Chiff and Fipple Forums

Any tips on how to tackle this on the flute? I suppose it's the usual go high where you can't go low. It's a beautiful tune, i'd love to add it to my repertoire.

How bout either change the key so all the notes are in easier range.
Or play the below setting on a G flute and you’re in business.
I play the the below setting on a g melodeon and am then in the well known key.
You can also just play the low bits up octaves but you get some funny places to decide
where to go high or go low.


X: 7
T: The Green Fields Of Glentown
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K:Edor
BE~E2 B2AF|DF~F2 DEFA|BE~E2 B2AB|dfbf afef|
bf~f2 bfaf|eB~B2 ADFD|EB~B2 B2AB|dBAF FE~E2:|
|:e2Be geBe|d2AF DEFA|Be~e2 defa|bafe edBA|
fd~d2 ecdB|AF~F2 dBAF|EB~B2 B2AB|dBAF FE~E2:|
|:e2Be geBe|edBA fedb|ad~d2 Adfa|dABA FAdA|
B2FB BFAF|EB~B2 ADFD|EB~B2 B2AB|dBAF FE~E2:|

I just looked up the sheet music (on The Session) and you can play nearly the whole tune with the notes in the correct octave relationships on a (mezzo) G whistle.

To do so you would transpose the whole tune up a 5th, playing the tune in E dorian rather than A dorian. (The above poster did that, but I can't read ABC notation.)

The tune has a couple high note-groups which, in E dorian, would go up out of the ordinary whistle range- some arranging would have to be done there, unless you want to venture into the 3rd octave!

There are a number of tunes that dwell below Bottom D that entirely fit on the flute if you transpose them to a different key and to render them in the ordinary session key you play them on an A whistle or G whistle, depending.

Seems like it's more common to play tunes like that on the ordinary D flute or whistle and do loads of octave substitutions. That works in an ensemble but (for me) isn't very satifying when playing solo. Though just listen to Matt Molloy! He makes it work.

Thanks, i had a look at the sheet music today, it's definitely playable on an unkeyed d flute although awkward to handle but perhaps worth the effort. Other tunes i've struggled with are dr gilbert's and maudhabawn chapel. I think if there were versions notated for flute where you can see how an expert player has played them it would be a great help. I think that might be a good idea for a flute tunebook, awkward tunes notated specially for flute.

I'm getting better at folding when needed. Often it is just a note or two, which is not that hard. Whole sections sometimes need more careful work so the phrase makes musical sense. I use Easy ABC or ABC converter to transpose keys or to edit certain sections. Some musicians play a harmony note or even drop a note that is out-of-range.

@john
JACKB at the session is a relatively prolific poster of tune arrangements. He must be a piper or whistle player, as his arrangements tend to be D-friendly. He will either fold some of the notes that fall below D or offer an arrangement in an easier key.

I also like JACKB's notation style because it is consistent and easy to read.

I would comment that a lot of the existing "preferred tune arrangements" are carefully chosen so fiddlers don't have to leave first position. That will throw tunes into C or Bb key signatures, when they are perfectly playable on D flutes or whistles that play up to the high C, C# or D notes. That's comfortable on my Killarney. My flute can get beyond that to E, F and G, although I can't claim my embouchure is adequate for F & G - yet.

john wrote:Any tips on how to tackle this on the flute? I suppose it's the usual go high where you can't go low. It's a beautiful tune, i'd love to add it to my repertoire.

It depends on the situations in which you want to play it. If you're playing solo, then sure transposing to a different key makes sense. If you want to play it in sessions it's worth learning it in the standard key and just doing the octave jumps where necessary. If you play those octave-jump notes quietly when playing with a fiddle or accordion, there's an "aural illusion" that happens (probably due to harmonics blending between the two instruments) where it actually sounds like you're playing the low note. You can hear this on one of the tunes on Kevin Crawford's "In Good Company" album (which is a series of duets with fiddlers); I can't remember which one now but it totally sounds like he's going down to a low B below the bottom D, on a D flute.

john wrote:Thanks, i had a look at the sheet music today, it's definitely playable on an unkeyed d flute although awkward to handle but perhaps worth the effort. Other tunes i've struggled with are dr gilbert's and maudhabawn chapel. I think if there were versions notated for flute where you can see how an expert player has played them it would be a great help. I think that might be a good idea for a flute tunebook, awkward tunes notated specially for flute.

I like to study the playing of Matt Molloy on how to handle tunes that go low and to get inspired on tackling these types of tunes. For me, he is the master on how to approach them.
For example, listening to Paddy Ryan's Dream as played by Matt blows me away. Granted, there is nothing like hearing those low notes esp. on a fiddle, I love them for sure. But I admire the way Matt adapts and cruises through the tune unapologeticaly.

Paddy Ryan's Dream starts @ at 4:14 in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsB1G8knjmE

I would imagine the same brave and creative approach can be made with green fields of glentown.

John, check your PM please.

H

Fintan Vallely has a great rendition on his album: “Traditional Irish Flute Music.” Track 7

https://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Iris ... B001INZ3HS