Tin Whistle. A Complete Guide to Playing Irish Traditional Music on the Whistle. Stephen Ducke

Transcription

1 Tin Whistle A Complete Guide to Playing Irish Traditional Music on the Whistle Stephen Ducke

2 About the author Originally from Athlone, Stephen Ducke now lives in a small village in the French Alps with his wife and two children. He has been playing the whistle and flute for over 30 years, and runs Irish music workshops with Tradschool in different parts of France each year. He has recorded one album on flute, entitled If There Weren't Any Women In The World, and currently plays with the group Bonaparte's Retreat.

3 Published by Tradschool Design and typesetting by Stephen Ducke. Tradschool THEUS FRANCE Web Copyright 2012 Stephen Ducke. All rights reserved

4 Table of Contents Introduction...6 About this tutor...6 The Irish whistle...7 Beginning the Whistle...8 Holding the whistle...8 Blowing the whistle...9 Blowing your first notes...9 Left hand notes...10 The note B...10 Exercise Left hand notes - continued...11 The note A...11 The note G...11 Exercise Song : Mary Had a Little Lamb...12 Unit 2 : Right Hand Notes...13 Song : Hot Cross Buns...14 Song: Oranges and Lemons...14 Unit 3 : The Second Octave...15 Exercise Exercise Exercise Song: Au Clair de la Lune...16 Unit 4 Scales Scale of D Scale of G...17 Tunes using the new note...18 Frère Jacques...18 Good King Wenceslas...18 Unit 5 Rhythm, Articulation & Breathing...19 Playing Irish music on the whistle rhythm, tonguing and breathing...19 Rhythm...19 Rhythm exercise Rhythm exercise Rhythm exercise Tonguing...20 Tonguing exercise Tonguing Exercise Tonguing Exercise Song : Courtin' in the Kitchen...22 Song Mairi's Wedding...23 Song : The Bog Down in the Valley...24 Song : Cockles and Mussels...25 Breathing...26 Breathing after long notes...26 Making breath spaces...28 Some More Tunes...30 Unit 6 - Putting it together...48 Time!...48 Practicing...48 Attitude...48 Unit 7 Irish Traditional Music...49 Simple system...49 Combining elements...49 The Basics...50 Rhythm...50 Types of tunes...50 The structure of the tunes...51 Ornamentation structure and rhythm...52 The Details...53 Making choices...53 Fast tempo...53 Ornamentation...54 Unit 8 Listening to Irish Music...55 Listening...55 Why is listening so important?...55 What to listen for...55 Instrumentation...56 Repertoire...56 Style and technique...56 Building familiarity...56 Some players and recordings...56 Unit 9 The Jig...57 Rhythm and tempo...57 Some jigs...57 Note Accent and Articulation...62 Jig Rhythm 1 - Basic Jig Accent...62 Some More Rhythmic Exercises...63 Jig Rhythm 2 Accent on the off-beat...64 Articulating the off-beat in jigs...64 Placing the off-beat in jigs...65 Note Accent in Jigs More Examples...69 Phrasing...71 Breathing at phrase ends...71 Overflowing phrases breathing after phrase ends...72 Breathing and Phrasing More Examples...75 Unit 10 The Hornpipe...77 Rhythm and Tempo...77 Some hornpipes...77 Accent and articulation...81 Hornpipe Rhythm 1 Basic Hornpipe Accent...82 Hornpipe Rhythm 2 Accent on the off-beat...83 Placing the off-beat in hornpipes...84 Note Accent in Hornpipes More Examples...86 Phrasing and breathing...87 Unit 11 The Reel...88 Rhythm and Tempo...88 Some Reels...88 Accent & Articulation...93 Reel Rhythm 1 Basic Reel Accent...93 Reel Rhythm 2 Accent on the Off-beat...95 Placing the off-beat in reels...97 Note Accent in Reels More Examples...99 Phrasing and Breathing Breathing at long notes and phrase ends Removing notes in reels Phrasing and Breathing More Examples Unit 12 Ornamentation Ornamentation 1 The Cut Fingering Chart - Cuts Use of the Cut The Cut in Jigs The Cut in Hornpipes The Cut in Reels Ornamentation 2 The Tap The Tap Fingering Chart Use of the Tap The Tap in Jigs The Tap in Hornpipes The Tap in Reels Ornamentation 3 The Slide The Slide Fingering Chart The Slide - Fingering Chart (continued) Use of the Slide The Slide in Hornpipes The Slide in Jigs The Slide in Reels Ornamentation 4 The Roll Fingering chart - Rolls Use of the Roll The Roll Accent and Articulation G Roll F Roll E Roll A Roll B Roll The Roll in Reels The Roll in Jigs The Roll in Hornpipes Ornamentation 5 The Short Roll Fingering chart Short Rolls Use of the Short Roll...187

5 G Short Roll Conscious Choices F Short Roll Learning by Ear E Short Roll Advantages of learning by ear B Short Roll How to learn by ear A Short Roll Using Sheet Music The Short Roll in Reels Unit 16 Tunes The Short Roll in Jigs The Haunted House The Short roll in Hornpipes The Rose in the Heather The Short Roll in Hornpipes, Example 1 Dunphy's The Killavil Jig The Short Roll in Hornpipes, Example 2 Poll Ha'Penny..207 The Ship in Full Sail Ornamentation 6 The Triplet Saddle the Pony The Triplet Notation and Fingering The Humours of Glendart Use of the Triplet Out on the Ocean FED Triplets on D The Leitrim Jig The Triplet in Reels The Frost is all Over The Triplet in Jigs The Rambling Pitchfork The Triplet in Hornpipes Pay the Reckoning The Triplet in Hornpipes, Example 1 Dunphy's Club Céilí Ornamentation 7 The Bounce The Battering Ram The Bounce Fingering Chart The Blackthorn Stick Use of the Bounce The Mist on the Meadow The Bounce in Reels The Monaghan Jig The Bounce in Jigs The Skylark The Bounce in Hornpipes The Ashplant Ornamentation 8 The Cran Jackie Coleman's The Cran Notation and Fingering Ships are Sailing Use of the Cran Sheehan's The Cran in Reels Over the Moor to Maggie The Cran in Jigs The Heather Breeze Ornamentation 9 Combining Ornaments Lady Ann Montgomery Tap & Cut The Teetotaller Slide and Cut Saint Anne's Slide and Roll The Maid Behind the Bar Tap and Roll The Cup of Tea Ornamentation 10 - Staccato Triplets The Silver Spear Ornamentation 11 Summary The Humours of Tulla Unit 13 Other tunes The Green Mountain Polka Miss Monaghan Slide Sean Reid's Slip Jig The Wind that Shakes the Barley Set Dance Micho Russell's Barn Dance The Earl's Chair The Galway Rambler Unit 14 Playing in different keys The Home Ruler Half-holing Kitty's Wedding Cross-fingering The Boys of Bluehill Whistles in Different Keys Unit 15 Playing Irish Music Appendix 1 Reading Music Music Notation Basics Repertoire Notes and the Staff Choosing your repertoire Key Signatures Style Note Values Staccato vs legato styles Lift and swing Appendix 2 Bibliography Other stylistic choices...257