Introduction and Battle Plan

[Clarinetcat]

Ubizmo are you familiar with the acronym TMI?

Between Ubi and I, you'll probably get TMI.
We like to yap when we're not practicing.

I don't know when we've ever had so much fun hijacking a newbies thread.

Hijack away, it's just a newbie thread.

[ubizmo]

TMI...ah, yes, Three Mile Island! That's a bit off-topic, isn't it? Isn't this thread about drum majors and the Teaberry Shuffle?

I admire your Battle Plan, and especially the commitment to have a battle plan, clarinetcat. I ordered Vol. 1 of the McKenna series from Walton's after reading through this thread. Since you're getting one or more of the other books on your short list, we can compare notes.

Ubizmo

[Denny]

TMI...ah, yes, Three Mile Island!

now yer bein' obtuse

[Clarinetcat]

I admire your Battle Plan, and especially the commitment to have a battle plan, clarinetcat.

Problem is, I get distracted easily... I played a free-form jazz gig tonight with Jamie O. (the shak/didge/trumpet player from TMG), and he was distracting me with a Bulgarian Kaval... he even gave me a pvc one to try to blow on this week. I'm not very good at having to split the airstream myself, I like how it's already done for me on the whistle.

[Clarinetcat]

It seems like much longer than 10 days ago that I started this thread, but the "Battle Plan" is in full-swing... I've learned a couple of tunes quite well (Donegal Lass, Rolling Waves), and plan to start another today (Gallagher's Frolics). I think I'm getting the hang of the "style", as the ornamentation seems to be flowing better under my fingers than a week ago. Maybe in another week or so I'll post a couple sound clips.

Also, this morning I discovered a local session listed on TheSession.org, so I hope to attend my first session in a couple of weeks. More than likely, I'll just stop in and observe to see what it's all about, and maybe find out if they have any tunes they play on a regular basis so I can learn them.

A mild case of WHOA should (hopefully) allow me to figure out what sound qualities I prefer for high and low whistles.

[Ceili_whistle_man]

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)

...Good to see you corrected yourself in a later post, 'The Donegal Lass' may have words to it, but if you are playing it on the whistle then it is a tune, not a 'song'.
With all that written music you have to learn from, and your 30 years of clarinet playing behind you, I would suggest that the way you have learned to read music and play almost exactly what is on the sheet will have to go out the window as far as learning to play ITM is concerned.
You will quickly find that there is a lot more to a tune than simply playing the 'bare bones', which is what you will get from sheet music. Even the given value for the notes becomes a bit blurred when playing ITM tunes. For instance, if you play a jig as two sets of three notes in every bar (ta-ta-ta ta-ta-ta) it will sound stilted and metronomic.
The trick is to play the tune in phrases, and preferably in a legato style with cuts, taps, slides and rolls to help give the tune it's distinctive lilt.
Listen to as many versions of Donegal Lass as you can and hear what each player does to it. You will invariably find that most versions you hear will not sound like they came straight off the music sheet.
Good luck on your musical journey.

[Clarinetcat]

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)

...Good to see you corrected yourself in a later post, 'The Donegal Lass' may have words to it, but if you are playing it on the whistle then it is a tune, not a 'song'.

Yeah... interchangable as far as I'm concerned, but I "corrected" myself simply to conform to ITM semantics.

I've come to understand that what is available "on the page" is certainly not a complete representation of a tune. That said, being able to read the "bare-bones" sheet music of a tune has been invaluable to me, as I have been able to learn the structure of a tune literaly within a few minutes.

I completely agree with you that listening to a variety of artists will allow me to develop my own style "off the page".

Thanks for the well-wishes on this musical journey, it is a refreshing new chapter for me.

[MTGuru]

You know, CCat ... When you first showed up, and with this thread in particular, I thought of giving you my dandy (and somewhat obnoxious) "Warning Lecture for Newbies with Formal Training". Don't be too left-brained and over-organize your learning. Don't rely on notation. Try to forget what you think you already know about music and playing winds, etc.

But at this point, I have the impression that you're probably doing fine. And I'm looking forward to your first sound clips, as the proof is in the playing!

[Clarinetcat]

...at this point, I have the impression that you're probably doing fine. And I'm looking forward to your first sound clips, as the proof is in the playing!

Well... I finally got a sound clip of my "first" tune learned on whistle.

