ornamentation in Clarke tutor book

[muckle_moose]

Hi,

I'm a learner who's been dipping into Heather Clarke's tutor "The New Approach to Uilleann Piping" from time to time over the years.

This tutor is probably the most (often only) recommended book for beginners. The only other available tutors useful for beginners that I am aware of are: Seamus Ennis' book "The Master's Touch", the NPU videos (excellent), and the Mad for Trad CD (which I haven't seen).

I'm finding the Clarke book quite difficult. The tunes and ornaments are all quite straightforward until Lesson 12, when I hit a brick wall. Suddenly the level of difficulty seems to make a big jump!

I have a specific question about a back-D grace note that is used in places I find very difficult:

Lesson 10, Page 27, The Cliffs of Dooneen: 2nd bar of the 2nd line, there is a D grace note before B, but this is AFTER a D. The only way I can do that it by stopping the chanter and then twitching by thumb on the back D as I make the B.

As a beginner, this is not at all an obvious or natural movement, yet there is no discussion of it in the text. My point is that a D grace note from a higher note has to be played quite differently than when after a lower note.

Lesson 11, page 28, Exercise 19: D grace note between D and C-nat. How is this played?

Lesson 12, page 32, Will You Come Home With Me: In this tune there are several D graces from D to C-nat. There is also a high-G grace note between a high-G and a high-F. How is that played?

I know all this may seem pedantic, but for a beginner with limited access to other pipers, these problems can hold back progress!

Finally, can I ask generally, for an A-roll, is it more common to make the 1st grace note with a twitch of the 1st finger (index) or 2nd finder?

Slan go foill,
Brett Patterson

[Droner]

Hi there...when I started piping I used Clarkes tutor and found it really difficult so I went and got the NPU videos. Learned from these for a bout six months and by that stage the lessons in the Clarke tutor started making more sense and were a little easier to understand. She does make a big leap at that stage in the book. As far as I remember it was around Garrett Barry's jig. From then on she starts the ornamentation and pulls out the stops with the variations. I would say take one point from each lesson and use it in tunes as you build your repetoire. Bit by bit you will start finding ornamentation easier and will start putting it into tunes without knowing. I remeber at your stage I couldn't figure out the D grace note on Cnat. Going from Cnat back to A (or B for that matter) as in the first part of the kid on the mountain or Merrily kiss the Quaker. It's like cutting the Cnat with D while almost at the same time rolling back to the A (or B) Takes abit of coordination at first.

"Will you come home with me" is different and what you are talking about can be quite difficult for the beginner. Here you have a Back D followed by aCnat , in first part. But what she does here is play the back D and the stop the chanter for a split second and then cuts down onto the Cnat using the Back D. So its D then D-Cnat. Cutting using the D accentuates the Cnaturl. The D is just before you open the Cnat fingers. This gives a nice rythm to this part of the tune. Try having this part of the tune fairly well learned without the cut and then introduce it ....you might find it easier. Don't be disheartened the tecniques will come in time. The main thing is to be able to keep time properly. No matter how much ornamentation you have, if its not in time, a tune will always be wrong. Concentrate on your timing more than anything at your stage. Get the NPu videos, you can see what they are doing as well as hear it. Above all start to listen to as much piping from good players as possible.

[ausdag]

Lesson 10, Page 27, The Cliffs of Dooneen: 2nd bar of the 2nd line, there is a D grace note before B, but this is AFTER a D. The only way I can do that it by stopping the chanter and then twitching by thumb on the back D as I make the B.

Yes, it's done by stopping the chanter first, or as you say, by stopping then 'twitching'. It's a common Willie Clancy technique also employed by Liam O'Flynn. I like it too. Listening to the piping of O'Flynn in conjunction to using the Clarke tutor is a good idea as you can hear many of or all of the techniques in the book done by O'Flynn in his typical uncluttered style of piping.

Lesson 11, page 28, Exercise 19: D grace note between D and C-nat. How is this played?

Same....play D, stop chanter, cut to C-nat with a D 'twitch'

Lesson 12, page 32, Will You Come Home With Me: .....There is also a high-G grace note between a high-G and a high-F. How is that played?

I can't remember the dots in the clarke book for this one but I think it would be the same, only this time, play the high G, stop the chanter then cut on f with a G 'twitch'. A but harder than the D one because of the 2nd octave issue.

Finally, can I ask generally, for an A-roll, is it more common to make the 1st grace note with a twitch of the 1st finger (index) or 2nd finder?

Either, or. It's entirely up to you. The chirp of the index finger cut (C) tends to stand out more than the B cut with the 2nd finger.

Good luck

DavidG

[Droner]

The A roll is up to you but I would get used to doing the cut for the roll with the 2nd finger (B finger) because for the beginner, it saves having to do it two different ways for the two octaves.

