Posting clips

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Liney Bear
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Post by Liney Bear »

Thanks - I'll give it a try:

[url=http://www.box.net/shared/kxr0ir1v7n]MaidsofMtKisco[/http://www.box.net/shared/kxr0ir1v7n ]
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Liney Bear
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Post by Liney Bear »

Dang. Told ye's I was not too savvy with these machines...
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Denny
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Post by Denny »

Liney Bear wrote:Thanks - I'll give it a try:

Maids of Mt Kisco
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chas
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Post by chas »

Thanks everyone! I've been in a period of prolonged inactivity due to the flute room being closed off for kitchen renovations. I'm a little rusty, but here goes:

fiddler's contest

Kilmoulis jig

Barony jig

I'll upload some stuff on traverso when I get that lip back, which will take a little longer.

I'd welcome any comments and criticism, via forum or PM.
Charlie
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ImNotIrish
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Post by ImNotIrish »

I hope this works! Also a clip recorded a while ago.
Feedback appreciated. Be gentle...
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cocusflute
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Post by cocusflute »

Praise for everybody for posting. People who post have a good sense of what playing ITM is all about. Well, at least those who posted who are playing ITM. The main criticism I would offer is that people play much too fast. When you play too fast you lose that rock-solid sense of the beat.
Speed is irrelevant. No matter how long you've been playing. It just doesn't matter- especially when you're playing by yourself. Listen to Mary or Andrew MacNamara, or some of Martin Hayes' playing, or Catherine McEvoy. Beauty isn't in the speed. Speed often gets in the way of the music even with some of the best players, Like Skip Healey. Skip has got great chops but he can really murder a tune. He's sprinting rather than dancing.
You want the music to swing, to have plenty of lift. It shouldn't make you tense. You should play slowly enough so that you play every note perfectly and make every ornament clear and rhythmic. If you can't do that you're playing too fast. You don't need anybody else to tell you that. You should be able to hear it yourself.
Now I will go heed my own advice.
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Liney Bear
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agreed

Post by Liney Bear »

Cocusflute is right, of course. I have a strong tendency to speed up when I feel like I'm comfortable with a tune which many times detracts from the tune's musicality (is that a word? if not, it is now :P . and I'll charge a buck any time someone else uses it! :lol: ).

By the way, the Pernod waltz is gorgeous. Haven't pulled out my Relativity album in a while but now I'm going to need it again.

best regards,
Gordon
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too fast...

Post by ChrisCracknell »

Yes, it is always one of my biggest problems. I always end up playing faster to the point where I can no longer properly play the piece and there I stick (Parkinson's law for music?). So I end up practicing not playing it properly...

I pull out the metronome and work with that and I can keep the tempo steady. If I play alone (no metronome) and concentrate on not speeding up then I can do it. However the moment I get into our session group, the group dynamic ALWAYS speeds the d*mn tunes up. I try to fight against this by holding the tempo back and all I achieve is that I sound like I am slow and dragging. I don't know if it is particular individuals that push the pace, or even several separate ones in some kind of competitive seesaw? I do know that it happens even when I sit back and listen, so it can't be _just_ me. We talk about this. We all know it is our biggest problem. Everyone denies that they are the ones pushing the tempo. Our Bodhran player seems to want to play melodic accompaniment rather than beat out a simple, steady beat (which would probably be harder anyway...).

The bad thing about this is that it leads to a desire to practice fast to "keep up"! And what we practice is what we later end up doing. All the tunes end up being straightened out, blurred slightly and then they really do "sound all the same".

And "look for another group" is not the advice I am looking for. There isn't that large a choice here and most of the others aren't much better.

Chris.
(Maybe this should move to a separate thread and maybe to one of the other foren?)
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cocusflute
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Speeding up

Post by cocusflute »

Hi Chris- it's a hard problem- to be in a group that plays too fast for you and for themselves. It's not a unique problem. Most sessions push the beat and in any case everybody speeds up. It's a rare musician who is able to play balls to the wall on every tune that comes up in an open session.
My advice would to continue to practice so slowly that you are absolutely 100% confident with the tune. Then when you're in the session start so slowly that everybody else will listen. Always, always introduce a tune starting from below your comfort zone. Then when it does speed up there's a chance it will still be in your comfort zone- which is where the best playing takes place.
Why do bodhran players feel it is all about them? They are the accompaniment. Their function is to provide a steady rhythmic back-up, not front-up. Perhaps you and the bodhranista should get together on your own and work on keeping the tempo steady. Perhaps if you could get together with one or two other melody players you could discuss the problem and play with them at a more productive tempo- then go into the session and try to control the tempo. It's hard to control the tempo with a flute unless you're a loud and commanding player.
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Post by Sylvester »