I personally feel it might be a tad fast, but then again for dancing (jig) maybe the tempo is actually OK? I'm still trying to get a handle on ITM, so if anyone has any constructive comments they would be appreciated.

Donegal Lass
http://media.soundcloud.com/stream/uF3d ... oken=n0xvE

[MTGuru]

Donegal Lass
http://media.soundcloud.com/stream/uF3d ... oken=n0xvE

Good man, CC, for putting this up. Not bad at all for, what, 2 weeks playing.

This tune is a bit tricky as a first choice, because it's not "pure" trad, and settings tend to be influenced by Brian's style (supposedly, it's the first tune he wrote). I learned it directly from Brian himself, but I play it fairly straight. OK, here's some critique.

o You're playing too fast for what you can handle. You start around 134 bpm and end up around 120 at the end. Instead, try around 116 and keep it rock-steady.

o By consistently playing high f3 instead of F3 in the in the repeated figure |GBd G3|FAd F3| you're missing a basic melody of the tune. The second half is an "echo" of the first, like call and response. Kicking that G3 or F3 up an octave should be used sparingly only as a dramatic variation.

o It sounds like you're following this TheSession transription the last time through in bar 12. But that's likely a transcription mistake or somebody's odd variation, and seems off to me in a basic setting. The "echo" of bars 11 and 12 is important. Don't be a notation victim.

o It's not surprising you need to work on your rolls. They sound like classical turns, and shouldn't. You're shooting for:

Ace aed|cdB A(blip)(blip)|GBd G(blip)(blip)|FAd F(blip)(blip)|

The cuts and taps need to be so quick that you don't hear the pitch of the notes, only blips. And don't use T2 to cut/roll the A, use T1 instead. T3 is fine and normal to cut/roll G and F, but you can try T1 there, too (which is what Brian tends to do).

o Think about your breath points. You're breaking every 4 bars in the A part, which gives a very square feel. Don't be so influenced by the written bars, and keep the flow going. Eskin's video gives one example of how to avoid "bar line syndrome".

o It's good that you're avoiding tonguing for now. But this tune actually tolerates a good bit of tongue articulation. You might want to experiment, with more of a dance feel in mind. On the other hand, try starting phrases (after a breath) with just a breath push instead of always tonguing them.

o You're tending to approach notes from below. That's OK and legit, but shouldn't be primary at this stage. It can also give an unpleasant "slidey" feel. Think cuts instead of taps as note separators, and avoid up-slides for now. Shoot for nice clean fingering and solid pitches.

o If you want to play around with phrasing, think about the first phrase, and the difference between:
Ace aed cdB A3 => Acea edc dBA3

A lot to think about, but I hope some of that helps. Keep it up!

[Clarinetcat]

Donegal Lass
http://media.soundcloud.com/stream/uF3d ... oken=n0xvE

Good man, CC, for putting this up. Not bad at all for, what, 2 weeks playing.
Thank you!

This tune is a bit tricky as a first choice, because it's not "pure" trad, and settings tend to be influenced by Brian's style (supposedly, it's the first tune he wrote). I learned it directly from Brian himself, but I play it fairly straight. OK, here's some critique.

o You're playing too fast for what you can handle. You start around 134 bpm and end up around 120 at the end. Instead, try around 116 and keep it rock-steady.
Agreed, I felt tempo was off right when I started, but it ended up being the "cleanest" recording out of the few attempts I made last night. I'll adjust the tempo accordingly.

o By consistently playing high f3 instead of F3 in the in the repeated figure |GBd G3|FAd F3| you're missing a basic melody of the tune. The second half is an "echo" of the first, like call and response. Kicking that G3 or F3 up an octave should be used sparingly only as a dramatic variation.
You mean measure 4, measure 10, measure 14, or all of them? This version (below) on TheSession has them written down, but the YouTube clip I have (of Brian Finnegan performing, below) has many of the F's kicked up the octave like the other dot version you linked.

