Please help

[chrisp]

Hi all,

I know i've asked this before, but i've been learning " bucks of oranmore "

Can anyone play this slowly and post a sound file of it?

Thanks

[flutey1]

there are many ways of playing the tune, so I would suggest finding a version of it that you like and have on cd (my favorite is how Martin Hayes plays it on The Lonesome Touch), get Audacity, and slow the recording down from the file you have on your computer. it makes the most sense to learn a version of the tune that you're familiar with (at least to start) and then you can play around with your own variations. that's how I learned it anyways.

good luck

Sara

[plunk111]

An easy way to do this is to go to the Session (www.thesession.org), go to "Tunes", search for your title, download the ABC file, change the L:1/8 line to L:1/4 and play the file...

You need an ABC player for this (I use BarFly, which is shareware).

Good luck!

Pat

[Tyghress]

Learning to play from a computer rendition of a tune is like trying to learn how to do surgery from the internet.

Learning from people playing music, not computers playing notes is best IMHO. You'll learn about emphasis, lilt, embellishment...where to take that crucial breath. . .variations

[chrisp]

Learning to play from a computer rendition of a tune is like trying to learn how to do surgery from the internet.

Learning from people playing music, not computers playing notes is best IMHO. You'll learn about emphasis, lilt, embellishment...where to take that crucial breath. . .variations

Thats all very well as long as you have people to play along with. There are no one that i know of where i live who play the whistle.
I found " tradlessons " by Michael Eskin very helpful, as he plays normal tempo, and a slower tempo to learn from.
When learning alone these sites are very useful, as i am not too good at following notation.
Some tunes are so fast that it's difficult to pick out the detail, and like everyone advises, learning to play a tune slowly at first is very important. So it really helps if the tune is played at a slower tempo too.

[plunk111]

Learning to play from a computer rendition of a tune is like trying to learn how to do surgery from the internet.

Learning from people playing music, not computers playing notes is best IMHO. You'll learn about emphasis, lilt, embellishment...where to take that crucial breath. . .variations

This is all well and good, but I was trying to recommend an easy, relatively non-techo way of accomplishing the goal. Learning from people is always best, but there are other ways. I learn most of my music by looking at the "dots" (but I am a musician already) and then play them with other people. If you know the difference between a jig, a reel, and a hornpipe, you can usually get pretty close to "correct" by using printed music.

As far as lilt, embellishment, emphasis, etc, you should use your own style anyway, as long as it is within the bounds of "social acceptability" for the ITM community. Also, the "crucial breath" is really an individual thing and trying to learn exactly WHERE to breathe from someone else will not work in the long run. It's better to learn HOW to breathe (including the typical beat where it makes the least impact) from another player.

I'm surely no expert, but I DID do a week with Grey Larsen this last summer and learned a TON.

Pat

[Blaydo]

Learning to play from a computer rendition of a tune is like trying to learn how to do surgery from the internet.

Learning from people playing music, not computers playing notes is best IMHO. You'll learn about emphasis, lilt, embellishment...where to take that crucial breath. . .variations

This is all well and good, but I was trying to recommend an easy, relatively non-techo way of accomplishing the goal. Learning from people is always best, but there are other ways. I learn most of my music by looking at the "dots" (but I am a musician already) and then play them with other people. If you know the difference between a jig, a reel, and a hornpipe, you can usually get pretty close to "correct" by using printed music.

That's all well and good if you are an experienced Irish trad musician and you know the difference between a jig, a reel and a hornpipe and you have already developed your own style, but Chrisp is a beginner.

[Tyghress]

I understand what you're saying, but learning from the dots is only a deep breath away from learning from a computer.

You will find yourself in a scenario...you've sat down beside wonderful musicians and listened politely to their music. They will just as politely ask you if you'd like to play something. You will pull out a tune you learned using less than adequate methods, and play it note perfect. One fellow will say "Very nice, very nice. What tune did you say that was?" and when you tell them, they'll reply, politely, "Now that was an interesting version."

As opposed to the same scenario....you play the tune maybe less than perfectly that you learned from a CD, and the other person will say "Oh, that's a good one! Where did you get it?" When you tell them the name of the CD and the artist, you'll get a reply, "Oh yes...do you know this one?" And they'll play another tune from the CD at as slow a pace as you played the previous one.

