Introduction and Battle Plan

[Clarinetcat]

Introduction

Hello all!

Great community you have here, I've been lurking non-stop for the past few days doing extensive research, reading, and generally educating myself about the Tin Whistle. I thought I'd finally step up and post a hello.

As my forum name blatantly reveals, my main "axe" is the clarinet. I began planting my musical roots as a classically trained clarinetist over 30 years ago, and I am currently in my 12th year as a public high school band director. I also dabble with other woodwinds, such as saxophone, bohem system flute, NAF's, ocarinas, etc. About ten years ago, my musical interests began wandering toward other "ethnic"/world instruments. I actually took bagpipe lessons (on practice chanter) for about a year, and around the same time also happened to purchase a high "D" Walton "Guinness" Black tin whistle at an Irish gift shop. Unfortunately, my pipes experience was short-lived as at the time I lacked the drive to really dedicate myself to learning the modified chanter grip and all the ornamentations. Interestingly enough, I ended up focusing my energies on African Percussion and Australian Didgeridoo... but that's another story.

Last year I happened to meet Ubizmo on the Mountain Ocarina Forum. I subscribed to his wonderful YouTube channel, and about two months ago viewed this video of Ubi with a cool "flute" i had never seen before, although the sound was vaguely familiar to me. When I inquired what it was, he explained that he had recently gotten back into playing the tin whistle, and had just purchased a reasonably priced Kerry Low D. I was immediately smitten and ordered one within 24 hours.

Which brings me to the present... now that the school year has settled in a bit, I actually had some time earlier this week to PRACTICE my Low D, and I LOVE IT! The poor little Walton that has sat relatively unused for so many years has been played more in the past 8 hours than all of the past decade. So, it seems that I've made the decision to tackle this instrument with fervor.

[Clarinetcat]

Battle Plan

Here is where I need some opinions from you folks... I do understand what it takes to become proficient on an instrument, so after much productive reading I have a "Battle Plan". Please provide any additional info you feel may be beneficial in my new quest.

Instruments: Even though I have the stock Guinness Walton LBW and the Kerry Low D, I've already developed a modest case of WHOA. I currently have a few instruments on order, including a Kerry Pro Custom Low D (Thanks Phil!), a Mellow Dog C/D Set (Thanks Jerry!), a Parks Ghost Whistle (Thanks Carey!), and a telescoping Laughing Whistle (Thanks Noah!).


Books: I didn't spend my entire life learning how to read music for nothing, so I am considering ordering a few books. On the short list are:

The Complete Irish Tinwhistle Tunebook
by L. E. McCullough (Paperback)

Mel Bay The Essential Tin Whistle Toolbox
by Grey Larsen (Paperback)

The Clarke Tin Whistle: Deluxe Edition (Book & CD)
by Bill Ochs (Paperback)


Online resources: I also intend to use some online tutorial resources, including the following:

TradLessons.com (Michael Eskin)
http://www.youtube.com/user/tradlessons

The Session
http://www.thesession.org/

Foinn Seisiún Online
http://comhaltas.ie/blog/post/foinn_seisiun_online/

Brother Steve's Tin Whistle Page
http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/b ... index.html

Ryan Dunn
http://www.youtube.com/user/RyanDunsSJ


The First Challenge: I've selected a song to learn (on high D) over the next couple of days, for no other reason than I liked the way Brian Finnegan played this version... so simple, yet so musical!

The Donegal Lass (Brian Finnegan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q73Ursf4uO8

Tradlessons.com - The Donegal Lasses (Whistle)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcMA4LwnC0o

The Donegal Lass - Sheet Music
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1497

(My biggest personal hurdle will be "feeling" and understanding the cuts, strikes, and rolls.)

Comments and additional insight?

[Tommy]

Hi CC, welcome to C&F and the exciting world of whistles.

[TomJohn]

Hey there Clarinetcat,

I have to say, I love the sound of your Battle Plan!!
As you may have seen in one of my earlier posts, I am teaching a whistle module on The Online Academy of Irish Music (www.oaim.ie). There's a sample lesson there if you want to check it out. I'll soon be recording low whistle lessons there (for beginner/intermediate/advanced) so I'll keep you posted and let you know when the sample lesson is up there so you can check it out. Best of luck on the musical road ahead and I'll let you know when those lessons are up there if you wish.