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1497

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




o It sounds like you're following this TheSession transription the last time through in bar 12. But that's likely a transcription mistake or somebody's odd variation, and seems off to me in a basic setting. The "echo" of bars 11 and 12 is important. Don't be a notation victim.
Hmmm... Brian plays it just like that at one point in his YouTube performance.


o It's not surprising you need to work on your rolls. They sound like classical turns, and shouldn't. You're shooting for:

Ace aed|cdB A(blip)(blip)|GBd G(blip)(blip)|FAd F(blip)(blip)|

The cuts and taps need to be so quick that you don't hear the pitch of the notes, only blips. And don't use T2 to cut/roll the A, use T1 instead. T3 is fine and normal to cut/roll G and F, but you can try T1 there, too (which is what Brian tends to do).
Yes, I need to work on that, I still really don't "feel" the difference yet.


o Think about your breath points. You're breaking every 4 bars in the A part, which gives a very square feel. Don't be so influenced by the written bars, and keep the flow going. Eskin's video gives one example of how to avoid "bar line syndrome".
I'll have to watch that later, can't access YouTube right now...


o It's good that you're avoiding tonguing for now. But this tune actually tolerates a good bit of tongue articulation. You might want to experiment, with more of a dance feel in mind. On the other hand, try starting phrases (after a breath) with just a breath push instead of always tonguing them.
But... but... I like tonguing!


o You're tending to approach notes from below. That's OK and legit, but shouldn't be primary at this stage. It can also give an unpleasant "slidey" feel. Think cuts instead of taps as note separators, and avoid up-slides for now. Shoot for nice clean fingering and solid pitches.

o If you want to play around with phrasing, think about the first phrase, and the difference between:
Ace aed cdB A3 => Acea edc dBA3
So, instead of a triplet feel, the notes have more of an offbeat, accented feel?

A lot to think about, but I hope some of that helps. Keep it up!

Thank you very much for the comments, I'll continue working on this and post something again within the next few days!.

[MTGuru]

You mean measure 4, measure 10, measure 14, or all of them?
'Zackly. Yes, Brian plays them up on the last B repetition, but he's already established the basic melody multiple times. And by kicking up both G3 and F3, he preserves the "echo".

Hmmm... Brian plays it just like that at one point in his YouTube performance.
No, Brian never plays |c/d/ec dBA| in that vid. Check it again. It's not a bad variation if you deliberately want to break the symmetry. But it's not the basic melody.

So, instead of a triplet feel, the notes have more of an offbeat, accented feel?
Yes, sort of. The "triplets" are only artifacts of notation on the page. But the melody suggests something else: a rising phrase, followed by a 2-part falling phrase. It's not really offbeat - you still want to stress the downbeat notes: Acea edc dBA3. The notes before the stresses are sort of like pick-ups. (And mind, there are certainly multiple valid interpretations possible.)

Don't feel bad. Approaching jigs as a straight Jiggity Jiggity is a common mistake.

Donegal Lass is an odd teaching tune for some of this. Like many of Brian's tunes, it has a kind of deliberately "constructed" feel: Theme-Echo, Theme-Echo, Theme-Echo. These suit his repetitive, rhythmic style, with lots of short "hooks". They're catchy for beginners weaned on non-trad. But they can also lead beginners down a limited path, IMO.

[Clarinetcat]

Donegal Lass is an odd teaching tune for some of this. Like many of Brian's tunes, it has a kind of deliberately "constructed" feel: Theme-Echo, Theme-Echo, Theme-Echo. These suit his repetitive, rhythmic style, with lots of short "hooks". They're catchy for beginners weaned on non-trad. But they can also lead beginners down a limited path, IMO.

I do like the tune, which is why I wanted to learn it.
Thanks again for the constructive feedback.

I have learned "Rolling Waves" fairly well (I think), and hope to post a sound clip later tonight. I worked a little on "Gallagher's Frolics" last week, and have "Lough Gill" (The Millpond), "Gillan's Apples", "Nora Crionna", and "Tripping Up The Strairs" on my short list for the next couple of weeks...

If you're willing...
Might you have any other tune in particular you'd suggest I tackle for technique for you to review, professor?

[MTGuru]

Might you have any other tune in particular you'd suggest I tackle for technique for you to review

Nah, you're doing fine. Well, unless you plan to become a jigaholic, you should consider reels, too, which dominate many sessions. And hornpipes and polkas - beginners' favorites, but much trickier than they seem.

[Clarinetcat]

Quick update:

I have had the pleasure to attend a local bi-monthly session in my area since November. My first few times in attendance, I spent the majority of the time listening and scribbling down the names of a few tunes. Only recently have I begun to play tunes here and there that I have worked during practice sessions.

Last month I also started taking bi-monthly whistle lessons locally from a wonderful player. This has really pushed me to focus on ITM style, and tune memorization. Learning 2-3 tunes a week will hopefully build up my repertoire enough so that I can hold my own during session.

<And yes, I have actually learned a couple of tunes without sheet music...>