Which is better for a beginner? Depth or breadth of tunes?

[KatieBell]

What is your opinion? Is it better for a beginner to play a few songs really well (depth) or a lot of songs OK (breadth)?

I thought about adding a middle of the road answer but figured everyone would answer that. I'm just curious and it is just lighthearted, so I only put the two options to see a clear choice.

[peeplj]

What is your opinion? Is it better for a beginner to play a few songs really well (depth) or a lot of songs OK (breadth)?

I thought about adding a middle of the road answer but figured everyone would answer that. I'm just curious and it is just lighthearted, so I only put the two options to see a clear choice.

Well, I would say that breadth truly comes with time.

So I would say the deeper you get into a tune, the better the tune will be, but be forgiving of yourself...you have to give yourself time to learn the mechanics of playing the whistle.

I suppose how many tunes you can learn right off depends on how intuitively those mechanics come to you, and what your background from other instruments might be.

So I guess the answer is "learn all you can" and whatever that means to you, go with it.

You're gonna do fine. Remember to be nice to yourself, especially at first.

--James

[Adrian]

For me I have tried to learn tunes to the best of my ability one at a time. On average this has meant learning tunes at a rate of about one a week. Slowly the breadth of tunes grows. I think I would find half-knowing vast numbers of tunes very frustrating.

[FJohnSharp]

I guess it depends upon how good one is when learning the tunes. If you are a rank beginner, it will take much longer to learn to play really well, because your skill toolbox isn't very full. I think in that case it's better to work on tunes until you can play them through competently and then go to another. With each new tune you'll encounter something new to work on that will increase your skills inventory.

However, if you can already play, I think it would be good to learn one tune at a time, really really well. I don't do that because I get bored easily so I'm 'learning' probably thirty different tunes right now, and at my present rate they'll be ready for public consumption in about three years.

The bottomest of bottom lines is this: do it whichever way motivates you to put fipple to lips and play.

[DreamOgreen]

I suppose how the method you chose to learn is influenced by why you want to play whistles in the first place ie: your goals. If playing with a particular authentic style was very important to you then I would think that playing fewer songs with an emphasis on that style and general 'musicalness' might be helpful. Since I really only play for my own enjoyment I prefer to keep the practice more interesting by playing larger numbers of songs. The drawback I have to watch for is to not wind up practicing bad habits by not being mindfull enough of style and technique. How you learn in the beginning has a way of staying with you.

[riverman]

I would say that depth is better--choosing to learn songs slowly and really well. Brother Steve on his website warns about rushing to learn a bunch and sacrificing rythum. But they have to be songs you really enjoy, that you won't get bored with playing them a lot. I've learned not to spend time trying to learn everything that looks good in the book. Too soon I get bored with some songs, after I've made the effort to learn them. Others, like "Be Thou My Vision," and "Sally Fields" and "Ballydesmond Polka," I could play forever.

[buddhu]

I prefer to work on a couple of tunes at a time to avoid frustration and boredom. That said, time invested in getting it right makes it easier to learn subsequent tunes.

Why learn 100 tunes with the same beginner mistakes in them?

[chas]

What buddhu said. Learning a tune poorly at the beginning makes it more difficult to play it well later.

[Liam]

In general, I think it is better to know a few tunes really well than a lot of tunes not so well. Most people in sessions will not mind if you only play a few tunes if you play them really well... they will mind however if you play many tunes badly .

Of course if you are not into sessions the problem is listening to yourself play, or your family listening to you or whatever, and what do you think they would prefer hear?

[vomitbunny]

Man doeth not live by breadth alone. Thuth thayeth the Lord.

[straycat82]

There were many tunes I learned early on because I felt like I had to know "x" amount of tunes to play in a session. I did not give them the time to learn them as well as I should and as a result I had to put just as much effort into them at a later date in order to make them sound decent again. In other words, I knew these tunes well enough to play them with a group of melody players but could not stand on my own with them. Unlearning a tune so that you can learn it proper takes just as much effort as learning a tune from scratch.

Go for the depth.

[Trixle]

I think, just in a general musical sense, that taking a time with a song and learning it slowly and "correctly" is the way to go, and that with time, you'll find that your repetoire has not only built up, but that you can actually remember the tunes better due to muscle memory and what not, the stuff that comes from painstakingly making the same motions over and over again. I have played guitar (classical, jazz, rock) for about 15 years and can still remember and play some of the songs i learned slowly years ago, even the more complicated ones. Some of the songs, though, the ones i learned quickly and not thoroughly well i probably would have to totally relearn in order to play them.

There is a down side to working on a tune too long, and that is yuor family will get annoyed to death. My wife still cringes when she hears the opening to the Bach Fugue, as i played that about every day for the better part of a year while learning the song. My kids can sing the melody, and when i start it they sing along in perfect pitch. My wife also now hates the Silver Spear and probably wishes she had one to throw at me whenever i start playing it, even though i've only been playing it daily since june...

[arnie]

I'd say learn a couple of songs and practise the ornaments. Depth is important but not enough. For keeping myself motivated it's necessary for me to learn new songs once in a while where I can practise on. I do not necessarily play the other songs perfectly. What's more: I think learning and refining the tunes is a lifetime proces.

[Denny]

I'm goin' for a depth of breathy tones.



Oh...tunes, was it? Nevermind

[JordanII]

Depth!!!