Hi all,
I just posted my first tune, Slane, to Clips & Snips with my new Dixon. It’s under my real name, Eric Ryan. I’ve only had the flute a week now, so I’m still bonding with it… 
Here’s the link:
http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/Audio/2-03/SlaneEricR.mp3
Just wanted to share.
Eric
SUPER JOB, Eric! And the flute sounds equally super. If I can only get my wrist straightened out I’ll give it a go myself. Great inspiration!
BillG
Your playing was real enjoyable. It’s a great tune for flute.
That flute sounds great!
I hope I get to try a Dixon sometime.
Best,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
Thanks for the comments guys. I really like the flute. I’m now of the opinion that a good flute just calls out for you to practice it.
And Walden, your ensemble clip is what led me to work on the tune - you all sounded great. I love Van Morrison’s version, and I’d never thought of playing it on flute until you posted.
Nice playing Eric.
I have one of these and really enjoy it.
I really like that tune too!
I enjoyed that Eric-it sounds like you are bonding really quickly to that Dixon(only had it One week? wow!).Nice tune too,we used to sing a hymn to it at school!
Hi jayhawk:
Thanks for posting the sound clip. Honestly, I am not trying to be unkind, but it was a bit grating on the ears. Good effort though and I think you will improve steadily. My opinion is that you need to take deeper breaths and make it flow more. The embouchure will smooth out then and not sound so pop bottleish (made up word). Anyway, takes a lot of courage to post for critique.If you have not been playing for very long you might want to try just holding notes for as long as you can and build up sustaining tone. Did not get all the way to the end of listening so just my observations. Keep tooting. Best Wishes.
Hey Piper7, no offense taken. I agree I need to build up my lung power to make my playing much more fluid. I’m a former sax player, but that was over 15 years ago. Over the past 10 years, I’ve toyed with the whistle and with what I consider fairly poor flutes (especially since I have something better to play now), but most of that time I didn’t do any serious practicing and wouldn’t touch an instrument for months at a time.
Then, back in October, I found this site, a site on building your own PVC flutes, and spent months trying to build a decent flute out of PVC or bamboo (and mostly failing…but it was fun). So, since October I’ve played a bit more, slowly became more serious, and only in the past month or so have I really put time into trying to be a better player. Since I’ve gotten the Dixon, I’m practicing incessantly (in fact I played at lunch today) and have improved dramatically, but I still have a ways to go! With only a week on this flute, my embouchure is slowly getting established, but I still consider myself a newbie when it comes to the flute.
I posted the clip hoping for feedback because I don’t know any ITM flute players in my area to get feedback from and I know of no teachers in my area (other than classical flute). I’m going to check out my local slow session in a few more weeks when I’m a tad bit more consistent (maybe there is a flute player or two there who I don’t know about) - wish me luck.
[ This Message was edited by: Jayhawk on 2003-02-20 15:04 ]
Good for you Jayhawk. After I wrote the posting I felt a bit like that Simon guy on the star search thing. I remember years ago starting out in music and thinking I was sounding really good, but there was the look on the faces of those around who told me differently, even though they spoke highly of my playing. Sometimes you can tell when someone just says: “I really like that tune.” Hang in there. I am sincere in telling you that even though I could not sit and listen to that clip over and over, you are on the right track.
Well, fine job, even if piper7 finds it “grating on the ears” and “could not sit and listen to that clip over and over”…
Generally, harshness of tone can be attributed to both the limitations of the instrument, and the experience of the player. My experience with the Dixon instruments, particularly the lower end models, is that they are hard to play with a pleasing tone, so it would interesting to hear the same clip on a higher-end flute.
Your playing was in rhythm, and intonation was quite good overall. Watch the pitch on the highest notes, they tended a tiny bit flat. Very good job on the phrasing. When first learning flute, since it is difficult to play long phrases due to the wind required, it is often times difficult to find appropriate places to break the phrases for breaths. I think you did a very good job in finding those places, while keeping the flow of the tune. Watch the timing on your cuts and trills, otherwise a very nice clip overall.
Cheers,
Michael
http://www.michaeleskin.com
Michael - Thanks for the comments - I really appreciate them.
I have what I think of as a higher end Dixon (the 3 piece conical polymer not one of the PVC flutes he makes). I’m guessing a lot of the intonation is just me - I’ve had times when it sounds really lovely and times when I’m, well, more interesting than lovely. Also, I think my Dixon takes a pretty focused embouchure to make it sound it’s very best, and my lips need a little more muscle to keep it going. I think from my past days on sax that my fingers work better than my lips or my out of shape lungs at this point.
Half the battle was just posting a clip. Now I need to practice, practice, practice!
[ This Message was edited by: Jayhawk on 2003-02-20 17:10 ]
Those higher end Dixons are pretty nice. One of my students has a PVC Dixon, pretty hard to play, I think.
Keep up the good work, play lots of long tones and scales to build your lungs and embrochure, and you’ll continue to make good progress.
For intonation, I highly recommend playing over drones, I have posted a 3 minute D drone at:
http://www.uptospeed.net/mp3/eskin/d_3min.mp3
Put your media player on loop play and you’ll very clearly be able to tell if you’re playing with the proper intervals.
