Songs

Jackie · Post by **Jackie** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 7:13 am

Hi, I'm new this forum and the Penny Whistle so I have a few questions. What is meant by the terms reels, jigs and airs? I am just starting out so I like playing slow songs such as, The Sally Gardens, The Minstrel Boy, Green Sleeves and Mary Did You Know. What are some slow songs that would be good to know? Thanks, Jackie(Jack was taken)

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 7:19 am

Being a book- learning sort of person, I'd suggest getting a couple or more decent whistle books, such as Bill Ochs' tutor (available, among other places, from Amazon.) In addition to technical playing advice, such books often include blurbs describing types of traditional music.
Robin Williamson's The Penny Whistle Book is a good source of slow and fast tunes.
Other folks will direct you to web sources. Depends on how you like to learn.

bozemanhc · Post by **bozemanhc** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 7:32 am

The "quick and dirty" answer is that jigs and reels are dance music and are distinguished by their tempo as opposed to songs which have words and are usually sung. Double jigs are in 6/8 time and reels in 4/4 time. Airs are slower and may be sung also. Let me emphesize that there is much more to the explanation than I have given here. Others may expand on or correct what I have said.

Welcome to the board. Keep reading and you will learn much more over time.

Jackie · Post by **Jackie** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 8:44 am

Thanks for the reply. I've been playing for about a month now and really enjoy it. My family sure didn't like it at first though, especially when I tried to get the high notes! I was forced to practice when nobody was around or lock myself in the closet and play. Now I can play well enough where I am tolerated. How long have you guys been playing? I am going to try and get some of those books that were suggested. Thanks

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 8:52 am

I also suggest Bill Ochs Clark Tinwhistle Book.

Get it here: http://www.pennywhistle.com/clarkepage.html

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:55 am

Jackie wrote:Thanks for the reply. I've been playing for about a month now and really enjoy it. My family sure didn't like it at first though, especially when I tried to get the high notes! I was forced to practice when nobody was around or lock myself in the closet and play. Now I can play well enough where I am tolerated. How long have you guys been playing? I am going to try and get some of those books that were suggested. Thanks

Welcome Jackie. I have been playing for about 12 years. If weather permits, outdoors is a good escape. The sound disappates so rarely will anyone be bothered.

Some more Slow Airs: Blind Mary, Foggy Dew, Eamonn aCnoic, Carricfergus and also the South Wind.

The tunefinder is a good resource (when it is up)
http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/findtune
mirror site for tunefinder
http://jc.tzo.net:1742/~jc/music/abc/findtune.html

And many can be heard on Clips:
http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/slowairs.html

+ Bill

Miwokhill · Post by **Miwokhill** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 1:27 pm

I just recently got 121 Favorite Irish Session Tunes by L.E McCullough- If you get it thru Amazon go thru a used seller (it's new though) to save quite a bit over the current Amazon price. It has 4 cds and the tunes are nicely divided up into Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes and other types. Also has the guitar chords for the accompanyment which is also on the cds. ----The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle by Grey Larsen is a huge book that has alot of exercises and gets into ornamentation alot as well. There are also about 35 complete songs (on cd as well) and since the book also has a few chapters on flute, some of these are played on that instrument. So you can get a feel also of how they would sound on the low whistle.--- The book and cd by Bill Och's may be your best bet to start on but these I just mentioned I like as well.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 7:47 pm

It isn't a tutorial, so it doesn't teach, but I really like Ireland The Songs. It's full of slower songs with words, and has pretty pictures of Ireland with captions and stuff. I had the first one, then I either sold it or gave it away. I can't remember. I plan to buy all 4 again.

http://www.thewhistleshop.com/catalog/t ... elandt.htm

boomerang · Post by **boomerang** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:48 am

try these tunes,
planxty irwin
planxty fanny power (poer)
Planxty dale wisely
lovely tunes
good luck
regards
david

Jackie · Post by **Jackie** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 7:43 am

Thanks for all the tips. I just got the book the "Tin Whistle" by BIll Ochs and am going through it now. It's a little different because I play by ear, but I'm detetmined to learn to play by the notes. Thanks again. Jackie

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:00 am

bozemanhc wrote:The "quick and dirty" answer is that jigs and reels are dance music and are distinguished by their tempo as opposed to songs which have words and are usually sung. Double jigs are in 6/8 time and reels in 4/4 time. Airs are slower and may be sung also. Let me emphesize that there is much more to the explanation than I have given here. Others may expand on or correct what I have said.

Welcome to the board. Keep reading and you will learn much more over time.

The big difference between double and single jigs is the note pattern. Both are 6/8, but a single jig uses the pattern of eighth note-quarter note (think "I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In"...that's actually a single jig), whereas a double jig uses a triple eighth note pattern (think "The Irish Washerwoman"). There are also slip jigs (12/8 time) and slides (9/8 time).

Reels are usually written in 4/4, but are often played 2/4. They tend to have a repeating pattern of four eighth notes, with a strong emphasis on the first beat and a slightly less strong emphasis on the third beat (think of the word "watermelon" to get feel for the rhythm). Hornpipes are also in 4/4 (and are usually played in 4/4)...they tend to have a strong dotted-eighth pattern (think "upsy-daisy" to get a feel for the rhythm) and each part tends to end on a series of two or three quarter notes ("Harvest Home" and "Off to California" are two classic examples).

Airs are simply the melodies of song tunes. They may be fast or slow, but generally are slower than dance tunes and are meant to be listend to rather than danced to. There are exceptions..."An Ghaoth Aneas" ("South Wind") is an air that is also a waltz, and can be used as a dance tune.

Redwolf

TomB · Post by **TomB** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:04 am

Redwolf. I'm not the person who started this thread, but I wanted to thank you for that post.

You make it very clear and easi(er) to understand.

All the Best, Tom

Jackie · Post by **Jackie** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:15 am

Hi Redwolf, I did start this chain and thanks for making the differences between jigs, reels and airs clearer. Jackie.

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 12:55 pm

Jackie wrote:Thanks for all the tips. I just got the book the "Tin Whistle" by BIll Ochs and am going through it now. It's a little different because I play by ear, but I'm detetmined to learn to play by the notes.

No reason not to do both--as you can with the Bill Ochs book and CD.

Since you like slow airs, once you've worked your way through the basic exercises, Casadh An tSugain, on page 72, is a great tune, and not particularly difficult.

At that point, also, you might like Walton's Ireland's Best Slow Airs, which is available from the Whistle Shop.

Finally, take a look at http://fingertrip.net/whistle/, which has both sound files and written music. There are quite a few slow airs there. A few are played on non-D whistles, but the notation is always for the D whistle.

I don't play jigs and reels on the whistle, but those three sources, along with Clips & Snips, have provided enough material to keep me going since the beginning of the year.

Jackie · Post by **Jackie** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 3:04 pm

Hi Mike, Thanks for the tip. I really like that site. Those songs should keep me busy for a while. I already can play most of Inisheer. Those are the kind of songs I like to play. Thanks again.

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