johnkerr wrote:......
And what tunes specifically will you be playing on your Eb flute? Because unless you're writing your own tunes or just playing the standard repertoire up a half step, there isn't any ITM that lays well on that flute in its normal key.
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I think you've answered your own question here, Darling.
A lot of players semitone up the repertoire.
I think Matt Molloy is one such player
though I must admit English is my second language.
johnkerr wrote:.......
Um, Mr T, even though it might be a struggle for you since English isn't your first language, you might want to read ALL of what I wrote, because you missed my point entirely. How are you going to play in D minor with your keyless D, Eb and (optional) G flutes? Lots of ITM tunes are in D minor.
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OK Johnny,
So how significant is the quantity of D min ITM tunes?
Do you reckon all those Irish flute makers in Ireland (and Scotland, England, US, NZ and Australia) making keyless concert standard D flutes for ITM and all those people buying them and playing them for ITM
and all those people taking them along to sessions
have missed your point also?
Please help me here. Can you name a famous Dmin tune in ITM?
Is this played in sessions in Dmin?
And what do you mean by D min? Are you strictly referrring to D natural minor (Aeolian Mode D E F G A Bb C D+)) or to one of the other minor modes of which Dorian is the most relevant in ITM.
D Dorian (D E F G A B C D+) is easily played on a G pipe with one cross fingering/half holing. With a little bit of practice in flattening that F# it can be done quite well on a D flute also.
Eileen Curran, Mother's Delight, and The Broken Pledge are traditionally played in D minor or whatever mode they fall into, to name just three. They're minorish in any case. Of course, I play 'em in Em, but the fiddlers go into outrages over it.
I've been to sessions where the fiddlers and box players played reel after reel in Dm. They all knew the tunes. As a fluteplayer, it stands to reason that I wouldn't, necessarily. The Dm cycle of tunes is sort of a fiddlers' metier.
Last edited by Nanohedron on Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
I once sat very close and watched verrry carefully to see how Mike Rafferty handled this.....he just skipped the Fnat.....you couldn't notice by ear, but I swear that's what he did !
(Hey Tal...I'm still having a heck of a time trying to half hole.....jeepers..)
603/329-7322
"I fail to see why doing the same thing over and over and getting the
same results every time is insanity: I've almost proved it isn't;
only a few more tests now and I'm sure results will differ this time ... "
Jack Bradshaw wrote:I once sat very close and watched verrry carefully to see how Mike Rafferty handled this.....he just skipped the Fnat.....you couldn't notice by ear, but I swear that's what he did !
forgive my ignorance, but Mike Rafferty plays a keyless flute? Or he just doesn't like Fnat?
The issue, really, is what do you intend to do with your flute? If you intend to sit at home and play for your own enjoyment, then a small-holed flute that cross-fingers easily will do just fine, though you may want to get the Eb key (see small sounding-holes, pp. 3). If, on the other hand, you intend to play with others, you may feel the need to invest in a larger-holed flute, which will preclude most of the cross-fingerings. And when others are in the picture, i.e. in a session environment, the chances are good that the non- D/G tunes will come up.
There are many tunes out there that one can play on a keyless flute. Indeed, much of the standard ceili/old-style session repertoire is in the keys of D and G, with no accidentals. Sure would be nice, for the keyless among us, to stick to those tunes exclusively, in the interest of economy.
In the real world of sessions, alas, the flute-players don't run the asylum. Fiddle players love to play in A, even going so far as to move handy little G-tunes up a key in their quest for ....well, why do they do that, anyway? No matter. You'll miss the G# key for sure. That tiny little sounding hole, pinched down and moved up for our comfort, doesn't lend itself to half-holing, especially not at reel tempo. It's possible to get around playing the G#s, but after awhile, my ear just longs to hear the leading tone of the scale, and the sweet resolution it brings.
Similar arguments could be made for the other keys as well; accordion players and their predilection for D/G minor might be a good talking point. The point is, musical situations are going to come up in a session that will make you wish for the flexibility (thanks for the bon mot, other Rob) that keys will offer. Plus, it's hard to beat the crisp articulation that one can aspire to through the use of the keys. Beats all the sloppy attempts at half-holing in reel-time that I ever perpetrated, for which transgressions I humbly beg forgiveness. I have seen the light, shining like silver......
Rob Sharer wrote:Fiddle players love to play in A, even going so far as to move handy little G-tunes up a key in their quest for ....well, why do they do that, anyway?
I asked a fiddler about this recently, as a matter of fact. I presumed that it was because it was easier to play in A, but the fiddler said it was actually easier to play in G. "But then, why, in The Name of All That is Holy?" I begged - or some words to that effect - and he replied, "I dunno. Because it's brighter, I guess," and he shrugged.
Me being a sensibly lazy fellow, I shook my head in disbelief.
Last edited by Nanohedron on Thu Mar 08, 2007 7:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
Rob (mark deux) - You raise an issue I've always wondered about...why do fiddle players move G tunes (and others) to A? It is absolutely infuriating, and it takes me about 2 times through the tune to first figure out what they're playing because it just sounds slightly wrong and realize I need to move everything up to play it in the right key. Luckily, I have keys, but I hate it when fiddle players do this.
Therefore, I'll lob this petard into the strings forum and see what those evil bow weilders say...
Nano - I think we were typing at the same time (I was interrupted and took a few minutes to post). That's interesting, and obviously shows that fiddle players aren't inherently bright themselves...
I've already posted over in the strings section. I just can't believe that's really the answer, I won't believe it, nope...it's still not sinking in.
