What would you ask Ryan Duns?

[Belgian_Waffle]

How did he get the sound he has on his video's (software, settings, delay etc.) ?

[snoogie]

Will he ever go back to playing for Feisanna?
Did playing for hours and hours for Step Dancers strengthen his faith?
Does he still play the box, or has he given it up totally for the whistle?

[johnmcochran]

He gives an interesting mini-lecture about finding one's individual voice within the Irish musical tradition. He draws a parallel to finding one's own voice within the Christian tradition. Here's the link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRfw1w4s ... L&index=10

Watching it might give you some food for thought.

I'm not going to articulate this very well, but it might help folks to hear more about how he found his voice within the Irish musical tradition ... and how he would characterize his own style, what makes it particularly his.

[swingsintherain]

What gave him the idea/inspiration to start posting whistle lessons on youtube? As far as I can tell he's the only person to have done so.

[snoogie]

There is also Michael Eskin

http://tradlessons.com/

But its still a good question for Ryan.

[bigpalooka]

Ryan uses a lot of tonguing to great effect. Was this taught, was it consciously done, or did it just develop on its own?
Does he play the flute? If so, does he play the same way?
Who were his teachers or influences?

[Whistler Bard]

Hello again, and thank you all for your questions.

As you can see I live in Europe and I know that lots of people on the forum are from across the ocean, all this to say that the questions will close at 09.00 am GMT, on the 1st of September.

I said 31st first, but since my 31st ends when across the ocean is still 8 pm or so, I decided to postpone for a couple of hours.

When I publish the interview on my blog I'll let you all know.

Thank you once again!

[MTGuru]

There is also Michael Eskin

http://tradlessons.com/

Yes, indeed. Also Sean Cunningham's Whistle Tutor site, which I found helpful:

http://www.whistletutor.com/

So here's another question for Ryan: Has he seen these other online sites, and what does he think?

Also: Is there a particular tutorial method book that he likes and recommends? Grey Larsen, Bill Ochs, etc.

[Whistler Bard]

I'm really happy that this is working out!

Thanks again to MTGuru for the "cleaning up".

Come on folks, only some hours left!

Here are the questions 'till now:

1 - Why did he stop uploading his videos?
2 - Why do bad tunes happen to good whistles?
3 - Do you think Matt Molloy wears funny trousers?
4 - What city or town did he grow up in, and how did that influence his music?
5 - Why and when did he decide to play Irish music?
6 - At what age did he begin to play the whistle?
7 - Is there a tradition of Irish music in his family?
8 - Was there a particular teacher or mentor who guided or influenced his whistle playing?
9 - How did he acquire his tune repertoire - sessions, mentors, books, recordings?
10 - Does he play at sessions, or only for private or personal enjoyment?
11 - What kinds of whistles does he favor (e.g. O'Riordan, Generation), and why?
12 - Which other instruments does he play?
13 - What do you suggest when aspiring players reach the inevitable plateau or "dead spot" in their development?
14 - "how about asking Ryan's opinion on the use of high end whistles. Some people maintain that it's better to stick with the more traditional whistles like Feadógs or Clarkes until you become fairly proficient whereas others (like myself) have found that they prefer playing high end whistles and therefore want to practise more frequently."
15 - Do you like to play music other than Celtic on the whistle at all?
16 - What players do you admire and why?
17 - How did he get the sound he has on his video's (software, settings, delay etc.) ?
18 - Will he ever go back to playing for Feisanna?
19 - Did playing for hours and hours for Step Dancers strengthen his faith?
20 - Does he still play the box, or has he given it up totally for the whistle?
21 - What gave him the idea/inspiration to start posting whistle lessons on youtube?
22 - Ryan uses a lot of tonguing to great effect. Was this taught, was it consciously done, or did it just develop on its own?
23 - Does he play the flute? If so, does he play the same way?
24 - Who were his teachers or influences?
25 - Has he seen these other online sites, and what does he think? (http://www.whistletutor.com/ and http://tradlessons.com/)
26 - Is there a particular tutorial method book that you like and recommends? Grey Larsen, Bill Ochs, etc.

[Whistler Bard]

Ok, so the time is up!

Now I'm going to organize the questions and the interview. When it's done and online, I'll let you know.
Bear in mind that this is going to be a written interview, just so no one gets disappointed if they're waiting for a video.

I thank everyone that participated, and hope it will be of your interest to check the interview later.

Cheers!

[rap4th]

Great job Whistler Bard!! I have followed your progress on your site and I look forward to reading the interview!!

Rob

[Whistler Bard]

The interview is made, I'll post it in my blog after I "tidy it" up, maybe later or tomorow.

Cheers!

[Whistler Bard]

It's official, the interview is published at http://thewhistlerbard.blogspot.com/

Check it out and leave a comment!

I must say I'm really proud of myself for it. Thank you all for your support!

Cheers!

[Whistler Bard]

2nd part available at http://thewhistlerbard.blogspot.com/

Check it out and leave a comment!


Cheers!

[chris_coreline]

Please relay my thanks to him, he reinvogerated my whistle learnage after a very long droubt with his recording of 'the cats meaow'. which i struggled to immitate over the cource of meny weeks!

His recording of the Kesh jig featured a lot of moovment away from the 'lines and dots', is this improvised on the spot, or practiced in? and either way, what, if any are the tehcnical considerations for such improvisations.