I just bought my first whistle two days ago. After practicing 'little but often' as I read in another post (quite a good suggestion ) I managed to learn the first tune on the sessioneer (I buried my wife and danced on her grave).
Advice (esp. about breathing! I either run out of breath or feel like I'm going to pass out from holding too much) and constructive criticisms more than welcome
P.S. Is the tempo of the midi file on the sessioneer a realistic idea of how fast you'd play that song?
what type of whistle did you get? Some whistles require a lot more air than others, and i run out of breath on those. Whistles like feadog, Gens, Oak don't require too much air, but even still on really long notes that are tied to others (for like 5 bars of 4/4) make me run out of breath. It just takes more practice and your lungs will be able to hold more air.
If you practise listening to midi files you will end up sounding like one
Get a cd or download some mp3's so you at least know how it should sound.
Listen, listen and listen is good advice and a slowdown software is always handy.
Cheers!
/MarcusR
There is no such thing as tailwind -- it's either against you or you're simply having great legs!
It sounds like you're off to a good start. It sounds like you're not doing too bad with the fingering, and you aren't too shy about the second octave. here are places that need work, naturally...places you've hesitated, and you can tell that you're new to the tune, that kind of thing. Practice makes perfect.
I agree with Marcus 100% about finding as many resources as you can for listening to actual music instead of MIDIs (cd's, mp3s, sessions, whatever). In my mind, MIDIs and sheet music are two sides of the same tool: Something to give you the bare outline of a tune. They won't teach you to "sound Irish" or play with the proper style.
Even though you're new to the whistle, you should start that now...I remember going through a phase where I was trying to make my playing sound more authentic, and struggling for the longest time trying to make my playing sound less flat and wooden. I think the sooner you start off on the right foot, the better.
Scoon wrote:Advice (esp. about breathing! I either run out of breath or feel like I'm going to pass out from holding too much) and constructive criticisms more than welcome
The way to not run out of breath or pass out is to breathe more frequently. But how? That was hard for me to learn -- I spent a lot of time with little success going about it in ineffective ways -- but what finally made the difference for me is to think of breathing as ornamentation. So taking the good advice you got here to listen to real recordings, try paying special attention to how the performer alters the tune to make space for breathing. Then try to learn how to play those variations.
As for breathing - the rhythm is key. You will find breathing becomes part of the beat - this is something I'm realising now as I progress - it's all part of the art: to adjust timing or omit strategic notes to get the breath while still supporting the beat. Each time you add a new aspect to your playing it's like starting all-over, so as Wanderer has pointed-out it's best to get a "frame" of what you are aiming for and get the bits in as early as possible - later will be harder.
Keep posting - I, for one, am keen to see (and hear) you progress, and it will be an inspiration for other new players as well
Scoon wrote:I just bought my first whistle two days ago. After practicing 'little but often' as I read in another post (quite a good suggestion ) I managed to learn the first tune on the sessioneer (I buried my wife and danced on her grave).
Boy, my mind works strangely first thing in the morning: I thought the part in parentheses above was a commentary on your newbie playing, not the name of the tune!
I need more coffee....
Welcome to the world of whistling-- you're off to a great start.
MarcusR wrote:If you practise listening to midi files you will end up sounding like one
Lol that would be quite a disgusting proposition.
Thanks for the advice guys, especially about the ornamentation aspect of breathing... I guess that's really the ethos of this type of music; playing 'organically'. That's probably what drew me to this instrument in the first place
By the way, I have a Clarke 'Meg'. I haven't had experience with any other whistles, but it seems very tolerant of my breathing being all over the shop (ie. don't have to concentrate too much to avoid splitting notes)
) I managed to learn the first tune on the sessioneer (I buried my wife and danced on her grave).
