Productive practice routine suggestions

[shatfield]

I'm gonna call myself a stone cold beginner. I am going through Ryan Dun's youtube vids and I have Bill Och's book and cd. Do any of you have any suggestions for a practice routine that works for you? My main idea is to get better without developing bad habits................Thanks

Also.........has anyone tried skype lessons on the whistle yet? I'd be curiuos how that went. Or do you know someone who does skype lessons and is a good instructor?.............thanks again

Steve

[Fidget]

Good question! I'd like to hear how to be more successful in my practice.
I've go to a point where I am trying more and more tunes, but still can't grasp some of the ornamentation.

[southport]

I've been at it for about 9 months. Still just a rookie. When I first started I was so focused on the ornamentation that I was neglecting the basics. When I finally realized that it was more important at this stage of my developement to put my efforts into learning how to play the whistle properly, at the correct rythem, making sure to cover the holes completely so as to produce a clean sound I began to slowly improve. At some point I'm sure that ornaments will be important. Just not now.

[shatfield]

I agree southport. I'm trying hard to stay away from ornamentation right now. One thing that has surprised me is how little breath it takes to play the low D on my high D. I have a Freeman Mellow Dog (which is the easiest to play for me) and I have an Obrien Rover in Canadian Maple. The Obrien is much harder for me right now to get a low D right off the bat on. It takes more work. I know it's a matter of technique. Another thing I'm finding is, as I get used to the notes on the D I can start picking up songs I know. Mostly hymns from church. I can really see how learning to play by ear could be neat, not that it should be the sole method. I have Bill Ochs book but it really doesn't tell you how to blow other than gently, it starts by saying that the you should concentrate on getting the holes covered completely.

Anyone else have suggestions about practice routines?

[nancymae]

I too will be interested in what the seasoned players around here have to say on their personal practice.

I am, if you are doing Ryan's lessons, in the "intermediate" section. just learning the correct way to do ornamentation. I am also going through the Tin Whistle Toolbox by Grey Larsen. I know how to read music and found the whistle not hard to pick up.

I try and practice at least 1/2 hour each day, although most days it's like an hour. I begin by warming up my fingers and the whistle by doing scales. I then work on the page(s) I am in on the Grey Larson book, and then go to a couple of songs I am working on. I try to do a "perfect" practice..not trying to move too fast, but getting my fingers and passages correct before getting speed. I also am trying to put in ornamentation correctly into the songs that I already know. The Larsen book is helping in learning how to use a metronome too.

Will be interested in reading everyone's habits. Thanks for the great topic!

Nancy

[walrii]

Practice with a metronome. First, it will teach you to listen to the rhythm while you play. Second, it will make you play exactly with the rhythm. The right note played at the wrong time is the wrong note.

Spend some time practicing scales and arpeggios. It is mindless and boring and not musical. But it teaches you to move your fingers quickly and accurately. Use a metronome and slowly increase the speed until you can rip through these exercises at speed, in tune and exactly on the beat. Your playing will improve dramatically.

Find a teacher if you can. If there aren't any Irish teachers handy, ask around the music stores and find a clarinet or flute teacher who will work with you. I'm taking lessons from a trumpet player on both the recorder and whistle. (He refers to my recorder as my "horn.") I learned more working with him the the first month than I did by myself in the previous year. You'll need to ask around and find someone you can work with, but you would need to do that anyway with any teacher.

[walrii]

I try to do a "perfect" practice..not trying to move too fast, but getting my fingers and passages correct before getting speed. Nancy

Good point. If every time you play a tune in practice, you mess up the first two tries, don't be suprised when you play the tune in public, if you mess up the first two times through - that's the way you've been practicing it! Whatever you practice, practice it right. At first, this will mean playing extremely slowly. That's fine. Speed will come with practice.

[whistleman922]

I have been playing for quite some time and have considered taking on a few students lately but so far have not formally taught anyone. From what i can remember of my own learning process when i got started there are only a few things that really stand out as key components. some have been said already but i'll just mention them.

First and foremost is finding some time daily to practice. If you're enjoying yourself then this should not be a real chore, but its important to maintain that discipline even on days when you don't feel very motivated.
The second thing is to learn material that you really enjoy. Learn tunes because you like them, not just because they're in the book/tutorial. Wanting to learn a tune because you enjoy it can be far more productive than just learning something by rote. (I should mention that this mostly applies to categories of tunes. If you like jigs better, learn jigs. Your technique will be improving reguardless of whether its a jig, reel, hornpipe, whatever. The individual tunes are all fun so long as you're enjoying that its a jig/reel, etc) Having this component will make my first pointer much easier to follow

Next, when you are learning a tune take each phrase one at a time until you have a firm grip on each. when you put it all together play it through slowly. When you encounter a phrase that continues to give you trouble then take several minutes and just repeat that phrase until you can play it cleanly and easily. When I say to play slowly i mean whatever pace at which you can play all the way through the tune at a steady rhythm. As you become more comfortable with connecting each phrase your speed will naturally increase, when you speed up and can identify phrases at where you are pausing then stop again and practice that phrase by itself until you've worked it out.

