Is it possible to drop two beats in jigs and reels and still sound good when playing solo?

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GeeseSoaring
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Tell us something.: This forum is about learning and sharing knowledge of the tin whistle and maybe other wind related instruments, although I had not investigated others, tin whistle being my instrument of choice. I would like to ask questions and maybe gain guidance from those with more experience, to help my own playing. I feel I do not have too much to share yet but an enthusiasm and passion for irish music which I hope will be sufficient.

Re: Is it possible to drop two beats in jigs and reels and still sound good when playing solo?

Post by GeeseSoaring »

Nanohedron wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 11:17 am
GeeseSoaring wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 3:38 amThat is precisely my problem though. Since it is not a regular thing that the majority of players do with any regularity, these specific type of pauses, from all the audio I have heard so far of whistle players, the source material is hard to come by to learn from.

All players do breath notes, so that was simple to find examples, but these longer pauses I have had a very hard time finding good examples of except for this girl's clip. So what would be most useful would be if people could post some more examples of other respectable players doing the same type of thing.
Maybe this vid will help: Here's Vinnie Kilduff - always worth listening to - playing a fine Tatter Jack Walsh. At around 1:06 he uses a longer pause compared to what he does prior. But it doesn't sound all that long unless you're paying attention which, I think, is where the art comes in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X17HLvE7MWY

I'm not suggesting that he's trying to deceive us that the longer pause isn't what it is; I'm suggesting that it's so well placed that it doesn't intrude, and becomes integral to the rhythm and melody, as one feature of many.
That is not dropping a beat* though, which is what Jana did. He is merely dropping two notes of a 3 block, which is also rather common.

*beat being understood as Mr Gumby later explained well.
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Re: Is it possible to drop two beats in jigs and reels and still sound good when playing solo?

Post by Nanohedron »

GeeseSoaring wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 1:30 pm That is not dropping a beat* though, which is what Jana did.
I wouldn't describe what Jana did as dropping a beat, but as a variation that happens to involve dropped notes: IOW, brief skips that maintain the tune's rhythmic structure in the same way notes otherwise would. It's not what one would expect, but if it's an accident - which I question - she deals with it skillfully, and no harm done to the continuity. If it's intentional - and it very much could be, because it works - I think it's an interesting choice, and a rather tasty one.
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Re: Is it possible to drop two beats in jigs and reels and still sound good when playing solo?

Post by Flexismart »

"Is it possible to drop two beats in jigs and reels and still sound good when playing solo?"

Simply, the answer is NO.

If you're playing with another melody player (box, fiddle, flute, whistle, accordion, etc) then, it's OK, but if you're playing solo - NO -
It doesn't matter what your saliva problems are (Cathal McConnell has this same issue), keep playing.
Your responsibility is to the tune concept. If you discontinue it, the closely listening public will see it as an egregious error.
If you're playing to a well lubricated crowd, who is disinterested in your artistry, or someone farts, it could be seen as an exciting variation.
From a players perspective, it's a weakness that needs to be corrected.

Don't do it. It's bad form.
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