2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

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vigaglum
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by vigaglum »

Maddie wrote:
vigaglum wrote:I want to eventually play a mezzo G, but I have no plans to go lower than that (famous last words). However, I love the sound of low D :love:. Are you going to jump straight from a high D to a low D, or have you already played some of the in-between sizes?
I've had a low F, a low G and a Generation Bb, now I'm going lower.

I recently bought some bamboo whistles, thinking one would be in Low D, but they were marketed in some exotic musical system, so what was marked as a Low D was actually an alto A.
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by killthemessenger »

Maddie wrote:Beautifully stated. But now you've done it. You've made everyone who has never played in a session want to join one, so they can experience that grand feeling at least once in their lifetimes.
This is why I love playing duets, trios, sonatas and so on. Playing by yourself is very rewarding, and it definitely pays off in playing with others, but playing with others is always the objective. At least for me.
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by Wanderer »

Maddie wrote: Beautifully stated. But now you've done it. You've made everyone who has never played in a session want to join one, so they can experience that grand feeling at least once in their lifetimes.
I see so many new people say "I don't need a tunable whistle. I'll never play with anyone else." And, I said the same thing myself when I first started. Every time I see it, I just smile and think to myself "just wait...one day you will, and you'll be hooked."
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by TheWanderer »

Maddie wrote: Beautifully stated. But now you've done it. You've made everyone who has never played in a session want to join one, so they can experience that grand feeling at least once in their lifetimes.
The idea of an audience for my music really doesn't appeal. I don't know why, because I've done public speaking, acting in theatres and stand up comedy, and never had an issue with it - even when it was something I wasn't particularly good at.

Music feel different to me though, too private. I don't even like playing an instrument in front of my music teacher. It's odd. It's not exactly shyness, more like it feels like he shouldn't be there. I love listening to music with others, so long as it's someone else's. I took a new guitar to a friend's house. A good friend who I've known since I was 5. Someone I can completely be myself with. He had a look, had a go on it for a while, but I couldn't bring myself to play a single note. Yet I made sure both the whistles I bought are tunable. Weird!
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Thomaston
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by Thomaston »

I imagine my answers will be very different from most, especially considering this is a site devoted to the whistle more than any other instrument (I guess flute is almost equal here, in reality).

1. What did you accomplish on whistle in 2019?
A couple of things. First of all, I became a teacher. Only one student, but she’s stuck with it and learned a lot. As for personal accomplishments, not much. In fact the whistle has been my primary instrument AND my crutch for far too long. See, I spent 7 years through middle and high school playing the tenor saxophone, so whistling came very naturally to me from practically day 1. And thanks to that prior experience I can quickly and easily sight read and pick up new tunes without much difficulty. Over the years I’ve come to see this advantage that the sax gave me as a crutch, so my primary accomplishment in 2019 was to actually further transition AWAY from whistle. I now play banjo and bouzouki mostly, plus a good bit of mandolin.

2. What are your whistle-related goals for 2020?
To continue moving on. My biggest goal is to go to a session without taking a whistle at all, and not have to worry that I’ll have to sit out on a tune because I haven’t transferred it to banjo/mandolin.

3. What tunes are you learning this month, and which is your current favorite?
The Tarbolton, The Low Highland, Mick Carr’s, The High Reel are all top of my learning list at the moment.
My favorite tune is quite possibly a Scottish strathspey in A Dorian called “The Cat That Kittled in Jamie’s Wig.” It’s not a whistle-friendly tune, but is a blast to play on something 5ths tuned, i.e. banjo/mandolin/fiddle.

4. What whistles are on your 2020 Wish List?
Nothing. I’m content with what I have. And would have one less if my Milligan ad had any takers.

5. What do you enjoy most about playing tin whistle?
What I enjoy the most is the very thing that has me divorcing myself from it for the foreseeable future: the ease it provides me. But if I’m going to grow as a musician, I have to continue with this divorce. Not that I dislike the whistle at all; I do still love it. And one day, after I’ve succeeded in eliminating it from my “arsenal,” I’ll happily invite it back into the fold.
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by Sedi »

@pancelticpiper
Thanks, Richard, for the links. I actually know that first recording and like it quite a bit.
KarenE
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by KarenE »

Maddie wrote:Have you been using any books? I'm working through the Bill Ochs tin whistle handbook, and I'm already looking for my next book, even though I'm not ready for it yet. This one by Grey Larsen looks interesting because it includes ornamentation and phrasing: 150 Gems of Irish Music for Tin Whistle (Amazon link).
So far I haven't used any books. I'm classically trained (on other instruments) and have always been very much glued to the score. So when I started whistle and got interested in trad music I decided to force myself to learn tunes by ear, although I'll occasionally check a score as backup. The advantage, I've discovered, is that once I can even play the tune, it is already memorized. :) Great time saver!

