learning a fast tune for finger exercise

elbogo · Post by **elbogo** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 2:36 pm

Anyone know a really excellent tune that's supposed to be played fairly fast, without a lot of ornamentation, as a good beginners example of getting one's fingers accustomed to moving faster, ie., a good exercise tune.

As I'm finding out, being one of the "older" guys, my fingers need help in getting up to speed. Something I can learn slowly and then trying to play it faster and faster, until I fall over dead. Well, just until I get my fingers built up to par anyway.

Thanks for any suggestions

Antaine · Post by **Antaine** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 2:51 pm

I hated scales and exercises...even on other instruments...so i would always use songs as practice (I was inspired by Piotr Tchaikovsky...when asked what finger exercises he recommended for playing his pieces, he replied, "my pieces <i>are</i> exercises" or something to that effect)

anyway...i would use Fáinne Gael an Lae (Dawning of the Day) and Donnybrook Fair as warmup and practice respectively. I would use the Rights of Man to practice with the Cnat

fancypiper · Post by **fancypiper** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:10 pm

I just learned my first reel, the Silver Spear. I found it good for building speed (well, on that one tune at least)and it has lots of opportunities for practicing f yelps as well. Would that fit the bill?

Pat Cannady · Post by **Pat Cannady** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:11 pm

Hi Jeff. It's about steadiness, not speed, dude

Work on being steady and don't worry about speed, it will take care of itself. PLAY every day if If you have to play really slowwwww in order to be steady, then play really slowwwww until you can play at that tempo without extraordinary effort or thought going into the process. Then speed up slightly if you want to, but if things go awry go back to the sloowwwww playing. If you do this EVERY day, eventually your muscle memory will take over and you will notice that you can play the tune faster than you would have thought possible months before. Don't try to force speedy playing out of hands that aren't relaxed or well-trained enough to do it without your having to think about it - it's a recipe for tendonitis or RS injuries.

Antaine's suggestion of a simple march like Fainne Gael an Lae is a great start, so is Song of the Chanter.

Polkas like Egan's or I Have Two Yellow Goats might be helpful. Polkas are great for building confidence in your ear learning too - their melodies are simple and usually quite memorable.

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:34 pm

Elbogo, let's say you are at least as impatient as I am, and decide to forgo all the excellent advice given above. Try The Dusty Miller. It is brainless, very repetitive, and typically played at ridiculous speeds.

djm

janice · Post by **janice** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:41 pm

Pat is correct.....steadiness is way way way more important than speed. Playing tunes with folks who have bad time and play at lightning speed is painful and no fun. Much more preferable is to play with folks who play at a slow, relaxed tempo and who have dead-on time.

As for tunes, try "Jim Ward's Jig," and work with a metronome (see other thread). You'll find that working with a metronome at a slow tempo will really help your technique/muscle memory.

AlanB · Post by **AlanB** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:42 pm

Jeff,

There's a tune on Paddy K's "Long Grazing Acre" he refers to as The Clare Jig. It's also known as Bill something or others, I can't for the life of me recall it right now Its in G, so it's great for working on G rolls as an intro to ornamentation, and it doesn't have to pass back D thus saving all that extra thinking. I can send you a Sibelius file or gif/bmp of it if it'll help? I think it may be in Ceol Rince book 1??

Alan

AlanB · Post by **AlanB** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:44 pm

Bugger! Janice got it! It's not Bill, it's Jim!!

Alan

janice · Post by **janice** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:51 pm

"Dammit Jim, I'm a Doctor! Not an opera singer!"

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:57 pm

They also call it the Mug of Brown Ale. Leo Rowsome recorded it back when. It's in the Roche collection.
The Kerry Jig Paddy plays on there is actually the Ballintore Fancy, which two tunes Leo made a medley of on his Ri na Piobari LP. Paddy's recorded it three times now, it's like Sean Maguire and the Mason's Apron with this tune. He got the name right the first two times (Bothy Band and that 2nd record, where you can really tell Paddy's dying from the flu). It's a great tune for practicing the roll on B.

elbogo · Post by **elbogo** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 6:18 pm

Ah, thanks! Some damn good advice, Pat, the steadiness... I can understand that. Steady playing. Seems like steady is a good way to approach the crans and rolls as well(?)

djm, it's true I'm more than impatient... but I think my fumbing along is really paying off. I mean I can actually play, not well, but a heck of alot better than when I started. I also think I'm pretty clutsy too...

Ok, I don't want to destroy my fingers, true, but I'd like them to just be able to move a little faster. Guess I'll stick with the steady, and let the speed take care of itself. Dammit, Pat, you got a good head on you!

Captain, there be whales here!

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 6:45 pm

Absolutely best advice is to go slow and steady, but sometimes that can drive you up the wall with frustration.

That's what the Dusty Miller is for. Seámus Ennis' introduced it as far as I know, and his is the best version to listen to. If you need dots, it is in The Master's Touch.

djm

anima · Post by **anima** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 8:01 pm

djm wrote:Absolutely best advice is to go slow and steady,
djm

sounds like my wife.......

Jeff

elbogo · Post by **elbogo** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 8:11 pm

djm,

Concerning The Dusty Millar, which is a very interesting tune, with all those quavers (that's gonna be a challenge!) there are two versions in The Masters Touch, the first one (the standard version) Seamus learned from his Father, while the second one he learned from Colm O Caodhain in 1943, and which Seamus played, apparently, quite often.

Nice tune, anyone know of a recording of it... Seamus, perhaps?

Hm, 1943, a year before I was born.

The Sporting Pitchfork · Wed Feb 04, 2004 9:40 pm

Good advice here.

I'd say maybe try some polkas and slides as they are usually very simple, easy-to-remember tunes that are rarely technically challenging. Start off painfully slow and each day, take it up a notch. Use a metronome if you have one. If you don't, get thee to a music shop and pick one up. You know that scene in The Red Violin where the little German kid is practically sawing the violin in half and there's a metronome going in the background? Kinda like that. Only with polkas. When your fingers start to get in a knot or the hard-wiring between your fingers and your brain starts to fray, slow down and simplify everything down to it's simplest possible component. Don't play through one whole part until you can play each measure cleanly and confidently and don't play through the whole tune until you can play each part cleanly and confidently.