Hi, my name is Rafa, :P

As far I can see it, the reason why we have that unpleasant tendency (I own up) to speed up the tune, or simply, to play too fast, is because we usually listen to great bands like Dervish, Lunasa, Solas and the like. When listening to the playing of Marcas O' Murchu, Desi Wilkinson or Gary Hastings amongst many others I perceive a lively tempo sometimes, but never that 'rush'. I find that if I learn a tune with a proper tempo, phrasing and stress in a workshop from the playing of a great player, I tend to play it keeping the original spirit of the tune in a natural way. Chances to attend to workshops are limited for many of us. It seems logical that our own style gets very influenced by the stuff we listen to, namely Lunasa or Gary Hastings.

The problem arises when speed intersferes with pulse or rythm. Pulse in Irish flute is both equally important and hard to get a clear notion for many of us. I've been playing discontinuosly for 8 years so far in short periods (I dedicate too much time of my life to work.) I'm starting to get a notion of how to get the pulse of a tune now. It's a hard work but I think it makes a big difference. My playing (far from being good) is improving and I'm near to that feeling of doing things properly. It happens that when I play most of the tunes I've always played at a quick, pulseless pace, my ear perceives a 'flat' succession of notes and ornaments that means very little. I'm trying to convert those 'too quick' tunes into 'lively tunes'. It's not easy, but in the challenge is the fun. Listening to those Hastings, Wilkinsons, O'Murchus and many others (including some forum members) has been a great inspiration.

Can't remember a forum member's name whose signature says something like 'there's lively music and fast music. We don't always get the difference'. It always seemed to me very sensible advice and a lovely sentence as well. Most of us (including myself) are tricked by speed. I usually say to the guys 'hey, that's a beatiful tune. Don't be in a rush, we don't want to put an end to it so soon!'

I'm enjoying listening to ALL clips. It's a great fun. Each and everyone has something that teaches me new approaches or makes me think about my own playing. I want to thank you for participating in such a friendly, constructive, good-humoured way and especially to Cocusflutes for starting this thread.

Sorry about the extension. I was thinking outloud...

Rafa
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chas
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Post by chas »

Just wanted to point out one thing about tempo. A difference of only a few percent can make all the difference in how a tune feels, the difficulty of playing it, etc. Just going from 116 to 120 in a jig can make the difference between it seeming relaxed and rushed or dragging and relaxed. It can also make the difference between playing it well and playing it poorly. (Aside: I think there may be a near-universal thing at work here -- it's kind of like the difference between running at a 7:40/mile pace and 8:00 -- if 8's working for me and I try to up it to 7:40, a 4% increase, I just feel like I'm dying.)

And Cocus, those are some lovely waltzes. I'll try and lay down a few waltzes this weekend. Anyone for mazurkas, too?
Charlie
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Post by Doc Jones »

Don't know how I missed this thread. Fabulous idea!



Even though you all play better than I do, I still have the most flutes! :P

I'll try and get something posted.


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Post by Ro3b »

Like George Clinton says, the groove is all. No matter your tempo, if your music makes people move their bodies, you're set. Everything else is gravy.

The more I've improved as a player over the years, the more I've wanted to slow down and really find that happy place in the music where I'm totally in the pocket and mistakes are pretty much impossible. The best thing in a session for me is to feel everybody sinking into a groove and really swinging the hell out of a tune, playing the tune a million times because nobody wants it to end.

Contrariwise, there's not a lot that pisses me off more than someone trying to speed up a tune I'm playing. It's inconsiderate and a sign of sloppy musicianship. I yell at people about that.
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Post by Unseen122 »

I just posted a clip in my signature. This is from April and has been on Clips & Snips since May. I also posted a whistle clip at that time, but the tunes have long names so I just put the Flute clip in my signature.
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Liney Bear
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clips

Post by Liney Bear »

Ok folks. Got a few more clips to share.

Naturally, constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged.

I have the same air played twice, but with different tempo, phrasing, and ornamentation, and a jig.

Thanks!
Gordon

<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/i56ftdgc5s">Parting of Friends v.1</a>

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<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/m3g51kz51k">Gillian's Apples</a>
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