[djm]

FWIW, I found most of my difficulties with the back-D cut stemmed from too tight a grip. By learning to play with soft hands, techniques like the back-D cut became much easier for me.

Here's an exercise that I was given that may help: when playing notes with the lower hand, pay attention to holding the chanter with the upper hand. When playing notes with the upper hand, pay attention to holding the chanter with the lower hand. Do this with scales, etc. concentrating on holding the chanter stable with the hand that is not playing the current notes. Gradually try to do this faster.

djm

[eric_smith]

FWIW, I found most of my difficulties with the back-D cut stemmed from too tight a grip. By learning to play with soft hands, techniques like the back-D cut became much easier for me.

To add to this, my great leap forward with the back D came when I learned to move my thumb in a circle (which I got from Jerry O'Sullivan), rather than straight up and down all the time. In general, developing a relaxed lateral motion in the thumb -- such by practicing the split at the end of the tutor -- helps make the back D sound smoother and helps control. IMO.

Eric

[Droner]

As a matter of interest, what age is Heather Clarke now and what is she up to, where does she live and play etc.?

[Cayden]

First time I saw her play was in 1980, she was nine then. At some point she went to study medicine and I haven't seen her since, playing or otherwise.

[djm]

Whether you love it or hate it, you can't avoid the fact that the Clarke tutor filled an enormous gap in UP instruction that no-one else is attempting to fill. Having had the opportunity to get some live teaching from NPU instructors at a couple of tíonóls, I am keenly aware that there is a wealth of instruction that is available live from NPU but that is not being collected anywhere or written down for us unwashed masses outside of Ireland. Clarke's, although not perfect, is still the best overall tutor for people beginning with no live teacher available. That's not to say that there aren't benefits in the other tutors, but if you're only going to buy one tutor to learn on your own, Clarke's is the best IMHO.

djm

[Droner]

Peter, being a studier of the old medicine I am even more interested now. Do you know where she was from etc.?

[Reepicheep]

FWIW - My copy of the HJ Clarke tutor arrived yesterday. I have been car traveling today and playing the cd to try to get my mind wrapped around some of the concepts. I actually swore out loud when I got to track 12 (lesson 12) and noticed the severe jump in complexity.

Does anyone have an opinion as to how long one should work on lessons 1-11? It seems to me that this jump in complexity means that Ms. Clarke expects that you have the previous lessons completely down pat sans any inkling of error.

[ausdag]

FWIW - My copy of the HJ Clarke tutor arrived yesterday. I have been car traveling today and playing the cd to try to get my mind wrapped around some of the concepts. I actually swore out loud when I got to track 12 (lesson 12) and noticed the severe jump in complexity.

Does anyone have an opinion as to how long one should work on lessons 1-11? It seems to me that this jump in complexity means that Ms. Clarke expects that you have the previous lessons completely down pat sans any inkling of error.

Hi Reepicheep,

Could you remind me again what is contained in lesson 11 and then in lesson 12. I had the book a good decade ago but then 'lent' it to a student and haven't seen it since. But I worked through it in about 6 - 8months, not to perfection of course, nor did I learn to play all the tunes in the back either, before I turned to other methods of learning.

Cheers,

DavidG

[djm]

Chapter 11 ends with Doherty's Reel (which knee-capped me for a while) and the South Wind. Chapter 12 starts off with Garrett Barry's Jig and Will You Come Home with Me, throwing in lots of stacatto triplets, cuts and rolls. Yes, get proficient with the previous chapters before trying to assault this one. It seems to be intended to tie everything together all at once; a sort of watershed to be met and conquered before moving on.

djm

[muckle_moose]

Lesson 11:
Tunes: Fling, Doherty's Reel, The South Wind
Technique: Long rolls, single note grace notes
Complexity: long roll followed by single grace note, octave jumping

Lesson 12:
Garret Barry's Jig, Will You Come Home With Me?
Technique: Staccato, Staccato Triplets
Complexity: Staccato triplet AND a legato triplet in the same bar of a jig, staccato quavers followed by staccato triplet in jig.
For example: In Garret Barry's 1st part there are 3 long rolls, two staccato triplets, and a staccato trio of quavers. In the 2nd part there are two staccato triplets, one legato triplet, and two staccato tios of quavers.
In the 1st part of Will You Come Home With Me? there is one staccatro triplet, one legato triplet, three staccato trios, and six long rolls.

Lesson 12 is really quite overwhelming!

Slan,
Brett

[Tony]

....I'm finding the Clarke book quite difficult....

I've mentioned this before.
Not at first, It starts off easy then increases difficulty almost expontentally!!

The lessons are rushed, especially if you follow the CD.