All the best - TomJohn

[Clarinetcat]

I have to say, I love the sound of your Battle Plan!!
As you may have seen in one of my earlier posts, I am teaching a whistle module on The Online Academy of Irish Music (http://www.oaim.ie). There's a sample lesson there if you want to check it out. I'll soon be recording low whistle lessons there (for beginner/intermediate/advanced) so I'll keep you posted and let you know when the sample lesson is up there so you can check it out. Best of luck on the musical road ahead and I'll let you know when those lessons are up there if you wish.

Thanks kindly Tom, I will certainly have to check out the sample later today!

[mutepointe]

Oh, you just cannot expect to take, take, take, without some give. I have a High School Band Director question for you. I was dragged to a High School Football game this season already. The team got trounced but the band rocked. That's all that mattered.

Here's my question. The drum major stood on a raised platform with plenty of room to move about and wore long pants. A second drum major (drum minor?) stood bracing herself on a ladder and wore shorts as part of her uniform. What's up with that?

Way to go being a band director.

[swizzlestick]

You listed 3 good books and any one of them would do the job well. You certain don't need all three. But based on the detail in your posts and on your extensive musical background, you might prefer the Larsen book. He goes into more detail and uses more precise definitions than the other two. However, you should be aware that his recommended method for doing cuts is not the most common. (All this is covered in long discussions on older posts.) Since you also have a flute background, you might go one step farther and pick up Larsen's even larger "The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle". Don't get both his books since the smaller tinwhistle book is almost completely included in the second.

As I am sure you know, listening to good examples is an essential part of understanding a musical tradition. MTGuru has done a marvelous job of compiling a list of recommended whistle recordings and it lives in its own sticky thread at the top of this forum. I have been working my way through the list to my own benefit.

[Clarinetcat]

I have a High School Band Director question for you. I... The drum major stood on a raised platform with plenty of room to move about and wore long pants. A second drum major (drum minor?) stood bracing herself on a ladder and wore shorts as part of her uniform. What's up with that?

Way to go being a band director.

Thank you! Here's the best I can offer for an answer...

From what I know of Marching Bands*(see below), there is usually a drum major (student conductor) up on a podium centered on the 50 yard-line, and one (sometimes two or three) assistant conductor either perched on a ladder downfield or marching on the field to assist with visual tempo cues... specifically for auxilary units, drumlines, or when the ensemble is turned around facing away from the drum major during movement.

From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_major
To see one to three drum majors in most ensembles is typical. More usually indicates a group of prodigious size; conversely, no drum major may indicate a small band conducted by its director or a group lead by a horn sergeant or drumline captain. In some ensembles, drum majors switch positions during the show to allow all individuals a chance to conduct from the central podium.

As far as uniform style... Men wear pants, the women wear pants, formal dresses, shorts, or small skirts depending on the "style" of uniform.



* For the past 11 years, I've been at a small "country" school with (brace yourself) NO FOOTBALL TEAM. So I was one of the few Band Directors in the area who didn't have field show band... until this year. I am currently in my first year in a new district, and now have a field show band! (Adjusting to the new position is one of the reasons my Kerry D sat mostly untouched for the past two months). I made the (unpopular) decision to have NO drum major, as one of the reasons I was hired was to build the program (only 12 kids on the field last year). I have about 20 now, but felt it important for every member to be producing sound, rather then sacrifice one to wave their arms around.

[Clarinetcat]

...based on the detail in your posts and on your extensive musical background, you might prefer the Larsen book. He goes into more detail and uses a more precise definitions than the other two. However, you should be aware that his recommended method for doing cuts is not the most common. (All this is covered in long discussions on older posts.)

I'm glad you brought this up, thank you...

I spent the better portion of the evening watching some of Ryan Dunn's information on cuts and rolls... http://tinwhistler.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html

... and also read an extensive amount about the same topics on Brother Steve's Tin Whistle Pages... http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/b ... whatisacut

I found this:
Some fine teachers recommend using the finger immediately above the last - e.g., use the your 5th finger ("E finger") to cut D, your 4th of "F#" finger to cut E, and so on. I don't generally do this, but very often I use the B finger to cut all the notes in the first octave.

