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Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 11:03 am
by busterbill
Mr.Gumby wrote:Try Sligo Maid wit hGeorge White's Favourite :P
A great classic set Mr. Gumby. :D

I'm actually having a harder time with The Rookery on whistle, while The Green Mountain sort of jumps right out. (said by a person who hasn't played much in weeks but gave it a shot this morning.)

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 11:35 am
by ytliek
Polara Pat wrote:
Mr.Gumby wrote:I had sort of expected this thread would become an exchange of ideas for new tunes but it has gone very quiet.

I also thought that it would snowball. Maybe others like myself are keeping the computer shut since it only seems to exude bad news these days. I just jotted down the Green Mtn notes that you provided yesterday. Hoping to give it a preliminary whirl this morning over coffee in the shop.

As far as playing goes, I have Sligo Maid sounding pretty nice and almost to speed and I've started Cooley's reel to play along with it and Wise maid as a trio.
Some of the tune suggestions get made in other threads here so possibly members don't want to make duplicate comments. Current situation allows for plenty of time though to get to the tunes even the difficult ones.

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 6:07 pm
by Polara Pat
Mr.Gumby wrote:Try Sligo Maid with George White's Favourite :P
I can't tell if you're messing with me or not? That's a great sounding tune but sounds like it would be a bear to learn at any speed. I could be wrong

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 2:11 am
by Mr.Gumby
I can't tell if you're messing with me or not?
Only a little bit. Sligo maid and George White are as classic a combination as Cooley and the Wise Maid, Wandering Minstrel and Fasten the Leg. If you're playing with people you don't know and haven't agreed on the next tune, everybody would instinctively know where to go, around here anyway. George White's is not particularly complicated, pretty much a straight forward reel in G, worth playing.

With regards to Richard's remarks, I always learn tunes in a way that suits my way of playing/instrument(s) learning tunes any other way is usually not productive. I learn tunes I take a shine to, some may not get a lot of playing but I'd have them well enough to 'bring them up' if the need arises. Tunes get refined over time as they get played more often, I think of it as them 'being lived in', you get to feel comfortable inside them and are able to move around in them a bit.

I see repertoire as fleeting, out of all the tunes I have there's a core body I learned early on that I can always fall back on for safety although there are tunes I learned more recently that I consider 'safe tunes' that I can play when under pressure without making too much of a mess. Out of the whole body of tunes there's the group of tunes of the day as it were that I play regularly at a particular time, because I was reminded of them or heard them somewhere, anything that may have brought them to the fore. It's a rotation, some come floating to the top and get played for a while before they get replaced again.

I play for my own amusement. I have mostly gone out of playing in public , except for occasions I feel I can't refuse when asked : Na Piobairi Uilleann had me do a tionĂ³l concert and a Willie week piping concert in recent years but I recently turned down an invitation to take the Cobblestone's piping hot seat (they got Emer Mayock instead to fill the slot) . Did two spots with Josephine Marsh and Mick Kinsella last year in memory of Kitty Hayes but other than that I limit things to the odd informal tune with friends. So in that sense I don't need to keep a 'set list' and have no need to keep up with anyone else's repertoire and just play whatever takes my fancy at a given time. Which leads to a degree of disorganisation but that's fine too.

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 2:30 am
by benhall.1
Polara Pat wrote:
Mr.Gumby wrote:Try Sligo Maid with George White's Favourite :P
I can't tell if you're messing with me or not? That's a great sounding tune but sounds like it would be a bear to learn at any speed. I could be wrong
George White's Favourite is one of those tunes which, once you get the hang of it, fits really easily on a wide variety of instruments. It's a great tune, and one of the standards. I reckon if you have a concerted crack at it, you'd get it, at speed, in reasonably short time.

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 6:55 am
by Mr.Gumby
Another tune which is quite nice on both flute an whistle (as well as other instruments) is Jennifer Molloy. I picked it up first from a recording by Tom McHale on Soundcloud, years ago. (see here for the whole set of recordings. Good stuff to listen to during your lockdown). Last month I heard Liz and Yvonne Kane play it (last night out before the lockdown, last chance saloon) and it's been on rotation since. It's a Paddy Kelly tune.


[fixed typo]

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 8:40 am
by benhall.1
Mr.Gumby wrote:Another tune which is quite nice on both flute an whistle (as well as other instruments) is Jennifer Molloy. I picked it up first from a recording by Tom McHale on Soundcloud, year ago. (see here for the whole set of recordings. Good stuff to listen to during your lockdown). Last month I heard Liz and Yvonne Kane play it (last night out before the lockdown, last chance saloon) and it's been on rotation since. It's a Paddy Kelly tune.
Beautiful playing there. Thanks for that. :thumbsup:

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 8:47 am
by Mr.Gumby
It goes back to this thread or even earlier. I downloaded the lot at the time. A good time to revisit that music.

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 10:00 am
by Polara Pat
[/quote]
George White's Favourite is one of those tunes which, once you get the hang of it, fits really easily on a wide variety of instruments. It's a great tune, and one of the standards. I reckon if you have a concerted crack at it, you'd get it, at speed, in reasonably short time.[/quote]

I think you may be right. I wasn't familiar with this tune so I looked up several recordings (which are played by good musicians at speed) and it just seemed intimidating. I imagine that if I slowed it down and broke the tune into bits it would be manageable.

