Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
-
- Posts: 1307
- Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:40 am
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I'm a historian and the author of "The Beat Cop:Chicago's Chief O'Neill and the Creation of Irish Music," published by the University of Chicago in 2022. I live in Arlington VA and play the flute sincerely but not well
Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
I've noticed that it seems to be a thing in ITM. Guy starts a reel and it's kind of like a locomotive pulling out of the station, and then in a couple measures we're at speed. Am I right that this is kind of standard?
I like it a lot. It makes me feel like an imaginary dancer and the musician are getting the feel of each other and then settling in. It seems more human than BAM start on 100 and end on 100. It adds excitement.
If it's not a thing it should be.
Note I don't mean the "amateur can't keep time" version of speeding up: it seems like it's a stylistic choice
I like it a lot. It makes me feel like an imaginary dancer and the musician are getting the feel of each other and then settling in. It seems more human than BAM start on 100 and end on 100. It adds excitement.
If it's not a thing it should be.
Note I don't mean the "amateur can't keep time" version of speeding up: it seems like it's a stylistic choice
- benhall.1
- Moderator
- Posts: 14808
- 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: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
It happens a fair amount, and it is by choice. Apart from anything else, it's smoother than just launching straight in.PB+J wrote:I've noticed that it seems to be a thing in ITM. Guy starts a reel and it's kind of like a locomotive pulling out of the station, and then in a couple measures we're at speed. Am I right that this is kind of standard?
I like it a lot. It makes me feel like an imaginary dancer and the musician are getting the feel of each other and then settling in. It seems more human than BAM start on 100 and end on 100. It adds excitement.
If it's not a thing it should be.
Note I don't mean the "amateur can't keep time" version of speeding up: it seems like it's a stylistic choice
-
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:40 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I have grown up surrounded by Irish music and culture and have played the whistle since first grade. I love playing the various instruments I have aquired over the years and would love to help others with their instruments in any way I can.
Re: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
Just to make sure, do you mean something like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUSXmGj ... gs=pl%2Cwn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUSXmGj ... gs=pl%2Cwn
- Mr.Gumby
- Posts: 6619
- Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:31 am
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Location: the Back of Beyond
Re: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
Just to make sure, do you mean something like this?
Yuk.
My brain hurts
- plunk111
- Posts: 1524
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 3:02 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Love playing trumpet and modern flute at church as well as Irish trad flute in a band. Been playing Irish trad and 18th century period music for about 15 years.
- Location: Wheeling, WV
Re: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
For once, I agree with the Gumbster!!!
Pat Plunkett, Wheeling, WV
-
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:40 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I have grown up surrounded by Irish music and culture and have played the whistle since first grade. I love playing the various instruments I have aquired over the years and would love to help others with their instruments in any way I can.
Re: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
Haha! I guess we'd all better brace ourselves for the favoring of "contemporary fiddling"!Mr.Gumby wrote:
Yuk.
- benhall.1
- Moderator
- Posts: 14808
- 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: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
Yuk indeed.
... though, to be fair, now I've listened to a fair amount more of it, she's a pretty damn' good player. It's for show, isn't it? She's a really good fiddler, though.
... though, to be fair, now I've listened to a fair amount more of it, she's a pretty damn' good player. It's for show, isn't it? She's a really good fiddler, though.
-
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:40 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I have grown up surrounded by Irish music and culture and have played the whistle since first grade. I love playing the various instruments I have aquired over the years and would love to help others with their instruments in any way I can.
Re: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
Yeah, she's no joke certainly on a technical level. From what I understand she was a student of Martin Mulvihill R.I.P. But in any case, I guess starting a tune slow and speeding it up might be something that some musicians do, though I don't think I've ever done so....benhall.1 wrote:
... though, to be fair, now I've listened to a fair amount more of it, she's a pretty damn' good player. It's for show, isn't it? She's a really good fiddler, though.
- Nanohedron
- Moderatorer
- Posts: 38226
- Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.
Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps. - Location: Lefse country
Re: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
I'd say so; sure got the audience excited, which I think was the whole point.benhall.1 wrote:It's for show, isn't it?
If ever I've seen it done elsewhere - and I'm sure I must have at least once or twice - I would confidently assume that it was done purely as a performance stratagem (if you will), and for no other purpose.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
- Mr.Gumby
- Posts: 6619
- Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:31 am
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Location: the Back of Beyond
Re: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
I better expand on this a bit.It depends a bit on context.
I don't think there's one way of doing it, in informal situations a lot of players may start a tune tentatively, finding their feet after a few bars. This is not done for effect but has more to do with, as I said, finding your feet, remembering the tune, getting your brain in gear, that sort of thing.
Playing for dancers often there's the eight bar stretch before the dancers come in but you're watching the dancers all the time too and may adjust speed a bit if and when they require more speed. Again, not something done for effect. Things may be different if you're in a ceiliband where the drummer (or the pianoplayer) sets the tempo by 'counting in' (I was listening to a clip yesterday of an old band where a drummer gave four knocks for starters and everybody came in at a completely different tempo than the one set up, which always has a bit of a comical effect). There's ofcourse the old knock knock joke about the ceiliband, where after the knock knock they all come in at the same time, based on that practice.
I can't really think of situations in traditional setting where it's OK to crank up the tempo for effect, it would be considered in very poor taste.
My brain hurts
- benhall.1
- Moderator
- Posts: 14808
- 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: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
I didn't read it that that was what the OP meant. I think he was talking about the, very common in my experience, practice of just starting the first couple of bars noticeably slower, and then moving to the tempo at which people mean to go on. I've heard that done loads. It's almost as common as the three-note descending run at the end of a set of tunes, in my experience. And, to be clear, I mean in sessions in Ireland. I think it kind of is for 'finding one's feet' but it does seem to be fairly commonly done, and reasonably deliberately done, too.Mr.Gumby wrote:I can't really think of situations in traditional setting where it's OK to crank up the tempo for effect, it would be considered in very poor taste.
Now, for playing for dancers, that's going to be different.
- Mr.Gumby
- Posts: 6619
- Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:31 am
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Location: the Back of Beyond
Re: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
Neither did I, that was more in response to the Riverdance clip.I didn't read it that that was what the OP meant.
My brain hurts
- benhall.1
- Moderator
- Posts: 14808
- 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: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
Ah right. Fair enough.Mr.Gumby wrote:Neither did I, that was more in response to the Riverdance clip.I didn't read it that that was what the OP meant.
-
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:40 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I have grown up surrounded by Irish music and culture and have played the whistle since first grade. I love playing the various instruments I have aquired over the years and would love to help others with their instruments in any way I can.
Re: Starting slow and speeding up--a thing in itm?
That sounds a little more familiar. I just don't think I've ever heard the two speeds so drastically different as in the riverdance clip I shared! You said you heard it done a lot in Ireland, though, might I ask which regional part?benhall.1 wrote: I think he was talking about the, very common in my experience, practice of just starting the first couple of bars noticeably slower, and then moving to the tempo at which people mean to go on. I've heard that done loads.