For people who play too fast.
- Phil Hardy
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For people who play too fast.
I have had an interesting exercise in the last few day trying to play tunes very slowly.
I know that many of you concider that the hight of trad cool is to play tunes at breakneck speed but an older and wiser muso than me said once that you loose the real taste of the music in the speed.
It took a while to understand what he meant but after playing tunes at half the speed I have developed an even greater love of the tunes when slowed down.
There is wonderful melody in them,any of them,so give it a go,SLOW THEM DOWN.
The term ol' Bill used was STEADY.
So..steady as you go Captain.
Also when playing tunes on a whistle,it's MUCH more of a challenge to make them sound good at a steady pace.
Phil.
I know that many of you concider that the hight of trad cool is to play tunes at breakneck speed but an older and wiser muso than me said once that you loose the real taste of the music in the speed.
It took a while to understand what he meant but after playing tunes at half the speed I have developed an even greater love of the tunes when slowed down.
There is wonderful melody in them,any of them,so give it a go,SLOW THEM DOWN.
The term ol' Bill used was STEADY.
So..steady as you go Captain.
Also when playing tunes on a whistle,it's MUCH more of a challenge to make them sound good at a steady pace.
Phil.
- Chiffed
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Guilty! Mea Culpa! Oh Crud!
Young and foolish as I am, I play too fast. My current remedy is to buy more whistles.
Isn't it more about pulse and groove? When Joannie Madden rips through a reel it doesn't seem hurried, but my metronome says it's Tempo di Scalded Cat.
Young and foolish as I am, I play too fast. My current remedy is to buy more whistles.
Isn't it more about pulse and groove? When Joannie Madden rips through a reel it doesn't seem hurried, but my metronome says it's Tempo di Scalded Cat.
Happily tooting when my dogs let me.
- brewerpaul
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- Kansas
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Thanks for the tip
Trying to learn tunes at breakneck speed is a real challange for those of us new to the whistle world. One of the best things someone suggested to me was to find some of the songs on midi and then slow them down on my midi keyboard to learn them. It is very easy for us newbies to get discouraged trying to "keep up".
It's nice to hear a professional suggest what can be experienced not just in the learning but in the actual listening and appreciation of the tune.
I've learned quite a lot in the past five months, and can do a fairly credible job of fingering on a high whistle (thanks in no small way to the ease of Mr Busmans fine whistle).
Now when I can do a better job on the Low G and Low D (A Cheiftain Low G and a Kerry Low D by the way, Mr Hardy), then I will feel ready to start to get "better" all round.
But all the same the experience is sure fullfilling. Fun on the "journey".
It's nice to hear a professional suggest what can be experienced not just in the learning but in the actual listening and appreciation of the tune.
I've learned quite a lot in the past five months, and can do a fairly credible job of fingering on a high whistle (thanks in no small way to the ease of Mr Busmans fine whistle).
Now when I can do a better job on the Low G and Low D (A Cheiftain Low G and a Kerry Low D by the way, Mr Hardy), then I will feel ready to start to get "better" all round.
But all the same the experience is sure fullfilling. Fun on the "journey".
Clann O' dubh Ghaill / Doyle
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- Tony McGinley
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Couldn't agree more Phil. The County Clare musicians tend to play a piece slower and savour every note, thereby drawing much more colour and meaning from the tune. Martin Hayes and Denis Cahill in the "Lonesome Touch" give a good example of this type of playing. IMHO their rendition of the hornpipe "Paul Ha'penny" is a superb example.
BTW I got my Kerry Low D tunable Songbird from Big Whistle recently - lovely instrument and I am delighted with the tone, balance, and the beautiful finish. The tuning joint is really well formed but I find it tight and a bit of a struggle to adjust. My inclination is to take a bit of '000 wet and dry' to the cork but I dont want to do anything stupid and end up with a less perfect instrument. Maybe you can suggest something I can safely do - perhaps even have patience until the joint naturally loosens up!!.
BTW I got my Kerry Low D tunable Songbird from Big Whistle recently - lovely instrument and I am delighted with the tone, balance, and the beautiful finish. The tuning joint is really well formed but I find it tight and a bit of a struggle to adjust. My inclination is to take a bit of '000 wet and dry' to the cork but I dont want to do anything stupid and end up with a less perfect instrument. Maybe you can suggest something I can safely do - perhaps even have patience until the joint naturally loosens up!!.
Tony McGinley
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- Phil Hardy
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too fast ?
see below - quote is from Galway banjo-player Poric McDonagh on the sleeve-notes of "Live At Matt Molloy's".
"There's fast music and there's lively music. People don't always know the difference"
- Martin Milner
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It would be potentially interesting to take a few well known tunes that appear on various recordings from the 50s onwards and see if the tempo really has changed over the years.
Also comparing live recordings to studio recordings might reveal various tempos in use.
A few old recordings I have are usually noted on the sleeve as being particularly enjoyable for the slower pace the tunes are taken at.
Also comparing live recordings to studio recordings might reveal various tempos in use.
A few old recordings I have are usually noted on the sleeve as being particularly enjoyable for the slower pace the tunes are taken at.
- BigDavy
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Fast tunes
Never a truer word jbarter. with the emphasis on rush. A good player can play fast and articulate the notes so that the essence of the tune is not lost, the not so good player crams the notes in to play fast and it sounds like mush.You should no more rush a good tune than you would a good whiskey.
As has been mentioned in other topics the best way to understand the speed for tunes is to actually play for dancers, If they can dance to it then you are on the right track.
David
Payday, Piping, Percussion and Poetry- the 4 best Ps
- chas
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There are tunes that sound good slowed down and some that don't. Not all tunes are really melodic, or melodically interesting; I think those that don't slow down well (mostly reels IMO) are more about rhythm than melody. I don't generally play those, because I find them kind of dull while learning them. I suspect that's also why I don't play nearly as many reels as jigs.
Charlie
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