illuminatus99 wrote:I'd probably use an F whistle for F and an A whistle for A, failing that a D whistle will work for A if you're good at half-holing
The problem with this is that there are notes below the tonic, so you need a whistle in a lower key than the key of the tune.
I found I could play along easily with the key of F part on a C whistle (same as G fingering on a D whistle) and I could play along easily with the key of A part on an E whistle (again, same as G fingering on a D whistle.)
While Titanic can be blamed for many things, I appreciate the fact that it gave Gaelic Storm a real boost in popularity
(in fact, it's pretty much responsible for anyone having heard of them at all!)
I saw Gaelic Storm at Duke University a year or two after the film came out.
They were apparantly asked to come there by a Girl Scout troop who had loved their work in Titanic.
They've been back to Duke several times since (incredible each time).
Otherwise, I don't think the group would have come to the east coast at all... So at least James Cameron gave me that.
(I think Gaelic Storm is more deserving of a Las Vegas theatre than Celine Dion, but what the heck do I know?)
I think Gaelic Storm is ONLY deserving of a Las Vegas Theatre! They're just as "traditional" as Titanic was. Sheesh! A fun bunch of guys to chat up at the pub and even some fun to play some trad. tunes with after hours - but their concert? PUH-LEEEEEEZE!
So play A on a D, B, A, Gb or E
and play F on a Bb, G, F, D or C
Assuming you can play in a,c,d,f,and g, on your d whistle. Of course the tune has to fit nicely into the two plus a bit octaves on whatever whistle you pick up.
Brian Lee wrote:I think Gaelic Storm is ONLY deserving of a Las Vegas Theatre! They're just as "traditional" as Titanic was. Sheesh! A fun bunch of guys to chat up at the pub and even some fun to play some trad. tunes with after hours - but their concert? PUH-LEEEEEEZE!
It is just music PUH-LEEEEEEZE! As long as they do not try to promote themselves as something they are not, then what the heck does it matter WHAT they play as long as someone likes it.
The ITrad or Die sydrome is sickening.
Steven - IDAwHOa - Wood Rocks
"If you keep asking questions.... You keep getting answers." - Miss Frizzle - The Magic School Bus
I'm certainly not an Itrad or Die fanatic, but they ARE billed as a purely Celtic band - or at least have been every time I've seen or heard anything about them being promoted vor the last five or so years. Have you had a listen to their stuff? It struggles to even be considered Irish really, let alone Celtic. They do take some trad. tunes/songs and try to do some new things with them, but for my money, there are plenty out there who do it MUCH better with nowhere near the publicity that GS seems to garner all over the place.
They did a good job. And you know, there were quite a few Irish folks in the audience, and they seemed to like it well enough. See, we have several hospitals in this area that are in part staffed by Irish nurses who brought their families with them, and there are also some of the Sisters here.
Nobody else bothers coming to my neck of the woods, or we'd watch them too.
peeplj wrote:Nobody else bothers coming to my neck of the woods, or we'd watch them too.
--James
Isn't that what happens in most small towns? If someone you don't know shows up you all watch them? Especially them strange travelling musician types?
(I know the mindset - even back in my old hometown my wife and I can get lots of stares by walking hand-in-hand. Since I haven't lived there in over 20 years only my family and a couple of friends recognize me - and they find my wife - HK Chinese - really exotic.)
Moving back on-topic: I'd be happy to see them, too. But our local paper is surprisingly parochial about entertainment listings - too many times to count I find out, long after they've left, that a group I'd like to see was in the area. But the SJ Mercury News seems to regard anything outside the San Jose - San Francisco axis unworthy of mention. Even if they're playing within an hour's drive, even groups like the Chieftains . . .
I like Gaelic Storm, too, but I like them for what they really are - a folk/rock band.
I watched a Celine Dion concert video (shame on me), and on the Titanic theme, it showed the whistle player playing something black with a little gold ring around the end. At that point, the song was in the key of E, and I could tell it was an A whistle by the fingerings being used, so I'm guessing it was a Dixon A.
Well, we saw them and enjoyed them for what they are, without any worries about what they are not.
I am leaving this discussion at this point--I don't enjoy dissing other artists' music, and I don't find these kinds of discussions either uplifting or enlightening.
They're just as "traditional" as Titanic was. Sheesh! A fun bunch of guys to chat up at the pub and even some fun to play some trad. tunes with after hours - but their concert? PUH-LEEEEEEZE!
