One of the most common beginner's questions concerns the even timing of rolls (and cuts). Brother Steve's "dah-blah-blah" description and short clips are very helpful. And tune demos sometimes offer slow and fast versions. But I don't think I've heard roll demos that start very slow, then ramp up to allow the ear to adjust to the timing as the speed increases.
So I tried this approach on the A part of The Kesh Jig. In this mp3, I start each section slowly, then repeat it until it's up to speed. First rolls, then cuts, then a complete A part.
Kesh Rolls and Cuts <-- Click for mp3
D|~G3 {A}GAB|~A3 {c}A (3B^cd|ezd {a}gdd|{a}edB d>BA|
~G3 {A}GAB|~A3 {c}A (3B^cd|{a}edd {a}gdB|{c}AGF {b}G3||
Of course this example is not very musical, and there are subtle ways to vary the timing. But this illustrates the sort of "mechanical" timing that beginners can use as the basis for more expressive ornamentation later.
Also, it's interesting to note that these ornaments can be much harder to play slow than fast:
o There's a tendency to want to slow the speed of cuts and taps in proportion to the speed of the tune. But that's a mistake! Cuts and taps should (usually) be equally crisp whether the tune is played slow or fast.
o The bubbly blur of rolls played up to speed can fool the ear into thinking that the timing is OK when it's not. But if they sound wrong when played slow, then they're probably also wrong at any speed.
