good beginner practice chanter tunes???

[charlie_butterworth]

I finally purchased a Gibson regular and the difference between that and my much cheaper chanter is quite noticeable. The Gibson is easier to play, but also sounds better. The Gibson is also a little more exacting when it comes to finger placement, probably due to the recessed tone-holes. This is probably a very good thing.

Anyway, I will be taking lessons in the New Year, my teacher has suggested that I take a look at Victoria Murgatroyd's downloadable tutorials and I am working my way through that.

Now, I also play whistle and know some great tunes. For this reason, I am itchy to play tunes other than London Bridge or Frere Jacques, etc.

BUT, I want to avoid tunes such as Scots Wa Hae (excuse the spelling) or Amazing Grace because they appear to be very important for learning gracenotes and embellishments and I want to take my time with these and learn them right (maybe slowly) the first time.

SO...... are there any suitable jigs, slow reels, airs, etc. that play well on the practice chanter, that would work without any embellishments? My thoughts are that they could be added later as I learn them, but the tunes would also help me practice and consolidate basic fingering, etc. Also, I would be playing them very, very slowly.

Oh....and if there are any, where might I get ABC's or whatever already formatted for bagpipes?

Thanks,
Charlie

[sjcavy]

Well actually scots wa hae is a very good tune to learn. just remember to take it slow. and also to use a metronome if you have one. I was told to learn When Irish Eyes are Smiling, as it is a well known tune, and it does not need many gracenotes. Again, as a beginner, the main rule is slow and steady is always better. always. once you perfect slow and steady you can SLOWLY increase the tempo, which ultimately will equal faster. My first mistake was to always try to play everything up to speed. It took me a year to unlearn that one.

also for scot wa hae, play it without the D throw. that will come later(sooner than a torluath, but later than G D E gracenotes.)

also remember to take some time every day to slowly play up and down the scale. Once you have the scale memorized, add G gracenotes.


Ringo Bowen's website is an excellent addition to you learning repetoir.

www.thebagpipeplace.com

use the school of piping freely. its like ketchup, or catsup, or salt....oir whatever.


Sean

[AaronMalcomb]

Scots Wha Hae is a fairly standard beginning tune.

Gracenotes are like cuts on the whistle. They are for articulating the notes and rhythms.

It may be wise to hold off on too much other ornamentation without an instructor. It's far better to learn it right the first time than having to go back and fix it.

[charlie_butterworth]

Thanks for the info. I did write-out the version of Auld Lang Syne from Ringo Bowen's website. The fingering isn't difficult without the embellishments, although the repeated notes do require them.

Aaron, Yes you're right about not messing things up! This is why I would like tune recommendations that don't require much in the way of embellishments at all (if any). I suppose I could try Star Of The County Down and Dawning Of The Day, etc. It is just that I find tunes such as "London Bridge" and "Freres Jacques" quite uninspiring to say the least.

For now, I am concentrating on Auld Lang Syne without embellishments and ensuring that I avoid crossing noises and also making sure that my RH pinkie goes back onto the lowest tone-hole when it should.

One thing......upgrading to the Gibson regular has made a huge improvement already!

I pity my family on New Year's Eve, when they'll suffer Auld Lang Syne on the PC!

Thanks,
Charlie