Chiff and Fipple Forums

Without hearing you play, and after reading your description above I'd say it's possible you're uneccessarily overblowing everything but that it's only painfully obvious to you on the bell note. You do want to achieve a good tone on the whistle, yes, but this doesn't necessarily mean you need to &qu...

if the melody is sacrificed for speed, I cannot really see the point, but perhaps I am missing something? I'm with ya on that one. I know too many players whose main goal in life seems to be "play as fast as I can" and they 'learn' the tunes in a way that suits doing so. When slowed down ...

Are you thinking in terms of playing with others in common situations (sessions, etc.) or just what key a tune is recorded/written in? I play an Eb just for kicks sometimes because it can be a nice change. I've known quite a few flute players who keep an Eb on hand. You'll also find recordings (Matt...

The Frieze Britches has a lot of repeating motifs in it so despite being a five part-er, it's not as cumbersome as you might think. You'll get some nice variations by reviewing Ennis' recordings too.

I suggest that, as a brand-new user, you take some time to scope the culture of the Chiffboard. And perhaps introduce yourself in the forum you expect to be most active in.

And perhaps respond to some threads that aren't 7+ years old... or better yet, start some new interesting ones

But knowing the words does help the piper interpret the tune. Not all slow airs are laments: in fact, most of the slow airs I know are not laments. Knowing that a song is, for instance, that the theme of a song is love or patriotism, and not sadness, should make a big difference in how it is interp...

Wow track 20 from return from fingal is two reels, Silver Spear and Dublin reel. Amazing playing. Insane talent on this disc. I love the Dublin Reel on the pipes. It first caught my attention on Seamus Ennis' tape of Feidlim Tonn Ri's Castle, or The King of Ireland's Son. I don't think any other in...

A good place to start is the NPU DVDs. They do include Heather Breeze and Rambling Pitchfork. Rambling pitchfork is a fun pipe tune. It has been recorded a lot and therefore finds its way into common play (or is over-played) but you can find some great variations around because it has been recorded ...

What about a 2-piece Clare? They seem useful and don't seem easy to come by here in the states. I've tried only a few of them and didn't find the head design to produce a very desirable sound. Very weak and lacking in crispness and responsiveness. Required more air to play than, say, a feadog or ge...

Mr. Gumby's posts here nail it on the head. Perspective plays a big part in it, I think. Five years ago I thought I had the whistle and Irish music all figured out and was quite cocky and sure of my playing. I played out often and it was no sweat. Today I'm much more reserved and can see the path ah...

I've seen the same language and circumstances several times when selling on Craigslist. Anytime someone mentions they don't have access to their bank account because of travel reasons and offers to do business via Paypal or Money Order, avoid them like the plague.

Gah, I meant to type 2/2 and 4/4. I fixed the typo to help my question make sense.

@straycat: I think that the majority of irish traditional musicians of a certain quality play reels with two beats per bar. Are you able to explain this? I can read music well enough (not sight read) to know that there's no visual difference between 2/2 and 4/4* but I'm not immediately sure what th...

For years, I've tended to teach a simple tune which those that attend workshops are unlikely to know (Y Crwtyn Llwyd, since you ask) but I've come to think it can be useful to go with an already familiar tune or song-tune as a start. As has been noted above, you might go with a tune they already kn...

... emphasizing the down beat; that is the first of every four eighth notes. ... Otherwise good post, and I agree, but I will be pedantic and add that the downbeat is actually the first of every eight eighth notes (the first beat of the bar). The phrase "down beat" comes from the conducto...