What do you have the hardest problem with?

whistlegal · Post by **whistlegal** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 1:38 pm

Slow airs give me a hard time. I tend to over-romanticize and get slower and sloower and sloooooower.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 1:48 pm

whistlegal wrote:Slow airs give me a hard time. I tend to over-romanticize and get slower and sloower and sloooooower.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. When you listen to some of these airs sung, particularly the sean nos airs, they are often sung much more slowly, and more emotively, than one might tend to play them from the written music.

Redwolf

chas · Post by **chas** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 1:50 pm

I would say, it depends. Reels are easy to get a grip on, but if you mean playing one at 200+ bpm, they're the most difficult. Airs, OTOH, are easy to play up to speed, but, especially on the whistle, difficult to play with the proper emotional content. On the flute it's much easier to convey the proper mood because the flute is so much more expressive, but it's difficult to manage breath in a tune that's played slowly.

I find jigs and hornpipes easier to play well than the other two.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 2:29 pm

Reels are the hardest for me because I hear so many of them as dance fodder with utterly unmemorable melodies. Now, I've got nothing against dance fodder and I'd feel deprived if I didn't have a couple of sets of reels on an Irish CD. But, like a lot of business-as-usual music in other forms, I like to let them wash over me, enjoying the groove without paying much attention to the melody. That's not much use in learning to play them.

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 2:34 pm

all of the above

desert_whistler · Post by **desert_whistler** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 3:38 pm

Actually, getting Jigs to have that proper "lazy jig feeling" that Brother Steve describes on his site http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/b ... ricky.html is my biggest hurdle right now. I can make a jig sound OK slowly, but when I bring it up to normal speed, my rhythm goes to hell in a handbasket. To me, that's a lot harder than playing reels (although playing Drowsy Maggie with the proper speed and feel is pretty darn tough)

Numex · Post by **Numex** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 10:49 pm

desert_whistler wrote:Actually, getting Jigs to have that proper "lazy jig feeling" that Brother Steve describes on his site http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/b ... ricky.html is my biggest hurdle right now. I can make a jig sound OK slowly, but when I bring it up to normal speed, my rhythm goes to hell in a handbasket. To me, that's a lot harder than playing reels (although playing Drowsy Maggie with the proper speed and feel is pretty darn tough)

A good book and CD set with lots of jigs is a "Dossan of Heather" The tunes are hopelessly rhythmic

, tuneful and really convey a sense of the jig feel rather painlessly, I think. http://www.rogermillington.com

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 10:45 pm

I agree. I absolutely LOVE that book and CD. (could a factor in that be the fact that I love jigs?

)

Caj · Post by **Caj** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 2:12 am

Naw, I personally think a big problem with laments is that people play them too slowly. Even O'Carolan tunes people play like laments.

Maybe I'll call this Caj's law: if you're playing a lament, you're playing it too slow; otherwise, you're playing it too fast.

Caj

illuminatus99 · Post by **illuminatus99** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 4:43 am

once I learn a tune at full speed I have a hard time slowing it down to a more moderate pace, escpecially reels.

Montana · Post by **Montana** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 11:47 am

Jigs are fun to play and, dance fodder aside, I find it's easier to play a jig with consistent feel if I imagine people dancing to it (kinda like a fast waltz). However, I will say that if a band will rush anything, it's a jig. We always start at a nice tempo but that Da-da-da Da-da-da rhythm tends to drive faster, particularly when there's a dotted quarter note. The longer note doesn't get held long enough and awaaayyy weeee gooooo...

Post by **Nanohedron** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 12:09 pm

Spoons.

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 12:10 pm

what's the difference between "jigs" and "double jigs" here?

Anyway, I used to think reels were harder than jigs. Now I think that once you get into the reel groove, they are actually much easier than jigs. Jigs are quite difficult to get right, in terms of jig-feel and phrasing.

I think slow airs are by far the hardest, btw.

peteinmn · Post by **peteinmn** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 12:11 pm

What do you find the hardest to play?

The whistle! First I have to make sure I have the right end of the thing in my mouth. Then there's all that stuff about using some fingers to cover the holes. Then there's the blowing part, and that's where my problems really begin!

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 2:05 pm

Bloomfield wrote:what's the difference between "jigs" and "double jigs" here?

Anyway, I used to think reels were harder than jigs. Now I think that once you get into the reel groove, they are actually much easier than jigs. Jigs are quite difficult to get right, in terms of jig-feel and phrasing.

I think slow airs are by far the hardest, btw.

I think the note pattern of a single jig makes it inherently easier to play well (unfortunately, relatively few Irish jigs are single jigs!). With double jigs it's too easy to fall into the habit of bashing the rhythm (which I never can spell...did I get it close to right this time?) to death.

Redwolf