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
Location: Kinlochleven
Contact:

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by Peter Duggan »

Peter Duggan wrote:
benhall.1 wrote:Leaving Lerwick Harbour is nearly a slow march to my ear. Not sure how Willie Hunter thought of it, but to my ear it doesn't fit with the usual class of Irish slow airs. (I guess it wouldn't, thinking about it.)
It's a slow air, and Willie Hunter would have regarded it as such. But not one of vocal origin or fitting the 'usual class of Irish slow airs'. It's from the Scottish/Shetland slow air tradition, as you've effectively acknowledged here.
See what you've made me do, Ben...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNQ6zQxUsVA

[Edit: sorry... same video, new URL.]
Last edited by Peter Duggan on Sat Apr 15, 2017 7:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

Master of nine?
User avatar
benhall.1
Moderator
Posts: 14797
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:21 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm a fiddler and, latterly, a fluter. I love the flute. I wish I'd always played it. I love the whistle as well. I'm blessed in having really lovely instruments for all of my musical interests.
Location: Unimportant island off the great mainland of Europe

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by benhall.1 »

I'll listen later ...
Tunborough
Posts: 1419
Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 2:59 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
Location: Southwestern Ontario

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by Tunborough »

Peter Duggan wrote:
Peter Duggan wrote:
benhall.1 wrote:Leaving Lerwick Harbour is nearly a slow march to my ear. Not sure how Willie Hunter thought of it, but to my ear it doesn't fit with the usual class of Irish slow airs. (I guess it wouldn't, thinking about it.)
It's a slow air, and Willie Hunter would have regarded it as such. But not one of vocal origin or fitting the 'usual class of Irish slow airs'. It's from the Scottish/Shetland slow air tradition, as you've effectively acknowledged here.
See what you've made me do, Ben...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jznZJvcfiHo
Nicely done, Peter.

I generally play Leaving Lismore at a moderate pace, with a bit of lift to it. Would it work as a slow air?
User avatar
Peter Duggan
Posts: 3223
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
Location: Kinlochleven
Contact:

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by Peter Duggan »

Tunborough wrote:Nicely done, Peter.
I'm still wondering about that bit where I tried to capture the spirit of the double stops... seemed like a good idea at the time, but might be a bit of a 'Marmite' moment?
I generally play Leaving Lismore at a moderate pace, with a bit of lift to it. Would it work as a slow air?
I think Leaving Lismore needs that bit of a lilt and would be wary of going too slow.
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

Master of nine?
User avatar
benhall.1
Moderator
Posts: 14797
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:21 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm a fiddler and, latterly, a fluter. I love the flute. I wish I'd always played it. I love the whistle as well. I'm blessed in having really lovely instruments for all of my musical interests.
Location: Unimportant island off the great mainland of Europe

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by benhall.1 »

Peter Duggan wrote:See what you've made me do, Ben...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jznZJvcfiHo
Lovely Peter. Beautifully done. :thumbsup:

Still sounds like a slow march to me. :)
User avatar
DrPhill
Posts: 1610
Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2008 11:58 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
Location: None

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by DrPhill »

A little late to the party, but my all-time favourite to play is Cape Clear - although my 'version' may well have drifted quite far from recognisable... Here is an old recording of mine but there are probably better out there
Phill

One does not equal two. Not even for very large values of one.
User avatar
pancelticpiper
Posts: 5298
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:25 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Playing Scottish and Irish music in California for 45 years.
These days many discussions are migrating to Facebook but I prefer the online chat forum format.
Location: WV to the OC

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by pancelticpiper »

I've told the tale before, but since the subject of Scottish airs came up...

Years ago at a festival there was some workshop/demo thing (I can't remember the topic) but there were four or five of us that were supposed to blather about something or other.

I was on time... the other presenters were late... so I took out my Highland pipes and played some airs, the Gaelic song-airs of which there are a seemingly endless number in the Highland pipe repertoire, to fill the time.

Then the other presenters got there and I stopped and we all sat down and this Scottish harp player (an actual Scot) proceeds to tell everyone that the airs Scottish trad instrumentalists play are purely instrumental compositions, that Scottish traditional music lacks the thing of instrumentalists playing airs from the Gaelic singing tradition such as exists in Irish traditional music.

That guy had a Scottish accent and I don't so anything he says is correct and anything I say is nonsense, so I kept my mouth shut.

I wonder how many people in the audience recollected that I had played a few such airs at the start, and connected the dots...
Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle
User avatar
Peter Duggan
Posts: 3223
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
Location: Kinlochleven
Contact:

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by Peter Duggan »

Yes, there are many Scottish slow airs of vocal origin and many that are purely instrumental. My point was that Leaving Lerwick Harbour has always been an (instrumental) air and never any kind of march. For sure you could tap your foot and play it with a clockwork beat as slow as you like, but you'd be rather missing the point if you did! It's not just time signature or tempo that defines a march or an air to me, but feel and how you treat it.
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

Master of nine?
User avatar
pancelticpiper
Posts: 5298
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:25 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Playing Scottish and Irish music in California for 45 years.
These days many discussions are migrating to Facebook but I prefer the online chat forum format.
Location: WV to the OC

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by pancelticpiper »

I wasn't referencing that tune or any specific tune in particular, just the general idea that the only airs that exist in Scottish traditional music are composed instrumental tunes.

I spent much time in the late 1970s and early 1980s hanging out in the local Scottish fiddle community, during which time I attended many Scottish fiddle concerts, workshops, competitions, parties, dances, and so forth. For sure in that community the airs were strictly instrumental tunes by known composers by William Marshall etc.

I can see somebody in that world, and knowing little about the Highland piping world, thinking that that's all there is.

Thing is, even now there are leading pipers who grew up in Gaelic-speaking communities and will often play Gaelic song-airs on the pipes. Many if not most of these airs haven't appeared in print, but will appear on albums by these players. If one of these players ends up publishing a tune collection some of these might find their way into print.
Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle
User avatar
Peter Duggan
Posts: 3223
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
Location: Kinlochleven
Contact:

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by Peter Duggan »

pancelticpiper wrote:I wasn't referencing that tune or any specific tune in particular, just the general idea that the only airs that exist in Scottish traditional music are composed instrumental tunes.
Understood. I was just covering myself in case my comments re. 'not one of vocal origin' and 'from the Scottish/Shetland slow air tradition' had been taken together in a way I hadn't meant.
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

Master of nine?
stetix01
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2017 6:41 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I am trying to make up my mind as to play irish flute or tin whistle. Was hoping the site could help.

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by stetix01 »

DrPhill wrote:A little late to the party, but my all-time favourite to play is Cape Clear - although my 'version' may well have drifted quite far from recognisable... Here is an old recording of mine but there are probably better out there
Absolutely Gorgeous! I have to learn it! What did you play it on?
User avatar
pancelticpiper
Posts: 5298
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:25 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Playing Scottish and Irish music in California for 45 years.
These days many discussions are migrating to Facebook but I prefer the online chat forum format.
Location: WV to the OC

Re: Slow Air recommendations

Post by pancelticpiper »

I play Cape Clear but I learned it from a player who may not have been playing it all that accurately- it might be multiple generations removed from anything authentic, so I hesitate to post a recording of me playing it.

His phrasing didn't make any sense to me, sort of a disembodied rambling string of notes, so I learned the notes from him but reworked the phrasing so that it made musical sense to me. It's rather unlikely that what I came up with matches the traditional air.

(I've not heard anyone but that guy play it.)
Last edited by pancelticpiper on Sun Apr 16, 2017 6:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle
Post Reply