I was just about to look for some threads here on the topic. If you have any you'd recommend I'd sincerely appreciate it, as it would save me wading through too many threads in a search.

[mutepointe]

No football team! There are all kinds of things to ponder about that concept:
1. Who were the highest of the hierarchy kids?
2. Whoever did the cheerleaders find to channels their energies?
3. What was the point of having a band then?
4. Who bullied the other kids?
5. How did the kids survive without going to lame pep rallies on Fridays?
6. Were there wandering Booster Parents without a cause?
7. Since there was no football team, did people then substitute their school spirit for heaven forbid academics or did some obscure sport gain fame and fortune?

Gawd, I totally do not like football.

[ubizmo]

Yo Cat!

Good to see you here! I'm glad you brought up the question of music books for the whistle. I think I'd know more music if I approached it in a more organized way. I tend to hear something I like, and then set out to learn that, then hear something else and work on that before I've really mastered the previous one. This isn't a good way to go about it. There's a thread here about the Clare McKenna ITM books, which is helpful. It's not a tutorial book, although she has one of those, too. I think I'm going to get Volume 1 and work through it, instead of bouncing around.

Hmmm...I was in the marching band in high school. I dimly remember two drum majors. One was male, in the traditional Sgt. Pepper's sort of costume with the same stripes and epaulets that we all had, only even more resplendent. The other was female, in the equally traditional eye candy version of the uniform. As I recall, she was a flute player the rest of the time.

With no football team, maybe you could march for the chess team?

Actually, I'm sure you could get marching gigs in local parades. I'm very glad that I was in the marching band. I learned a lot and had a great time. One of the tunes that we did was from an ad campaign for chewing gum, back in about 1970. The tune was the "Teaberry Shuffle". At key points, the music would stop, except for the drums, and we'd all do this little dance step that they did in the commercials. Marching through the streets of Cranston, with a bari sax that looked like an old drain pipe, dancing every 16 measures, is an experience one never forgets.

Ubizmo

[Denny]

Ubizmo are you familiar with the acronym TMI?

For the past 11 years, I've been at a small "country" school with (brace yourself) NO FOOTBALL TEAM. So I was one of the few Band Directors in the area who didn't have field show band... until this year. I am currently in my first year in a new district, and now have a field show band!

I hope the older students helped you get through yer first year without injuring any of 'em.

[mutepointe]

I don't know when we've ever had so much fun hijacking a newbies thread. Here's a MOST TASTELESS TV commerical from the 1960's for Teaberry Gum but it had the best imagery of the Teaberry Shuffle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rOHbg_b ... re=related

[Clarinetcat]

No football team! There are all kinds of things to ponder about that concept:
1. Who were the highest of the hierarchy kids? Music students, of course.
2. Whoever did the cheerleaders find to channels their energies? We had... Basketball AND Wrestling Cheerleaders.
3. What was the point of having a band then? Why, to play pep rallies, of course!
4. Who bullied the other kids? Exactly.
5. How did the kids survive without going to lame pep rallies on Fridays? Pep rallies were only held once per sports season, during school, of course. The whole accademic machine would grind to a halt so we could let the entire student body scream for an hour in the gym.
6. Were there wandering Booster Parents without a cause? We had them, and they raised money for other cool stuff, like sponsor special guest artists to bring to the school, and purchase instruments for alternative programs like my world music group and steel drum ensemble.
7. Since there was no football team, did people then substitute their school spirit for heaven forbid academics or did some obscure sport gain fame and fortune? Actually, the soccer and basketball teams were very strong.
Gawd, I totally do not like football.

[Clarinetcat]

Actually, I'm sure you could get marching gigs in local parades.

Hey Ubi, glad to see you here as well!

The above is exactly what we did for several years. However, most of the parades were fireman's parades and picnics during the summer. So, getting kids to actually participate became a major issue, so much that it got to the point where I discontinued the "marching program" (much to the chagrin of the school board). I couldn't compete with all the summer activities, such as work, vacations, summer camps, and general summer apathay.

Thanks fot the story about you dancing with a Bari Sax.
I'll never be able to look at you in quite the same way again.