But now that I've gotten used to learning tunes by ear and it comes more naturally, I think it would be good to work through some books, especially for things like explanations of phrasing etc, and to fill any gaps in my learning. I've heard excellent things about both of those you mention.
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Maddie
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by Maddie »

Thomaston wrote:I imagine my answers will be very different from most, especially considering this is a site devoted to the whistle more than any other instrument
You're correct. I wasn't expecting answers like yours, and I have debated how to respond.
Thomaston wrote:1. What did you accomplish on whistle in 2019?
A couple of things. First of all, I became a teacher. Only one student, but she’s stuck with it and learned a lot.
Teaching is not easy. The fact that your student is motivated and making good progress means you're doing a great job as a whistle teacher.
Thomaston wrote:3. What tunes are you learning this month, and which is your current favorite?
... My favorite tune is quite possibly a Scottish strathspey in A Dorian called “The Cat That Kittled in Jamie’s Wig.” It’s not a whistle-friendly tune, but is a blast to play on something 5ths tuned, i.e. banjo/mandolin/fiddle.
I'll have to look that one up, just for the title alone. :lol:
Thomaston wrote:5. What do you enjoy most about playing tin whistle?
What I enjoy the most is the very thing that has me divorcing myself from it for the foreseeable future: the ease it provides me. But if I’m going to grow as a musician, I have to continue with this divorce. Not that I dislike the whistle at all; I do still love it. And one day, after I’ve succeeded in eliminating it from my “arsenal,” I’ll happily invite it back into the fold.
If whistle is not bringing you joy the way your other instruments are, then it's time to move on. You didn't post here to have us talk you out of setting aside the whistle. However, I'm still going to comment. I haven't heard of many music teachers who aren't actually playing the instruments they are teaching. You owe it to your student to play whistle at least a few times per week, to keep your skills polished. You've labeled your whistle playing as a crutch. It sounds more like a talent. There are a lot of beginners who will be reading this thread, wishing they had your facility on whistle. And it will be hard for them (and me) to fathom that you're giving it up because it comes too easily to you. Just my opinion.
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by fatmac »

I read that as more "I need to spend more time on other instruments", his whistle has been his goto instrument. :)
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Maddie
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by Maddie »

fatmac wrote:I read that as more "I need to spend more time on other instruments", his whistle has been his goto instrument. :)
Good point. I can understand playing whistle less to make time for other instruments.
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Thomaston
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by Thomaston »

Talent becomes a crutch if it leads to complacency in other areas, is what I’m getting at. And I do still love whistle, and you’re correct, I do need to stay polished enough for proper teaching. But at this point my teaching has evolved into a slow session, which is about 50/50 teachers and players with various instruments used.
She actually requested I send her audio of The Musical Priest, since she liked the way it sounded. I asked her, “Do you want it on whistle, banjo, or mandolin?” She surprised me by requesting the recording on banjo. I think that could be a good thing, too, because she can develop her own ornamentation rather than copying mine. And I’m sure it fires up certain neural pathways when one contemplates “ok, the banjo played a triplet here, so what’s my ornamentation equivalent in this passage? And what can I do to complement his slide from Bb up to B here?”
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by stiofan »

1. What did you accomplish on whistle in 2019?
Learned more tunes (mostly Irish), began learning a few Scottish tunes (see #2). Continued working (slowly but surely) on some of the tunes from Davy Spillane's 'Sea of Dreams.'

2. What are your whistle-related goals for 2020?
Learn more Scottish and Spanish (Galician & Asturian) tunes (as well as Irish) and improve ornamentation, especially Scottish ornaments. And just play a whole lot more.

3. What tunes are you learning this month, and which is your current favorite?
Am Fear Liath Mòr, The Wave Sweeper, Galley of Lorne. They're all very different, so none is a particular favorite.

4. What whistles are on your 2020 Wish List?
Currently awaiting a new tenor D from Colin Goldie! Wish list: McManus C or A, or both.

5. What do you enjoy most about playing tin whistle?
For such a relatively simple instrument in design and construction, it can be surprisingly versatile and musically gratifying.
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by pancelticpiper »

stiofan wrote: improve ornamentation, especially Scottish ornaments.
What do you mean by "Scottish ornaments"? On the Highland pipes?
stiofan wrote: awaiting a new tenor D from Colin Goldie
Super!

After buying and selling dozens of Low Ds from dozens of makers I've settled on a Goldie.
Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by RoberTunes »

Wanderer wrote:
Maddie wrote: Beautifully stated. But now you've done it. You've made everyone who has never played in a session want to join one, so they can experience that grand feeling at least once in their lifetimes.
I see so many new people say "I don't need a tunable whistle. I'll never play with anyone else." And, I said the same thing myself when I first started. Every time I see it, I just smile and think to myself "just wait...one day you will, and you'll be hooked."
Great point, and also if you're going to play along to any recordings, the tuning on recordings can vary, especially on turntables, so still better to have a tunable whistle or tunable whatever. Non-tunables I only consider without hesitation as knockabout practice instruments.
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pancelticpiper
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Re: 2020 Tin Whistle Enthusiasts Q & A

Post by pancelticpiper »

RoberTunes wrote: if you're going to play along to any recordings, the tuning on recordings can vary...
Not only the pitch, but the key of instrument used can vary.

I knew a guy many years ago who got the Feadoga Stain album and learned all the tunes... on a D whistle! He was half-holing notes all over the place to play along with the tunes Mary Bergin plays on Eb, F, and Bb whistles.

To play along with all the tracks using the same fingering Mary uses would require using whistles in G, F, E, Eb, D, C, and Bb.

Likewise albums featuring the Uilleann pipes: on one CD I have the piper switches between pipes in D, C, and B. You would need whistles in those keys to play along and having the tunes sit on the same places on the instrument.

And flute: Matt Molloy albums have him switching between flutes in Eb, D, and Bb.
Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle
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