Traditional or composed?

[Cayden]

Not in particular, unless you fit the categories ofcourse.

[West]

Heh. Not exactly.

[Thomaston]

I think if all you're going to do is play church music, yankee doodle or some half arsed 'haunting' stuff (what is that anyway?)

Uh... is that directed at me?

I think the half arsed haunting stuff is more directed at the multitude of albums called things like "Celtic Mysteries," "Celtic Dreams,", etc., which tends to be a half arsed melody hidden behind a ton of reverb.

My take on the original question is that I don't necessarily see any reason that you have to learn ITM if that's not what you're interested in. On the other hand, if you look at other instruments like the 5-string banjo, those that have taken it into new areas (Trishka, Fleck, etc) all got a good background in bluegrass first.

[WyoBadger]

Interesting topic. I write a lot of my own tunes, and enjoy recording them and trying new things. (www.cdbaby.com/cd/wilsontom) In some cases I try something new and eventually realize that there is a reason no one has done it before but even the spectacular flops are part of the thrill of creating.

But Irish and Scottish music are what got me interested in the whistle in the first place. So most of the tunes I write tend to sound Irish or Scottish to some degree, because that is what I listen to and mostly what I play. But West is right, it is fun to come up with something new.

Just try to avoid using the word "Celtic" in the title, and maybe keep the reverb turned down a bit, and we shold all get along just fine.

T

[West]

I think the half arsed haunting stuff is more directed at the multitude of albums called things like "Celtic Mysteries," "Celtic Dreams,", etc., which tends to be a half arsed melody hidden behind a ton of reverb.

Just try to avoid using the word "Celtic" in the title, and maybe keep the reverb turned down a bit, and we shold all get along just fine.

Whoa now, wait a minute -- I never said I make that kind of music. Hell, I absolutely detest that whole synth-laden new age mush referred to as "celtic music". I really hope no one thought that's the kind of music I'm into!

The fact of the matter is that I write orchestral music for computer games (The Battle for Wesnoth mainly, plus a few sketchy tunes for SilverTree RPG). Since these are fantasy games, I try to incorporate some amount of traditional stuff. Aside from the orchestral music, I'm also working on a project that is best described as acoustic rock with traditional influences... kind of like an unholy marriage between Sting and Jethro tull or something like that. In the past I've used free whistle samples but there aren't any really good ones around. So instead of shelling out $100 for a whistle sample library, I decided to get myself the real deal instead. Cheaper and definitely more fun. So... that is basically what I intend to use my whistles for.

My take on the original question is that I don't necessarily see any reason that you have to learn ITM if that's not what you're interested in. On the other hand, if you look at other instruments like the 5-string banjo, those that have taken it into new areas (Trishka, Fleck, etc) all got a good background in bluegrass first.

But Irish and Scottish music are what got me interested in the whistle in the first place. So most of the tunes I write tend to sound Irish or Scottish to some degree, because that is what I listen to and mostly what I play. But West is right, it is fun to come up with something new.

Oh, I am interested in Irish and Scottish music, very much so. I never said I wasn't. I just don't have the motivation to learn a large bunch of traditional tunes.

[Thomaston]

Whoa now, wait a minute -- I never said I make that kind of music. Hell, I absolutely detest that whole synth-laden new age mush referred to as "celtic music". I really hope no one thought that's the kind of music I'm into!

No, don't worry, I didn't get that impression. I just thought that was the kind of stuff Peter was referring to.

[crookedtune]

Peter makes good points. I think it is entirely because whistle playing has reached its highest artistic level in ITM that people continually fall back on that for inspiration. When they veer off into other genres, it's only natural that it takes on a "neo-Celtic" kind of sound.

It would be interesting to know how whistle-playing might have evolved in different parts of the world if ITM never penetrated. Kwela is the only example of this that I've been exposed to.

I don't write music (much) but have a strong foundation in American stringband ("old-time" / Appalachian) music. I find this music works very well on both whistle and flute. But it is not accepted in old-time jams, just as 5-string banjo isn't accepted in Irish sessions. I'm all for this, as the purpose of those settings is to play time-rooted music in an authentic and traditional way.

If I want to play newer styles of music, I'll join or start a band. It's a whole other animal, and equally valid and wonderful. I say go for it!

[WyoBadger]

It would be interesting to know how whistle-playing might have evolved in different parts of the world if ITM never penetrated.

About five or six years ago I gave away around 2 dozen whistles (donated by my beloved fellow chiffers) to the local kids in a remote village in northern Haiti called Ben Jamin. I haven't had the opportunity to go back since. I sort of wonder sometimes...

Tom

[Dameon]

There's huge advantages to gaining a large repertoire of traditional tunes that a lot of people who just pick up the whistle to do their own music forget. First, different tunes teach you different things that you don't learn just playing scales and doing your own thing. You learn how to move your fingers in different ways and accentuate the tunes effectively with ornamentation. That can have a huge impact on your playing.

Also, knowing those tunes means you already know series of notes that work well, and you can incorporate those things in your own compositions. It cuts down a lot on trial and error, and makes the process go easier.

As for why there aren't a whole lot of tunes being composed, it's because there's thousands already composed. Because Irish music (especially on the whistle) doesn't use many accidentals, and doesn't often use really high or really low notes, there's really only so many ways to arrange the notes without pretty much duplicating a tune that already exists. Without half-holing or cross fingering, you only really have 14 or so notes to play with on the whistle. Not to say that new tunes can't be composed, it's just really difficult to come up with something that doesn't sound like one that's already out there. That said, I've heard some really neat original compositions at sessions.

Still, there are plenty of new compositions popping up. It's just that they usually wind up on thesession.org rather than here, if the composer actually bothers to transcribe the tune. More often than not, I think they just play it without transcribing it, and if other people like what they hear, somebody else will transcribe it later on.

[Innocent Bystander]

There is also the issue of stretching the tune a little bit, emphasising one note over another and making it into a very different piece of music. "Interpretation" is the word, maybe. Sometimes an impression builds up of there being only one "proper" way to play a ITM tune, but t'ain't so, or, at least, I'd say not.

People saying that they got a guitar because they wanted to write songs seems a curious statement to me. I got a guitar because I liked the sound. I did end up writing one or two songs, but then I've written one or two jigs and reels, too. There comes a point when you think "what if" and write it down, and if it sounds like something that was there already, fair enough, especially if it's something you never knowingly heard.

[Mick Down Under]

And can you define just what is 'half arsed haunting stuff' please? Do you mean slow airs? I believe you can use Irish ornamentation in them, especially if the slow air is an Irish one. But hey, I'm just a beginner with the whole whistle thing, so feel free to correct me.


Mick

[Tia]

And can you define just what is 'half arsed haunting stuff' please? Do you mean slow airs? I believe you can use Irish ornamentation in them, especially if the slow air is an Irish one. But hey, I'm just a beginner with the whole whistle thing, so feel free to correct me.


Mick

I could also be wrong, but i think they're talking not so much as a pure slow air, but more of those songs from cds that are for 'relaxation' that are found with 'celtic music' its not quite the same thing on those as you'd hear from say at a session

[colomon]

As for why there aren't a whole lot of tunes being composed, it's because there's thousands already composed.

Where did you get the idea there aren't being many tunes composed? There are certainly hundreds, maybe even thousands, being composed every year. So many so that any time you mention on-line that you write tunes, you are sure to get someone complaining there are too many bozos writing new tunes.

There are usually a couple of threads talking about what people are writing each year, but really, what's there to talk about?

[mutepointe]

ourselves.

[Denny]

traditionally, I'm usually composed