Here's what I think of irish musicians...

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 2:40 pm

skh wrote:Transposing is actually one of the things that get much much easier when you play by ear. Just start on a different note, and hope that you don't need a strange sharp or flat later in the tune that your whistle doesn't have

Sonja

I just like havin different key whistles to pick up. But the harder way is a good skill to learn.

An exception is the spectacle gimmick of playing a tune then stepping it up a pitch and playing it again. I heard that on a cheezy TimeLife Reels and Jigs record on the Blackthorn Stick.

On the other hand, Altan modulates John Doherty's Mazurka up a step and its pretty cool.

Because my band has a smallpiper, we end up doing tunes in A and my little Burke E whistle sure comes in handy as I already know some of the tunes in G.

Tres · Post by **Tres** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 2:53 pm

[quote="The music has a total different sens than what I'm used to in here. The best musicians just DON'T know the name of the tunes, and they don't give a darn about sheet music. They just KNOW how to play the tunes, and they don't ask themselves senseless questions like "what key is it played in?". I've met an irish fiddler who's been playing for more than 10 years, and she knows a whole bunch of tunes that she learned from other people, and from tapes. Her sister plays whistle like crazy and she's never seen something else than a generation whistle and a susato...

[/quote]

Not much different really than Bluegrass music in the Apalachians.

Folk music mostly is learned from ear by listening to other players. However, like anyone else, if shown or given a better sounding or playing instrument, I doubt any respectable folk musician would turn it down. I think we just have more options here in the States

Tres

Royce · Post by **Royce** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 12:34 am

Azalin wrote: For the rest, well you know, I was young, still had dreams... I love to know the title of the tunes I play, and love to know the key in which I'm playing them, which is quite the opposite of what I admired in some musicians in Ireland, but hey, I'm not one of them!

Thanks for the resurrection, oh my!

Gee, we all know what you were saying was, "Howcum all you guys here have $500 worth of whistles and you suck?"

Your observation was, that musicians *play* whistles, and aging, wealthy American dabblers *buy* whistles. Or perhaps you could have meant, musicians *learn* to play *the* whistle, *the* music, on whatever half-decent instrument they run into, whereas, American wannabees in their prime earning years spend their time and money trying to buy the one magic instrument that with play itself for them, or at least make them look damned good sitting in the corner of the session playing the three tunes they can almost get through up to speed while drinking the free beer.

I would personally never have been so *general* but I appreciate the sentiment.

Royce

skh · Post by **skh** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 1:02 am

Tres wrote:I think we just have more options here in the States.

Huh?

Sonja

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 1:58 am

Royce wrote:Gee, we all know what you were saying was, "Howcum all you guys here have $500 worth of whistles and you suck?"

Your observation was, that musicians *play* whistles, and aging, wealthy American dabblers *buy* whistles. Or perhaps you could have meant, musicians *learn* to play *the* whistle, *the* music, on whatever half-decent instrument they run into, whereas, American wannabees in their prime earning years spend their time and money trying to buy the one magic instrument that with play itself for them, or at least make them look damned good sitting in the corner of the session playing the three tunes they can almost get through up to speed while drinking the free beer.

Well, thanks, this is exactly what I wanted to explain but could never find the correct words for it. But 500$ is kind of under evaluated!

TonyHiggins · Post by **TonyHiggins** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 11:44 am

Royce wrote:
Gee, we all know what you were saying was, "Howcum all you guys here have $500 worth of whistles and you suck?"

My observation is that most whistle players in the US are very new at it and new to Irish music; so they don't have much experience with either playing the things or hearing the sublties of the music. Shameful, isn't it, that we don't start out with a professional competency. But, if that were the case, we'd all be trying to play sucky to sound better. If the people with $500 worth of whistles stick to a badly made fighterjet Generation, will they not suck anymore? What we need to do is tweak the expensive whistles by gluing extraneous bits of plastic into the windway and grinding the blade so it's out of position to get those ineffable pure drop qualities.

And those pointless people who have the audacity to take up whistles and not play Irish music...I could choke them. What are they thinking?

(I'm Irish, so I'm predisposed to sarcasm.)
Tony

skh · Post by **skh** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 11:59 am

You know, I don't have a problem with people spending all the money they want on instruments they want and playing any music they like on them. It's the notion that people like Mary Bergin or your average Irish prodigy, that all those unknown whistlers that play circles around them (and me, but that's not the point) are playing on inferior instruments which keeps making me react funny.

And, as an aside, we do have Internet and credit cards in Europe, so I'd really like to hear those extra options only open to Americans.

Sonja

Caj · Post by **Caj** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 2:45 pm

Royce wrote: Gee, we all know what you were saying was, "Howcum all you guys here have $500 worth of whistles and you suck?"

Owing to a surge in popularity, the tradition is now full of new people who may feel like they don't really qualify to belong to it---either for reasons of geography, culture, or just musical ability.

Members of a subculture who feel this way, deep-down, will often react by outwardly chastizing other perceived poseurs. Psychologists call this "reaction formation," an utterly un-Googlable term that refers to the squelching of an unwanted feeling by behaving outwardly, strongly, in the opposite manner.

I think this is why we see a lot of online discussion that amounts to arguing about who or what is really authentic, e.g. spirited chit-chat about the illegitimacy of sheet music, bodhrans, Enya, Riverdance, und zo forth, ya? Often opinions on these matters are weirdly exaggerated, e.g. sheet music transforming from this stuff you just don't really need to use, into this horrible taboo, virtually a symbol of non-membership.

Now tell me about your mother.
Caj

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 3:02 pm

Caj wrote:Now tell me about your mother.

Very funny.

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 7:57 pm

Caj wrote:
Royce wrote: Gee, we all know what you were saying was, "Howcum all you guys here have $500 worth of whistles and you suck?"
Owing to a surge in popularity, the tradition is now full of new people who may feel like they don't really qualify to belong to it---either for reasons of geography, culture, or just musical ability.

Members of a subculture who feel this way, deep-down, will often react by outwardly chastizing other perceived poseurs. Psychologists call this "reaction formation," an utterly un-Googlable term that refers to the squelching of an unwanted feeling by behaving outwardly, strongly, in the opposite manner.

I think this is why we see a lot of online discussion that amounts to arguing about who or what is really authentic, e.g. spirited chit-chat about the illegitimacy of sheet music, bodhrans, Enya, Riverdance, und zo forth, ya? Often opinions on these matters are weirdly exaggerated, e.g. sheet music transforming from this stuff you just don't really need to use, into this horrible taboo, virtually a symbol of non-membership.

Now tell me about your mother.
Caj

My mom is a great mom, BUT----she doesn't play ANY musical instrument!!

Ridseard · Post by **Ridseard** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 8:48 pm

I think Caj is right about the reaction formation.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 8:59 pm

I think Ridseard is right about Caj being right.

Ridseard · Post by **Ridseard** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 9:02 pm

Jerry is right about me being right about Caj being right.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 9:07 pm

I'm getting dizzy.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 9:08 pm

Ridseard wrote:Jerry is right about me being right about Caj being right.

That's a jig, isn't it?