Posting clips

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 6:22 pm

Please let's let go of this as fast as possible.
It was a blip, a misunderstanding, set right through the
kindness and maturity of the posters.
Back to music. Thanks for the tunes!

daiv · Post by **daiv** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:22 pm

sbfluter wrote:I think more of us less advanced folks should post clips because I have downloaded some less-than-perfect clips and even though they are not perfect I still find them enjoyable.

I think I'm starting to improve. Perhaps I will take a dose of my own medicine one of these days.

go for it! (i'm saying this, ignoring "history", as i dont know if you posted one). and to show support, i'm going to post a video i just did, which is out of time, too fast, and not in good taste!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmPwIqX4gtQ

i'm really having trouble finding myself on the flute, even though i've played for around 10 years. my concertina playing (which you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRIMidZEFSI ) is much more natural, even though i have been playing for less than half that time.

does anybody have any ideas?

daiv · Post by **daiv** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:30 pm

i'm sure i dont understand all the history, but i do remember a thread a while back about "qualifications," and something about showing eachother up so that we know who's advice to listen to.

i dont know if somebody was mean to WD, but i certainly have always enjoyed her posts!

i think jim has the right idea. let's get back to the tunes!

and p.s. WD, we dont mind the interjection.

it's always nice to hear from you. it's also nice to know that we got a loyal lurker listening to our clips

.

pandscarr · Post by **pandscarr** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:47 am

Wow ... why do these threads always get so "political"...?!?

Despite the risk of fuelling the fire, perhaps things would be better if people didn't interpret other people's feelings for them in threads?

I've enjoyed Boyd / Cocuswood / Jem et al's recent postings - and at the end of the day, for me, it's all about the music.

So, if Mary want to post a clip - great! And if not, that's fine too.

And at further risk of being criticized for making personal comments... Daiv, I think your playing would benefit from being slower, with a clearer pulse and rhythm. Speed's great, if you can manage it - but if the speed affects the rhythm, it would be better to take it slower.

Great session at the Tap in Birnam last night - join us if you're ever in the neighbourhood!

mahanpots · Post by **mahanpots** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:22 am

Recorded on my Zoom H4 (mp3 setting) last night with a couple of friends.

http://www.box.net/shared/yqe22lhi9x

two reels: coachman's whip and flagstone of memories

boyd · Post by **boyd** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:23 am

What night of the week is the session?

Birnam wood's a famous place

B

ps maybe a clip or two of a session in full flow might be interesting.

I'm off to one soon...maybe i'll take my digital recorder with me

rh · Post by rh » Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:31 am

boyd wrote:
Birnam wood's a famous place

still located near Dunsinane, is it?

cocusflute · Post by **cocusflute** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:11 pm

Daiv- You certainly can play the flute. Your tone is good and your finger technique is good as well. But: slow down, lad. Feel the pulse in the music. It's a shame to come as far as you've come technically on the instrument and not play pretty.
I would say the same thing about your concertina playing. Mary MacNamara is the queen of the slow hand. I'm sure you're familiar with her playing. Mike Rafferty's playing is slow and lovely. Faster than it seems though, because his phrasing is so perfect and his timing is spot on.
You asked for ideas, so here are my ideas: play along with Mary Mac. Play along with Mike Rafferty. Listen to Martin Hayes. Peadar O'Loughlin. Don't listen to Noel Hill and Mike McGoldrick, or any of their ilk, for a couple of months. Forget Lunasa, Dervish, Solus for a while. Look to a time before the commercial stuff. Only play with people who will take the music handy and give it some swing. Keep it pretty. Don't push the tempo or force the rhythm. And keep playing.
I say this supportively. I do not mean to be critical or to deflate you so please don't take it that way. I think it's great you're posting. Thanks for sharing.

mahanpots -- nice fluting. Your tone is quite good- though there's no need to push the flute quite so hard. You have great intensity. It's just that my taste is for more laid back flute-playing.
It's too bad the accompaniment is so over the top. Way too loud, guitar not quite in tune (or playing the right chords), bodhran too close to the mike and unnecessary in any case. I assume they won't be following this thread. The music is about you, as the soloist, and not about your accompaniment.
I'm glad you're on the board. Nice to hear Vincent Broderick's tunes. Keep posting.

Cubitt · Post by **Cubitt** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:25 pm

I think Cocus's comments are very astute, and agree with everything he said.

mahanpots · Post by **mahanpots** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:32 pm

cocusflute wrote: [It's too bad the accompaniment is so over the top. Way too loud, guitar not quite in tune (or playing the right chords), bodhran too close to the mike and unnecessary...]

Thanks for the comments cocusflute. Lately, I've been focused on whistling -- learning some tunes on whistlethis.com and focusing on solo playing: variations and such.

