There has been quite a bit of discussion recently regarding playing “up to speed”. To be able to play fast and accurately is very nice, but not at the expense of your sound. To my mind sound is the most important factor in performance.
I can play jigs at 120 beats per minute, but I lose any semblence of a good sound. Therefore I practice very slowly listening to every note. both for sound and intonation. I think a tune played more slowly and well beats a sloppy performance at a breakneck speed every time. Speed comes in time with practice. In the meantime, sound is the thing. Yes?
True, better a tune played well than a tuen played fast. BUT the day may come you find yourself faced with a group of people ready to dance who ask you to play for a set and then you’d better be able to put the notes under their feet. There’s that too.
The speed at which it is played is a part of this music. You can’t really separate it out all that well.
I agree it’s better to play a tune well and slowly than fast and badly, but you aren’t really there until you can play it well and at the proper speed.
One still needs to push himself farther to achieve a greater good. If you can’t play it fast, then push to play it faster in practice. You don’t have to do it all the time, but speed is FUN!
It’s all relational. Think of how fast you played when you were just starting out. Use your argument at that time, and you would not be even playing 120 bpm. Would that be fun?
But what is the ‘proper’ speed. I have commented on this topic on the Board before. A tune that is often regarded as a fast one can sound wonderful played very slowly. Blarney Pilgrim is one example, Kerfunten Jig is another and the reel Hunters House. It lets you get plenty of expression into the notes. Oh, and it helps one to learn the phrasing too!
I know a gifted accordion player who has a rendition of Harvest Home that can make you weep. My usual session players are all trying to be the first one to the end when they normally play it.
I agree that playing fast is sometimes fun, and I like speed when I’m in the mood. But I’ve noticed that when I really feel in touch with the music, close to it, when I feel the rythm and feelings in me, is when I play slower. For me, music is also a good way to meditate, and the “fusion” comes at slower speed. I don’t think it’s about being able to play fast or not, there’s just something about playing slower, especially when we play by ourselves or with close friends. That feeling isnt there at all for me when I’m in a big session and then speed IS much more fun!
But then, “good music” is a personnal thing I guess. There’s only a few whistle players that will move me with their style, StevieJ and Brad from the board are a few of them, but there are many good technical players out there whose style I don’t care about, so talking about “playing well at speed” is very subjective.
“Up to speed” does not mean fast, it means at standard speeds you will encounter in sessions. For a double-jig, 120 bpm is a very common speed, and you will likely be expected to play jigs this quickly when playing in groups.
In the end, there shouldn’t be a tradeoff between playing “well” and playing “up to speed.” We will always sacrifice quality when we try to play like a bat outta Hell, but one should strive to play well at typical session speeds.
I, for one, will likely never get to the point where I can play fast enough for typical session speed. What live ITM I’ve heard around here and on CDs was pretty fast and heavily ornamented for most pieces (jigs and reels), except the slow airs. I’ve sort of reached a plateau on speed, which is likely the limits of my abilities. I’m working on the phrasing and having fun with it and don’t only play ITM, though I’m getting more into it because it is so much fun and extremely challenging. Who knows where I’ll end up if I concentrate more on it? I’m buying the used Mad for Trad CD-Rom and gonna work on that. Also working on 110 Greatest Irish Tinwhistle Tunes and Brother Steve’s site. But I’m going to do the Lee Marsh thing and enjoy my music, on several instruments and many styles and probably only rarely up to speed.
Probably not true. Give yourself more credit! Speed is one of those things that you’re likely to get only after you stop worrying about it. Like money, good sex and …
This is not necessarily true. If you get an opportunity to play with a group on a regular basis and can play some tunes you know well, you may surprise yourself. There’s nothing like playing with a group to push your comfort zone, and before you know it, you have improved dramatically.
You just have to know the tune. Simple as that. If it’s one you’re grey on, playing fast is often done to ‘hide’ the sloppy bits, though it you know it well, you can really let off the brakes and fly!
There certainly isn’t any speed limit for session playing, though others on this site will allude that there is. If you are comfortable with a tune, and are playing with others who are equally comfortable, you can really stretch the fingers and very likely, you’ll be supprised at how fast you are playing - and how easy it becomes.
Hey Brad, the boy isn’t grovelling and scraping nearly low enough. I say we tie a bag of 77 Chieftain Golds to his legs and chuck him off the Jacques-Cartier Bridge!
Seriously Az - shut up already. For one thing you’re embarrassing me, for another you have an inflated idea of my skills (leaving Brad out of this) and for yet another I don’t want to feel an obligation to keep singing your praises when you surpass your old teacher - which at current rates will be well before Christmas.
I don’t know if it’s the renditions I’ve heard, but it seems some tunes ask to be played at a certain speed. I love the sound of King of the Fairies played nice and slow, but the reel, Jolly Tinker, I can only think of fast. Some reels have internal rhythms that don’t really pop out until they move along. I would never dispute that slow and well played is way better than fast for fast sake. If you’re wondering why something isn’t sounding right, focus on rhythm, not speed. There’s a session near me that goes full speed for everything. I don’t bother with it. I imagine people eating luscious deserts by shoveling them down and swallowing before they can taste anything. Once, I poured a nice liqeur that I was accustomed to sipping for a friend and he dashed it back in one swallow. (And said it was good.) I was appalled.
Tony
Here are a few other ideas. When you listen to a CD of your favorite group, they have your attention. They can take any tempo they want and you are likely to enjoy it. In the session or live performance, the adrenaline, the pride of ability as well as the fear that “someone will be bored” leads to faster playing. You will hear group X play their tunes and I bet they play most faster live. They get tired of them too sometimes and just push through em I think.
Maybe certain groups, who play fast and furious, are “bad” influences on beginners. I can play along with Julia Clifford (or could if I had a C# whistle) but not get her nuance and aspire to it. Likewise for most of the Historic Clare recording and even some of the Michael Coleman. But if I put on an Altan record or Patrick Street, I suddenly feel as though I am definitely not “there” yet and better hurry up in my playing. This is a bad thing, most likely, though I enjoy hearing them so much. We like the sweep and power of it.
Lately, I keep spinning the NaConnerys disc. Most everything is dang fast and I sure lose nuance trying to keep up yet feel the need to, because these are famous players after all. I need to put the disc away, especially after pondering this topic. Too much, too soon. This is at least part of the dilemma of learning this style with a huge collection of discs and sense of urgency. Remember the subtitle of the McCullough book? “Hold your own in Irish sessions!” That’s a very lame, though understandable sentiment.
I am an accomplished lead guitar player, but I am very new to the whistle. Something I read once said that you should perform a piece well under your top speed to achieve your best playing. This means of course that you push yourself in practice, not on the stage.
I hate to be a nuisance [yeah yeah it never stopped me before someone is likely to say] but at this point would someoen PLEASE explain to me what ‘sessionspeed’ actually is. I have never understood the concept [let alone ‘typical sessionspeed’], so enlighten me. Throw in something on ‘sessiontunes’ too, what sets them apart from the rest of the tunes and all that, what tunes aren’t ‘sessionstunes’ .