I hope some of this was helpful! These are what worked best for me. Good luck!

~Nolan

[Belgian_Waffle]

I liked the advice given in this article so decided to post it :

Six Ways to Break Out of Being a Beginning Whistle Player

~ OR ~

How I Became L.E. McCullough
(not that you would want this to happen to you or a loved one)


by L.E. McCullough — feadaniste@aol.com
© L.E. McCullough 2006


First, thanks to Mike Reagan for suggesting this topic. I would have loved to have been party to this discussion when I started playing Irish music. I managed to figure it out, anyhow, by stumbling along and getting incredibly lucky in meeting a wonderful assortment of musicians who generously shared their music and knowledge.

However, I can only speak for me. I can only tell you what I did to end up playing the tinwhistle the way I do. Someone else may have other ideas, so laissez les bons temps rouler.

Know This: there are no shortcuts, no one-strike magic bullet fixes. You’ll need to put in many hundreds of hours of listening and practicing alone and playing with others in small groups and in big sessions.

Irish traditional music is deceptively simple. Yes, the melodies aren’t that complex and, no, the whistle isn’t a physically demanding instrument. But to play it in a manner acceptable to the members of the tradition, you have to master a fair amount of technical nuance and stylistic subtlety that goes deeper than just tooting out the notes in time.

Learning music is like learning a spoken language. You memorize the basic syntax and vocabulary, then you have to immerse yourself among native speakers in everyday environments. You might end up occasionally getting on the wrong bus or being mis-directed to the lavatory facility of the opposite gender, but you’ll learn eventually what sounds “right” in what context and how to make those sounds.

Hopefully, you’re already doing most of what’s listed below, and one day — literally, one fine day when you least expect it— you’ll hear yourself and realize you can play Irish traditional music on the tinwhistle really well.

1) Decide to play the instrument the absolute best you can. Commit yourself to making the tinwhistle sound as good as any other instrument you’ve ever heard. NO excuses. No “well, this isn’t a complex instrument so I don’t have to be in tune. . . or have a clear sound. . . or use correct ornamentation.” Think like that, and you’re doomed to mediocrity. Learn every single type of ornament possible, even if you later decide not to use them. See if you can play into the third octave — just because it’s there. Dream that you are standing in the middle of the UN General Assembly and the fate of world peace hangs on your ability to play “Si Bheag Si Mhor” so beautifully that every delegate will weep and vote to suspend all war for all time. LOVE THIS INSTRUMENT WITH A COMPLETE AND TOTAL PASSION. It is your voice, your soul, your communication with the universe. Any less, and you’ll always be a beginner.

2) Decide specifically what (or who) you want to sound like — be they whistle player, flautist, fiddler, piper, accordionist, whatever. Usually when starting out you’ll hear a player or two whose playing really excites you. Imitate them slavishly, try and play tunes exactly the way they’ve recorded them, copy every single variation and idiosyncrasy, become a veritable and unapologetic Musical Clone. Then – with all that floating in your brain – ignore it and do your own thing (see #6). Imitation isn’t just the sincerest form of flattery, it’s the best way to truly ingest fundamentals of style and technique and learn how the music works. . . while acquiring the perspective to eventually create your own style.

3) Be omnivorous and voracious. Read every Irish music book, magazine and tutor you encounter, listen to every Irish traditional music recording you can beg, borrow or download. I see people on the forum asking “Which tutor should I start with?” Answer: ALL OF THEM!!! Each was written from a unique perspective of an author who had a unique set of learning and performing experiences and very likely represents a unique niche along the big wide Irish Trad Style Spectrum you need to become familiar with in its entirety. Tutors are also written at different times and places and for different publishing/commercial purposes, so don’t deprive yourself of any potential knowledge contained in what might seem an out-dated or limited-scope tutorial. Remember, the greatest players of Irish music didn’t necessarily learn from other great players. . . they took in all they could and added their own individuality to create genius.

4) Get small and tight. Play frequently with one or two people at your level who are also interested in improving and exploring the tradition in depth. Mass sessions are good for getting new tunes, but you need the intimacy of a small group you can analyze material with. I mean, really analyze: listening to recordings in detail, discussing obscure technical details, comparing different tune versions.