The guitar player (he was playing my cheap guitar) likes to play with LOTS of intensity and drive. I'd like to experience playing with someone else on guitar who likes to play a little more subtle. The drummer was a friend playing a box drum (wooden box).

I'll submit something else a little more toned down next time.

Thanks for listening.[/quote]

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:28 pm

Daiv, I pretty much concur with Cocus too. In fact, I couldn't watch either the flute or the 'tina vid all the way through. I know you know they were poor - you said so, at least about the flute one. I'm not sure really why you posted them - we know you can play better than that and that your musical sensibilities are above that. Self immolation isn't really the point here! Not even in the context of that section of the thread where you posted them.

I know I myself would not put out for public attention anything that was so far below the standard I could achieve. I have no problem with folks posting stuff that is the best they can do, or tolerably near it, whatever level that may be. How else can we help beginners? I recognise that we are all of us just doing amateur home recordings, not pretending to professional or studio standards. I rarely manage to record myself playing my best, and my best isn't good enough. I understand the difficulties. I have posted some bits on C&F that have quite noticeable deficiencies, than which I knew I could do better fairly easily, but I was short of time and needed to put a clip out for a specific purpose - "good enough" had to serve (my ones on this thread are not amongst those); but none even of those would I have used below a certain standard. Frankly, your two vids are pretty awful - just mushes of notes with no rhythm or properly discernible structure, let alone melody. The concertina one (I only comment musically - I have no technical expertise on concertina whatever) is worse than the flute - at least it is obvious when you (know you) go wrong and try to recover and keep going on the flute (a good discipline in itself, but then scrub the vid!). As Cocus said, slow down and attend to the feel of the music and find phrasing that works.

Sorry to be rather harsh. You know I appreciate greatly your contributions here, I hope. Surely you'd prefer to be criticised/analysed/encouraged on the basis of something like your best efforts? I'd like to echo Cocus's sentiments about being supportive - and Boyd's a bit back up the thread.

Mahanpots, I wasn't too bothered by your accompanists - I'm quite adept at concentrating my listening on the line/instrument I want to hear in the mix, and it wasn't that bad..... except for the tambourine and shaky egg! The balance didn't favour the flute, though, despite your very "dirty", pushy, trying to be loud playing. Nothing wrong with that per se - I remember John Skelton once praising precisely that sort of approach, especially amongst some of the "old geezers" of the tradition. However, I agree with Cocus that we'd probably mostly prefer to hear just yourself on this thread. I do think you are trying too hard to push your flute, and your intonation is a bit erratic as a result and there are rather too many percussive explosions. It sounds like a classic instance of too much tension leading to loss of control. Towards the end of the second tune you ease off a bit and start to have some passages with a far nicer sound - not so loud, but richer and cleaner.

ImNotIrish · Post by **ImNotIrish** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:22 pm

Okay, I'm taking Jim's advice and getting back to the tunes... Here's a tune I learned off of a cd from a friend in Philly. It's a spanish band, but I have no name of the tune or the band. Jem, your honest and upfront critique is welcomed. (Sorry about the glitch in the last section-memory lapse, but in good form I chose to keep on playing...)

As a side, I must admit that I learn something from all the post on this thread. I applaud all of you who have taken the time to put up a tune. Thank you so much.

Arbo

http://public.box.net/imnotirish73470

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:47 pm

I really enjoyed that, Arbo - though the acoustic you are playing in is a bit bottom-of-a-well-like - or are you using electrickery for that hollow background resonance? Lots of nice technical octave shifting stuff, though perhaps not all as clean as you'd like? Second octave is a bit fluffy at times - carry over from what you are very effectively trying to do with the bottom octave.

I would love to see a video of you playing because I am wondering something about how you'd look. You seem occasionally to get your fingers a bit out of sync - which slightly upsets your otherwise solid rhythm/phrasing, and it reminds me a bit of a couple of people I know who play with very stiff fingers and excessive movement with similar (worse!) effects. Impossible to tell without seeing, though, but could be a relaxation issue?

ImNotIrish · Post by **ImNotIrish** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:56 pm

Thanks Jem. Truth is, I just came home from a day of teaching and hadn't played the flute but a minute or two before recording that clip. So, you're hearing me in a very 'un-warmed up' phase. Could be I was feeling a little tight? Definitely get tense when I miss a pharse or couple of notes. so the ending of the tune probably exemplfied that. Thanks for listening. I'll see what I can do about a video clip. I did have a bit of reverb, too much really. Perhaps I can redo the clip with less effect, and less stumbling....

Arbo

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:10 pm

It's not that bad Arbo! On the contrary. A vid would be interesting though, anyway - says he who has absolutely no way of contriving to post one himself at present! (Phew! say they..... bad enough having to listen to and read him, don' wanna have to look at 'im too!)