The first scene sounds really good, but the musicians were not impressed, you made a bad impression for other visitors who might sit in on that session, and anyone who loves Irish Traditional music may decide the night is over, best head for home. The second scene shows a respect for the music and tradition, and you are FAR more likely to be treated to a great night.

Please note....I've done BOTH of the above. Scene two is much much better. I can't believe I'm in this neverending discussion/argument/debate. I needed to reiterate my point, but its all been said, and I will hereby yield the field to all those who want to say their piece.

I hope fervently that someone has offered the OP a recording of Bucks of Oranmore. Chrisp, Audacity is a BRILLIANT program - FREE - that I used to learn reels off the Coen Bro.s Branch Line CD. Good luck!

[charlie_butterworth]

what about a hybrid approach? Chrisp could use the musical notation to get the gist of the tune and a recording (maybe on CD) as an aid to getting the feel of the piece?

Learning tunes by ear is difficult (at least I think it is) especially when it is hard to tell what on earth is happening due to ornaments. I guess that with practise and competence as a player will result in significant improvements in ear-learning.

Charlie

[ahogrelius]

what about a hybrid approach? Chrisp could use the musical notation to get the gist of the tune and a recording (maybe on CD) as an aid to getting the feel of the piece?

Learning tunes by ear is difficult (at least I think it is) especially when it is hard to tell what on earth is happening due to ornaments. I guess that with practise and competence as a player will result in significant improvements in ear-learning.

Charlie

I believe that is a sound approach. It has taken me about six months to reach the stage where I find it getting easier to learn the tunes by ear and I have used the "hybrid approach" described above. Also, Michael Eskin's Trad Lessions on YouTube are very useful but it may take some time to reach the stage where they become really easy to use when learning new tunes. You need to become proficient enough to "see through" the ornaments to be able to pick up the basic tune.

Cheers,
Anders

[Tyghress]

That works too...I really have nothing against dots. But the fact is, he asked for a recording, and I really hope someone has one for him. I've checked my readily handy CDs and have a cool version on the pipes, by Liam Walsh, recorded in 1933 but I can't say it would be an easy piece to learn frm this recording! Martin Hayes' version is brilliant, too, but daunting.

Just found a good rendition, already played at a slowish pace.

I'll see if I can copy it and pass it on.

[chrisp]

That works too...I really have nothing against dots. But the fact is, he asked for a recording, and I really hope someone has one for him. I've checked my readily handy CDs and have a cool version on the pipes, by Liam Walsh, recorded in 1933 but I can't say it would be an easy piece to learn frm this recording! Martin Hayes' version is brilliant, too, but daunting.

Just found a good rendition, already played at a slowish pace.

I'll see if I can copy it and pass it on.

Thanks Tygress, i look forward to that

[deisman]

Hi Chrisp,

You might want to check out www.whistlethis.com for both notation and fingering and live recordings

tradlessons.com (on utube) is also very helpful

I usually try & find standard notation (thesession.org), live performances (utube) and fingering if possible since I don't ready music quickly and ABC is very helpful for getting the basics down & then playing along with live performers to nail it.

Best 'O luck,

Deisman

[workbased 2000]

There are really good examples of, "The Bucks of Oranmore", on this Irish Flute Tune site you can listen to.

One is played really slowly, the other at session speed

Here is a link to the site http://irishflute.podbean.com/

Then look for "The Bucks of oranmore" under Reels.

[Skyclad01]

what about a hybrid approach? Chrisp could use the musical notation to get the gist of the tune and a recording (maybe on CD) as an aid to getting the feel of the piece?

Learning tunes by ear is difficult (at least I think it is) especially when it is hard to tell what on earth is happening due to ornaments. I guess that with practise and competence as a player will result in significant improvements in ear-learning.

Charlie

That is exactly how I learn my tunes. Looking at the dots provide a framework for me to work my fingers with. Then I listen to a recording (if im not doing that already with looking at the dots) and with that, I can get a feel of what and were any ornamentations should be.

From there I will have a roundabout knowledge of how it should be played in a session, and can give it my own personalization(s).