Cheers,
Michael
[ This Message was edited by: eskin on 2003-02-20 17:30 ]
Well done Jayhawk - be encouraged by all the positive feedback you’re getting. Don’t get too hung up on the flatness that Michael spoke of, it is very slight and I think if you concentrate on tone and phrasing, this will come easily.
Dixons really are getting a great name on this board - I’m delighted with mine. I know what you mean about not being able to put it down when you first get it. Milk this enthusiasm for all its worth - you can get a power of learning done while you’re riding that wave of enthusiasm.
Happy playing,
Graham
PS - good quality recording as well, how did you do it?
Edited to add the following.
Piper7 has built up a bit of a reputation for being controversial and highly opinionated (not necessarily a bad thing in a person, but can tend to cause offence among the more sensative members of our community).
Now I agree that an honest opinion is better than a dishonest one, but I think it would testamant to Jayhawk’s strength of character if he didn’t feel a bit downhearted by Piper7’s critique of his clip. (I in no way intend to patronise Jayhawk by my own comments here).
So, as a suggestion Piper7, how about posting a clip of your own. Call it education - we will all get a flavour of your credentials and you may even get some feedback from the more experienced members of the board. Go on - do the right thing here.
I note from reading some other threads that Piper7 is experiencing an alter-ego problem with another Piper7 posting from his machine and may have decided to desist from posting - don’t listen to the voices in your head, man, they’ll make you crazy.
[ This Message was edited by: BMFW on 2003-02-21 04:58 ]
Thanks BMFW. With regards to Piper7s comments, I knew in advance I need to build up my lung power and that my embouchure wasn’t totally consistent, so what he mentioned was no surprise…I just selectively read his posts if you know what I mean. I also have a very thick hide.
As for the recording, I downloaded the freeware program Audacity, and simply used my el cheapo microphone which came with my old P2 266 computer. I have to sit way across the room or the microphone vibrates and creates a nasty metallic sound. Audacity may be the key here. My computer didn’t have any form of an MP3 recorder, and when I had to record on my computer in WAV format it never sounded as good.
I’m glad you like your Dixon, too!
For recording, I now use GoldWave from http://www.goldwave.com .
I believe it was Beth (Avanutria) who recommended this program to me; so far, it produces the clearest recorcings of anything I’ve tried as well as the clearest MP3 encoding.
On your playing, I think you are well along on the right track. Just keep on keepin on, and as Lee says, enjoy the music!
The flute you are playing seems to have a bit of an earthy roughness to the sound which I like. I like my Irish flutes to have a bit of a bark and growl to them.
On intonation between the octaves, I think you’ll find it a problem that goes away on its own as you become accustomed to the flute. When I first got my Seery, I was disappointed because the second octave seemed to be very sharp compared to the first. After I got used to playing a Pratten-style flute, one day I broke out the tuner and was amazed to find the octaves were precisely in tune.
As for any negative comments folks have posted or might post later, just remember that the ones who post negative comments typically never put recordings of their own out there under the public eye.
It takes great courage to share your music, but it is also a great way to get feedback and learn. You just have to be a little selective in who you listen to.
Best wishes, and good luck with that new flute,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
I love this board. You all have been great, and the feedback has been very helpful.
Michael - One question with the drones…what do I do when they’re on? Is it just a reference to make sure my Gs, Ds, Bs are in tune with the D drone? Forgive my ingnorance here, I searched your site, but I couldn’t find any hints/tips on the use of the drones.
You should be able to hear a strong consonance of the tone you’re playing on the flute with the drone. Start with just the bottom and second octave D’s, they should be in tune with the drone. Now try the note A in the first octave. Try blowing the note flat and sharp while listening to the drone. You’re listening for “beating” of the tone that speeds up as you get farther away from the in-tune pitch. As you get closer, the beating will slow down and eventually stop. Each tone you play on the flute will have some integer ratio to the drone tone, and you should be able to find a spot where the note you’re playing sounds most harmonious against the drone.
What you’re practicing is playing using “just intonation” in the key of D, which is what the Uilleann pipes are built upon and is slightly different from what you’d get using, for example, an electronic tuner. For example, you’ll find that the A is a bit sharp of a tuner, and that the B natural is quite flat, but sounds wonderful against a drone.
Once you can do this in the key of D, then its useful to try the same thing with drones in the key of E, G, A, etc. to learn the just intonation sound in each of those keys, but that can wait…
I don’t see much discussion of just intonation on flute and whistle boards, I think it should be a ongoing topic, particularly if you’ve got a Uilleann piper in your session…
Cheers,
Michael
An ongoing topic of discussion on the woodenflute list (and before that, on the earlyflute list) is why the old flutes are tuned the way they are, with a scale that sounds a bit peculiar to modern ears.
I think if you assume that just intonation was the “ideal model” they were tuning toward, a lot of those pecularities, such as the flat F-sharp, C-sharp, and D suddenly make at least a little more sense.
On the flip side, apparently other orchestral woodwinds were not tuned to a just (or approaching just) tuning. So there’s still a little bit of a puzzle there.
Best,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
Michael - Thanks! Sounds like a good practice technique. It’ll drive the wife nuts, but it’s her own fault she’s a guitar player instead of a fellow flute player…
