What else do people play (other than ITM)?

[Susu]

I picked up my first whistle (Waltons D) a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I've been playing every day and searching the Web to find more information about playing the whistle. Having played reed instruments (sax, clarinet) off and on for most of my life, it wasn't too hard to pick up the whistle and belt out a few easy songs.
I decided to step things up a bit and try and learn some of the more "fun" jigs and reels. Much to my chigrin, I found that they are all continuous runs of eighth notes, played very quickly--like those frustrating exercise books I used to have to play in high school!
Well, I thought I should press on because the reward of being able to play these songs would be worth the frustration. So, I started reading more about playing ITM and I have run across several discouraging comments which can be summarized "If you haven't been listening to ITM since the day you were born, no matter what you do, you'll never be able to play it correctly, so don't bother." (Most notably, this sentiment appears on Brother Steve's site, but I've gotten the same general feeling from other sites and forum posts.)
So, my question is this: What else do people play on the whistle?
Some of the Renaissance music I've found is nice, but I think that's usually played on the OTHER fipple flute. I've heard tell of some slow airs, but I haven't found any yet. What else is out there?

[Adrian]

Have a look at Carolan compositions. Lots of super tunes at a slower pace and still Irish.

Here is one collection.

http://www.contemplator.com/carolan/index.html
Follow the links to find the music in midi format as well as written in normal music notation.

[Flogging Jason]

Scottish music for one! You could also look into set dances and polkas. Go to thesession.org. Lots of music you can search by type and key and not all of it Irish.

[airbender]

And here's another for Turlough O'Carolan (often referred to as Carolan):

http://www.oldmusicproject.com/OneilsOcarolans.html

I was wondering about Renaissance music just last night, too. Which brought me to Wanderer's site www.tinwhistler.com. I was thinking of sending him an email since he plays the whistle at the Texas Renaissance Festival.

Wanderer, if you're reading this ... do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Scott

[crookedtune]

I play the oldtime (Appalachian stringband) stuff that I learned on fiddle and banjo. Things like:
- Bonaparte's Retreat
- Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine
- Sugar Hill
- Soldier's Joy
- Quince Dillon's High D Tune
- Breaking Up Christmas
- The Girl I Left Behind Me
- Over the Waterfall
- Redwing
- Shady Grove
........etc.........

Purist oldtime players don't want to hear it on flute and whistle, the same way ITM players don't. But I think it sounds great.

[riverman]

Susu,
Don't let what you read on some of these sites discourage you!

I understand what these writers are saying about listening to ITM music to play it--and I do listen to some, not nearly having the time to listen as much as suggested. But play the music anyway!

Remember who your audience is--poor slobs like us who never heard must Irish outside of movie soundtracks and a comple of half-Irish Celtic discs we bought at the earth stores!

It is true that purists would throw rocks at my Irish tunes--but it is also true that they STILL sound Irish and most people would instantly recognize them as such--AND I have fun playing them. You will too.

I have been playing for one and a half years, and just now have begun to find to dexterity to play jigs through with, perhaps, one or two minor mistakes per tune. Most listeners don't care. I can't do a roll (I always get five notes) but I can do a half roll, cuts, slides, strikes and grace notes. They really dress up a tune nice.

Until you can do jigs, concentrate on the ballads, songs and polkas. And slow airs are just beautiful.
By the way, I also love to play many praise choruses and some hymns, the older the better on a whistle.

[Whitmores75087]

The problem arises when you try to play with others. I've played with folks who have tried to do "rounds" or other accompaniments that were totally outside the Irish idiom, sounding more like rennaissance music. Or you run into folks who play reels like marches. It's a concern, not as a matter of "purity", but it just gets in the way. So I'd say listen to how it's done. A few CD's should do it.

[A-Musing]

Susu...
riverman tells it like it is....for me, and I suspect many others. My own humble playing of "ITM" could best be called "Irishesque." I have great respect for the tradition, though...and just do me best.
I'm not a "performer" per se, and play mostly for meditational/therapeutic purposes. Hymns. Airs. Folk tunes of as many types as I can get to. Old pop tunes. Beattles. Carols. WHATEVER Floats MY BOAT!
When I listen to "real" ITM players, I am kind of stunned. They've gotten to a wonderful place with the music. Being steeped in the tradition, and having played for most of one's life DOES help. A lot!
Jump in where you can. This whistling thing is happily carrying on under a Big Tent!!!

[Adrian]

I love ITM but there is a lot more to the whistle than this. If you don't want to take the ITM road then play what you like and how you like. Have fun is the main thing!

