It sounds like a little bit of heaven....

[Killain]

So the subject I figured I would bring up is the sound of music... not to broad now is it. Well in more detail the effect of the sound of Irish music on a person. I find it intresting that from the sound of a lonley whistle to a hundred bagpipes, people seem to be affected in many ways.

Myself I am not sure I have ever been subjected to the sound of a whistle without some form of excitment.... from a speeding pulse to a sense of pure relaxation. But more so when I hear a quality song of Irish roots it is amazing the tears it can well up or the shiver it can shoot down my spine. The same applys for the bagpipes, I am no wimpy guy, but good God watch out if you are playing a slow air on the pipes because I will bring the water works... same goes for the Low whistle....

So why is it that our countrys sounds or heritage for others in engrained in us so deeply.... I really wish I knew so I could explain why this grown man crys at it's beauty.

[weedie]

Good question Killain,I feel the same...
Something that Seamus Egan (Fluter extraordinaire from Solas) said in an interview once has stuck in my mind...
"There's something inherent in these melodies that has made them endure all these years"....
I know that doesnt answer your question but maybe there is no answer....something in these tunes that twangs a wire within....who knows....
Bye for now...weedie......
P.S. If you ever feel like a good weep......have a look at Davy Spillane's piping piece in Riverdance......phew...it destroys me every time....

[Aanvil]

Admit it... you've been in the cider again, haven't you!?!

[cowtime]

I think the tunes that do that come from the soul and speak to it also.

[IDAwHOa]

P.S. If you ever feel like a good weep......have a look at Davy Spillane's piping piece in Riverdance......phew...it destroys me every time....

Yeah, tears well up EVERY time I hear pipes too......

http://www.comics.com/creators/wizardof ... 70725.html

[sbfluter]

I think low whistle is the only Irish instrument that stirs any sense of haunting in me. Well, I guess a high whistle can do that with the right tune. I think whistle is the most interesting Irish instrument and I applaud all of you who can play it well. It also seems to me to complete a session.

Flute just makes me happy. Listening. Playing. Happy happy happy. But not a lot of complexity like the whistle.

But yeah, the music itself. There's something about it. It's pretty. It's roots extend into American music so it both sounds ancient and modern to my American ear. It's lively. It rocks. Paddy Keenan totally reminds me of Jimmy Hendrix. It's great music. There's lots of great music in the world. Irish music is one kind.

[blackhawk]

So the subject I figured I would bring up is the sound of music... not to broad now is it. Well in more detail the effect of the sound of Irish music on a person. I find it intresting that from the sound of a lonley whistle to a hundred bagpipes, people seem to be affected in many ways.

Myself I am not sure I have ever been subjected to the sound of a whistle without some form of excitment.... from a speeding pulse to a sense of pure relaxation. But more so when I hear a quality song of Irish roots it is amazing the tears it can well up or the shiver it can shoot down my spine. The same applys for the bagpipes, I am no wimpy guy, but good God watch out if you are playing a slow air on the pipes because I will bring the water works... same goes for the Low whistle....

So why is it that our countrys sounds or heritage for others in engrained in us so deeply.... I really wish I knew so I could explain why this grown man crys at it's beauty.

I've actually given this a lot of thought over the years, and all I can come up with is that there is some kind of "species memory" in us that hearkens back to ancient times. It hits me just like it hits you.

I first heard a whistle being played 30 years ago by a young Irish girl near where I live here in the bay area. She was a busker trying to get enough money to get back home to Ireland. The music captivated me. I heard her playing from a distance and was entranced. I left the people I was walking with and followed the sound to where she sat playing, and I just sat and listened for as long as I could. I didn't hear Irish music again for a couple of decades after that, but the effect on me was the same again when I finally did. And it has never gone away.

[evenstr]

It's all the same for me. As much as I love ITM, I probably wouldn't have even started on the whistle if it hadn't been for Sir James Galway's solo in Return of the King. That brings tears to my eyes every time.

[Tia]

Same for me, I havent been able to listen to alot of music for the past week or so, I've been too busy, and when I did it hasnt been the irish music, I finally listned to it yesterday adn realized how much I love it, all of it, and now have been listening to it constantly becasue I've missed it so much

[gaelic_gale]

It makes me believe in reincarnation.

[A-Musing]

All cultures have it...but who, more than the Irish, have wrapped intense grief and intense joy into the soul of a solitary tune?

I (inwardly, lad)) laugh and cry about it all the time...

...and don't even drink, anymore...