Quite some time ago I started a thread on learning the Tam Lin reel. It was a struggle to get the right rhythm until I realized that the version of the tune I liked was very different than the tabs I was trying to learn. I changed it up and it came together for me. Early days. I still suck at that one but will maybe tackle it again.

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 10:39 am
by benhall.1
Polara Pat wrote:Quite some time ago I started a thread on learning the Tam Lin reel.
Ah. I have simple piece of advice concerning learning the Tam Lin reel - don't. :twisted:

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 3:37 pm
by pancelticpiper
benhall.1 wrote: Ah. I have simple piece of advice concerning learning the Tam Lin reel - don't. :twisted:
I love playing that tune!

Falls right under the fingers on whistle, and you can keep up with those banjo people.

I play it on a mezzo G whistle when they're in d minor, a mezzo A whistle when they're in e minor.

The trick- well I don't know if it's much of a "trick"- is that you can do the "rocking phrase" in Bar 2 with the upper-hand fingers while partially opening Hole 5 (making "F natural" which is B flat on the G whistle and C natural on the A whistle)

XXX XDO
XXO XDO
XXX XDO
OXX XDO
XXX XDO
XXO XDO
XXX XDO

This, on a D whistle, is F2AF cFAF (no sharps)

Setting #8 here, is where I play it on whistle https://thesession.org/tunes/248

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:07 pm
by Polara Pat
pancelticpiper wrote:
benhall.1 wrote: Ah. I have simple piece of advice concerning learning the Tam Lin reel - don't. :twisted:
I love playing that tune!

Falls right under the fingers on whistle, and you can keep up with those banjo people.

I play it on a mezzo G whistle when they're in d minor, a mezzo A whistle when they're in e minor.

The trick- well I don't know if it's much of a "trick"- is that you can do the "rocking phrase" in Bar 2 with the upper-hand fingers while partially opening Hole 5 (making "F natural" which is B flat on the G whistle and C natural on the A whistle)

XXX XDO
XXO XDO
XXX XDO
OXX XDO
XXX XDO
XXO XDO
XXX XDO

This, on a D whistle, is F2AF cFAF (no sharps)

Setting #8 here, is where I play it on whistle https://thesession.org/tunes/248
I have to admit that finding tunes on the Session has always been a bit tough for me so many options for each tune. You really need to go in already knowing what you want. Which complete setting would you use for a D whistle? I didn't see any Dmin settings starting with F2Af cFAF. Thanks

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:15 pm
by Polara Pat
OK I have some new marching orders from my mate who plays the BC box. He's taking a break from some tougher tunes to learn Murphy's Hornpipe in Gmaj. I guess I'll go confuse myself over at the Session and try to find some appropriate music to accompany him. Unless anyone wants to nudge me in the right direction. :) Sounds like a nice straightforward tune with a good happy lilt. Who doesn't need a little lilt?

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 6:34 pm
by pancelticpiper
Polara Pat wrote: I have to admit that finding tunes on the Session has always been a bit tough for me so many options for each tune. You really need to go in already knowing what you want.
Actually I really like it when there are numerous settings for a tune, because I can play through them all and get a feel for what's a middle-of-the-road approach and what are outliers. Also I can see what portions of a tune seem to be regarded as core/intrinsic and which portions are more open for variation.

I've relied on The Session more than ever in recent weeks, because I've been practicing through a tune-book that has several settings that don't feel right to me.
Polara Pat wrote: Which complete setting would you use for a D whistle? I didn't see any Dmin settings starting with F2Af cFAF.
That F2AF cFAF was Bar 2 of the 8th setting. That's where I play it on whistle, in the key of A minor.

To make it come out in D minor I use a mezzo G whistle, to make it come out in E minor I use a mezzo A whistle.

On whistle, it's customary to call notes and fingerings and keys by what they would be on a D whistle (probably because Irish "concert flutes" and "concert pitch" uilleann pipes are in D).

To transpose to another key you play on a different-key whistle, but players still think in terms of a D whistle.

BTW that 8th setting is in the same key that I play it in, but the setting itself has several differences with how I play it. I could post the way I play it there, but they already have 20-odd settings! My setting is fluterised to flow better on flute/whistle.

Re: New Tunes for the Lock In

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 9:04 pm
by tstermitz
@busterbill
I find that Rookery falls easily under the fingers on the flute/whistle, almost as easy as Sally Garden. I have discovered that Vincent Broderick's tunes usually work well on whistle/flute, in particular because he leaves plenty locations to sip a breath. One problem I have is that when I learn a tune (especially a note-y reel) at slower speeds, breathing isn't an issue; then I get into a super fast session, and I crash and burn. That's what I mean about Broderick's tunes being made for flute - quarter notes every few bars.

The B part of Sligo Maid has a couple tricky measures (until you learn them), but it is a great tune. George White's Favorite is even better. I play Crock of Gold with George White's.

@Richard
The settings I was provided are uneven. Some fall nicely under my flute/pipes/whistle fingers, others bear the stamp of being from other instruments or even other traditions and require fluterising.


Are you thinking about breathing places or needing to fold, or what?

RE: The Session settings.
I find that JackB's settings are usually straightforward session versions, easy to read (consistent, clear notation), and obviously set for a D whistle (flute or pipes). Because TheSession is crowd sourced some settings are just be poorly done, while others are sometimes a specific version from a specific recording - they don't tell you that, though.