Seven months.

[O'Mulriain]

Seven months progress. I haven't shown any recording of my playing here yet, but I suppose now is as good as any time to do so.

I'm still having trouble keeping time right and my playing isn't particularly "precise", which is to say I don't get all the ornaments right every time. I've just got to remember to take it slow, and get everything right before speeding things up.

Ignore the creepy stare and cluttered background:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBf1JVrR ... detailpage-reel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wckzuvDoY1s-hornpipe, with its sections not played in a typical order (my mistake).

So that's that.

[ecohawk]

A couple of observations.

The first reel is pretty well played, particularly for seven months experience. There is no "right" to ornaments as far as where they are placed in the tune. Are you referring to the technical correctness of ornaments? If so, I can't hear the errors. Well done IMHO. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it. But lose the creepy stare... please.

The second tune, your "hornpipe", sounds suspiciously like the first reel.

ecohawk

[O'Mulriain]

Oops, thanks for catching that, ecohawk! It's fixed now.

Come to think of it I'm not sure what I meant by the whole ornament thing. There's just a hint of imprecision I can detect in some parts of the tune that I now think must be my not keeping with the time signature correctly, possibly as the result of taking too long or too short with a roll or something. If that makes any sense. Taking an analytic approach isn't so helpful for me as just seeing if it sounds right. Also I was referring more to the hornpipe which has some distinctly choppy bits.
And yes, that stare gives even its possessor the creeps.

Anyhow, thanks for the comment! Blayne's courses are a really nice resource, but I also find this forum to be quite helpful for hints and criticism. Probably the best thing I've gotten from the people here is to take things slowly, I used to barrel through my tunes as fast as I could and they sounded terrible, taking things slow and working on the details helps me to be able to go fast(ish) after the fact and sound pretty nice.

Also, I have a question. Is that hornpipe in 4/4 time? Because I really can't tell... they say most hornpipes are in 4/4 but that that's not always the case.

[ecohawk]

That's better. Boys of Bluehill is traditionally in 4/4 yes. You struggle with timing on this one more than the reel.

The best advice I'd offer for practice, learning tunes and timing is to not only start slowly but break the tunes down into parts. Choose whatever is comfortable - two bars, three or four or just pick a spot that feels transitional to you. I try to choose places where I'd likely take a breath but that may prove to be too much when playing faster tunes. Start slowly, then play the first part until it comes to you automatically and you can play it at speed without errors. Then learn the next small part individually until you reach the same stage, then put the two together and play them as one longer passage. Repeat this process until you've learned the tune. You'll begin to notice repetitive components in this tune that will come back in other tunes as well thereby enhancing the rate at which you'll pick them up.

Good luck,
ecohawk

[Cayden]

Ryan,
Right nice playing. Hard to believe you have only been at it for seven months! Keep at it Lad, some real talent there.

Cheers,
Cayden

[Nanohedron]

Hold The Reins, eh? I know it as Upstairs In A Tent.

[R Small]

Sounds pretty darn good for only seven months.

[ghicken]

Nice Ryan. I've been playing the whistle since May and my cuts aren't as defined as yours. Keep it up!

Thanks for sharing.

[Mikethebook]

Very well done! You're way ahead of me and I'm been playing more like 14 months. Ecohawk, I like what you have to say about how to practice. I would be interested to know your opinion on the following question. If, ultimately, I want to play tunes on a low whistle, would I be better learning them following your guidelines but on the easier high whistle where getting up to the right speed will not take too long on individual sections. Or should I try to learn them on the low whistle and perhaps settle for a slower speed. What do you think?

[mor.whistle]

Well, I play since late May this year and I feel like I need years to get where you are right now.
Congratulations.

How much have you been practicing in these seven months?

But lose the creepy stare... please.

I second that.

[O'Mulriain]

To Ecohawk--I'll try that, it sounds like a good tip. I tend to get certain parts of tunes down better than others so this may be what I need.

To Everybody--Thanks for the encouragement! I'll keep it up.


To Mor.whistle--This has been my primary hobby since I started. I played for hours a day until two months ago when I started learning the western concert flute, which has divided my time. I'd like to start dedicating more time to the whistle and Irish flute once I become decent with the western flute.

[ecohawk]

... Ecohawk, I like what you have to say about how to practice. I would be interested to know your opinion on the following question. If, ultimately, I want to play tunes on a low whistle, would I be better learning them following your guidelines but on the easier high whistle where getting up to the right speed will not take too long on individual sections. Or should I try to learn them on the low whistle and perhaps settle for a slower speed. What do you think?

Mike,

There are others on C&F with far more expertise than I, particularly on the low whistle, but my general approach is the same for learning tunes regardless of key. I'm not convinced that playing high whistle is easier, but that's the way I started so I tend to learn everything there first because I play in high D every day and learn fingerings much faster there. IMHO you can play the tunes at any speed you like unless you're playing with others who set the pace for you, or are in a session. Many tunes can be played at different speeds to great effect. For example, I often play Foggy Dew at least three different speeds depending on the situation. Even the rhythms can often be changed to suit a particular mood.

This is a long answer to your basic question but I would learn the tune in the way that enables it to be played at the intended speed first. If you can't play it at the intended speed and key you're pretty much relegating yourself to playing alone. If that's your intention then play it with whatever instrument you like. I'd offer that half the fun of playing is being able to join in with others from time to time so I always learn them as written first, then begin to experiment. I also believe that not all tunes sound better on a low whistle. Of course many of them do, but not all. Not being able to play it as written would frustrate me. YMMV

ecohawk

[German Whistler]

we play more or less for the same time and i would be happy to play that well as you do
well done!
that "stare" makes you seem to be stressed, did you play from memory or from notation and staring at that?

[O'Mulriain]

I do my Irish music from memory, I think I must have been staring blankly at my computer screen for whatever reason.

[Jleo Fipple]

Hi Ryan, I enjoyed your playing very much. Congrats on your remarkable progress in such a short time and thank you for sharing your progress , keep up the great work.