[Rod Sprague]

I listened a lot to classical, country and western (including old time, bluegrass and older folk music), Wendy Carlos and highland bagpipe band music growing up. Let’s just say I have a rather unique style. One thing I’ve noticed, because of listening to highland bagpipe band and country & western music, is that contemporary traditional Irish music uses more ornamentation and goes much faster than I tend to. That is observation, not a criticism. To my ear, old time and older folk music sounds closer to the original old world source than contemporary traditional Irish music. It is natural for the source of a kind of music to evolve faster than more isolated variants. What I’ve noticed is that what are ornamentations in old time, older folk and highland pipe band music are now part of the core music in contemporary traditional Irish music that they add new ornamentations to.

I play Amazing Grace much as I’ve heard it played on the highland pipes, but with a bit more feeling, having more control of the sound. Unitarian Universalist church music is noted for being a bit removed from old time gospel music, so we have a gospel music Sunday. We sing all the old hymns people still love from their old religious backgrounds. I played Amazing Grace on the pennywhistle as an intro to the singing of the song. One comment was “That sounded rather, Celtic.”. I played it that way to give good contrast to the more gospel style people sang it in.

[Susu]

Adrian, Jason and airbender:
Thanks for the links. I'll try some of those tonight!
I had been to thesession.org when I first got my whistle, and I had forgotten what a wealth of music was there.
(Being 1/2 Scottish and about 1/64 Irish, the idea of playing Scottish music tends to attract me more. Although I do like the Irish music as well. )

crookedtune: I'll have to see if I can find some music for those songs. I love that kind of music too and have always wished I could play the fiddle!

riverman: As you could tell, I was feeling a little discouraged. You've given me the strength to go on whistling!

Whitmores: I understand that good musicians get frustrated playing with people who are not that good or may not have a firm grasp of the style. It's very intimidating to those of us who want to get good though. I wish there was somewhere near me to play with people who are of a relatively similar skill level.

A-musing and Rod: Thanks for your input as well. I, too, have a pretty wide range of musical tastes, and hopefully at some point I'll be able to play in front of other people and with other musicians. (Sunday morning Church service seems like a pretty safe debut!)

Thanks all. I am still interested to hear about what other kinds of music people like to play on their whistles.

[colomon]

I wish there was somewhere near me to play with people who are of a relatively similar skill level.

Looks like it probably takes you about an hour to get into Boson? I'd be really surprised if you cannot find a nice slow session there.

[Anglorfin]

While I was reading through this thread a thought came to me that sounded like a good remedy for getting past all the, you gotta be raised Irish to play ITM.

I was thinking about how a lot of the problem obviously stems from rythm or the lack thereof. Most of the ITM tunes are tunes to be danced to. Might the problem be that the average person has not experienced live Irish dancing? It's one thing to hear a jig. But if you hear that jig and see dancers the picture becomes much more complete. I think this is pretty close to what they mean when they say that you have to be 'raised in the Irish tradition'.

Wouldn't it be great if we could all play a jig and know that people would know how to dance to it? So my new remedy is to find an Irish dance studio (they shouldn't be too hard to find in Boston btw) and just watch. Go as often as possible without looking creepy. Or just explain to the instructor what you wish to accomplish by watching. Maybe way later down the road you could even have the dancers dance to your playing. It would be a very enriching experience for your playing.

[Bill Hennessy]

I love to play hymns, and several have Irish roots such as Be Thou My Vision and Morning Has Broken. One of my favorites is Jesus, Lover of My Soul. I'm pretty new to it, also, and am trying to play some faster pieces without much success. There is a ton of music that sounds beautiful on the whistle that isn't ITM. I say play what you love!

[fancypiper]

I play the oldtime (Appalachian stringband) stuff that I learned on fiddle and banjo. Things like:
- Bonaparte's Retreat
- Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine
- Sugar Hill
- Soldier's Joy
- Quince Dillon's High D Tune
- Breaking Up Christmas
- The Girl I Left Behind Me
- Over the Waterfall
- Redwing
- Shady Grove
........etc.........

Purist oldtime players don't want to hear it on flute and whistle, the same way ITM players don't. But I think it sounds great.

I play those and a lot more tunes I don't know the name of (heard them for years and the tune is there but no names...).

I have been well recieved at all the jams I have attended with no objections to whistles or pipes and I live in a hotbed of old time and bluegrass music.

In the local jam just down the block from me, they keep telling me to play the whistle as loud as I can. I only have one volume, though and they don't quite understand that.

I may take my Susato down one week and bust their eardrums, but I need to find my sonic filters to wear if I play that loud beast.