5) Hang with older players. Even ones who don’t at first glance seem too smooth or accomplished. It’s tempting in our celebrity-saturated culture to focus on the most popular players, the most virtuosic players, the players who dominate the festival and concert circuit and who the media brings to our attention. And certainly, they’re worth listening to. But I can only say that some of the best things I learned starting out, I learned from players who were not well known or virtuosic. They maybe just had some one small thing in their style or repertoire that appealed to me and which I absorbed and may possibly even now be unconsciously passing along to somebody else. I guess that’s the way the traditition stays alive.

6) Learn how to make variations. Variation is a major element of a melodic-based music like Irish trad. Yes, you need to learn what the “standard” way of playing a tune is. . . then learn how to vary it within the tradition’s boundaries. Variation in Irish music is learning how to get really deep in the tune so that you can keep bringing out new facets that make the tune seem interesting. Variation is what makes you a unique player and enhances your ability to grow because you learn how to manipulate the structure of the tune. Variation isn’t improvisation, though some good variations can happen spontaneously. Sometimes a variation comes to you as a mistake that you correct and refine till it works. In fact, you can mark your progress as a player by the easier it becomes for you to make a variation as you play a tune, say, at a session.

Looking back on my first couple years of playing Irish music on the whistle, these are the things I now see made a big difference in my development. I sincerely hope they prove of some benefit to you.

Best wishes,

L.E. McCullough

[nancymae]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ADVICE MR. MCCULLAUGH!!! I'm printing this out and putting it on my wall! I have your book too...which I am looking forward to going into after Mr. Larsen's book. This is awesome advice..and I hope everyone takes it!!

The only thing I will have a problem with is playing with others. There is NO ONE in my direct vicinity that does the tin whistle. The closest is 100 miles away, but, at least there are thousands of players on utube that I can listen to. However, I will be at Irish Fest next year in Milwaukee, ready to sit in my first session....at least I hope I will be.

Thank you again for this wonderful advice!!!

Nancy
Crivitz, WI

[SkipJack]

Advice I should have listened to when I started out...

1) Don't rush. Be patient. Take it slow. Get your fingering and breathing right. Speed comes later.
2) Practice every day even if it's just for 15 minutes.

[AbraXas]

I really don't agree that you should put ornamentation on hold when learning the whistle. The ornamentation was the reason I started playing the whistle, low whistle and the flute. So for me it was never a problem to stay motivated. Without ornamentation, a whistle can quickly resemble a recorder, and all the rhythm in jigs and reels are lost without them. Triplets are essential!

And if you put the ornamentation techniques on hold, you will automatically develop bad habits. Tonguing can be a nice addition to the normal playing, but should not be the ground pillar of your techniques.
This is of course just my opinion. So you can interpret my feedback as you like.

Whatever you decide to do, remember:

there is no right or wrong

Developing habits that are not a part of the norm is not necessarily a bad thing. If it wasn't for trying and failing, we wouldn't have todays techniques.
After a while you will know the difference between a "bad" and a "good" habit. Put more trust in yourself than you do in others. It will pay off one day.

Good luck!

[Belgian_Waffle]

Eeehm... Mr. McCullough didn't actually post his advice. I did. Good advice nevertheless...

[WyoBadger]

Belgian--thanks for sharing that. Beautifully said.

I'm neither a beginning nor expert whistler, but I am a music teacher, so take this for what it's worth. There is some really good advice here. My guiding principals for practice would include these things:
--consistency of practice is more important than length. Most people will get more out of fifteen minutes a day than they will out of saving it up and practicing for two hours straight on a weekend.
--accuracy is more important than speed. Go as slowly as you have to to get it RIGHT. The speed will follow.
--metronomes. I hate playing with them, but I love what they do for my playing.
--fancy stuff (ornamentations) can and should wait, but Abraxus has a point too. Moderation in all things?
--keep it FUN! Practice is like exercise: If you make it enjoyable, you'll do it. If you make it non-enjoyable, you'll find reasons not to (if you're like me).

I like to vary the details, but my typical practice goes something like this:
1. Something easy (a well-known and loved tune)
2. Hard stuff (learning new tunes, perfecting old ones, working ornaments, all the meticulous, attention-to-detail stuff)
3. Something fun (Reward yourself. take a relatively new tune at a fast tempo just to see if you can do it; try arranging some known tunes into a new set; play along with the chieftains, etc.)

If I'm doing a marathon practice session, I would add 4. Take a break and do something completely different for a few minutes, then start over at 1.

Sorry so wordy. I'm doped up on cold medicine again.

Tom

[chris_coreline]

If I'm doing a marathon practice session, I would add 4. Take a break and do something completely different for a few minutes, then start over at 1.

good advice! if you have worked for hours on one tubne and just cant get it down 'sleep on it' and (in my experience at least) you will be amazed at how good it sounds in the morning*





*your neughbours may be less amazed.