Help with a flute friendly version of a tune

[mandoboy]

I have been playing music on stringed instruments for years, but am very new to the flute. I am trying to learn my first O'Carolan tune and am having a hard time with a part of it. I was wondering if some of you might have some ideas to share as to how to approach this phrase on the flute.

Here is the music that I am learning it from:

D2 |: GABc defd | g2fe d2Bd | e2ce d2Bd | c2Bc AcBA |
GABc defd | gfed ^cbag | gfed A2^c2 |1 d3e dcBA :|2 d6 f>g||
afga bagf | e/f/gfe ed=cB | edef gfga | bagf efga |
bBbB aBaB | gBgB fBfB | edef gfed | e2ed e3f |
gfed cBAG | e2d2 d2BG | c2Bc ABGA | FGAF DEFD |
EFGE FGAF | GABG ABcA | d2g2 bagf | g2gf g2 ||

I think that this phrase in the B part is very awkward on the flute, bBbB aBaB | gBgB fBfB |. Not impossible, but difficult.

I am wondering if others on the list would play it as written, or is there some more flute friendly approach.

Thanks.

JeffG "Mandoboy"

[johnkerr]

Play it as written. Octave jump or pedal-tone patterns like that occur a good bit in Irish music, and as you say they're difficult but not impossible on the flute. Learning how to play them is a great exercise in embouchure development, well worth the time it takes. And it will take some time.

[bradhurley]

While I agree in principle with John's point above, I've never played this particular tune (O'Carolan's Draught) the way it's noted here.

For that awkward passage, try this instead:

bgbg afaf | gege fdfd | edef gfed | e2ed e3f |

It's easier and a lot less boring than dropping down to the first-octave B every time.

[MTGuru]

Yep ... The straight approach would be to just play half notes without the leaps.

b2b2 a2a2|g2g2 f2f2|

From that starting point, there are endless variations.

b2{c}bg a2{c}af|g2{b}ge f2{a}fd|
(ab){c}bg (ga){c}af|(fg){b}ge (ef){a}fd|
~b3g ~a3f|~g3e ~f3d| = roll or trill or vibrato
(3bag bg (3agf af|(3gfe ge (3fed fd|
bBdg aAdf|gGBe fFBd|

Ad infinitum ...

[Akiba]

I say keep it the way it is. It's a good passage to practice the jumps and is probably in the most favorable part of the flute to do so. Almost any other passage with the pedal note being the A, G, F# etc. would be much tougher, methinks. On the other hand, it's good to have variations, though, as with all tunes, so try other things after nailing the original.

[bradhurley]

it's good to have variations, though, as with all tunes, so try other things after nailing the original.

In this case, though, there is no "original" available. You can pick and choose among the roughly 2,647 versions of O'Carolan's Draught, probably none of which is exactly how O'Carolan himself composed it.

Doing the octave jumps is indeed good practice, just be sure it's also good music.

[david_h]

You can pick and choose among the roughly 2,647 versions of O'Carolan's Draught

And some of them are a bit more expensive for fluters ( with d#).

Is using a glottal stop to help with that pedal note a really bad thing to do ?

[mandoboy]

Thanks everyone.

Lots of good suggestions. As John mentioned, last night I worked on the octave jumps and now can do that pretty well, but I like Brad's way of playing the tune better. I think it sounds more interesting.

MTGuru'w way of breaking it down to the basics and showing many variations based on that was helpful as well, and I like some of his interesting variations too.

Mandoboy

[johnkerr]

Is using a glottal stop to help with that pedal note a really bad thing to do ?

Not if you can do it without making it sound like you are glottal-stopping. Lots of good flute players put glottal stops in places you'd never guess by listening to them.

And I agree with Brad in that some different variation of what was written here might make better music of the tune. I was just looking at the abc without knowing which tune it was, because the name wasn't put on it. Could be I don't even play it myself. Which one is it?

[mandoboy]

Duh! Sorry, "Carolan's Draught"

Mandoboy

[david_h]

Not if you can do it without making it sound like you are glottal-stopping.

Thanks. The reason I asked was that I also came to flute from mandolin and that was one of several tunes I already knew where I had problems with the pedal notes (others included the Harvest Home). Glottal stop was a 'quick fix' whilst I was probably still blowing the second octave too hard. Coming to try it now after your suggestion above I realised that not using the stop forces work on the embouchure and is a bit more 'delicate'.

But I also like the suggested alternatives.