cran!!!

[chansherly212]

been trying to learn emily's reel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu26Y0DXyT8), but the last bit tripped me up, those crans!!!! (i'm just about to pull my hair out). any suggestions on the most effective fingering? for crans on middle D do you vent the B, or not vent the B.. do you use R1 and L3 to let out those bubbles of air, or more fingers than that.. and most of all, that leap to the high B in the amongst those crans is damn near impossible for me

[jemtheflute]

Nice clip! Seamus is definitely venting L1 (the C# hole/B finger) for his middle D crans (one can both see and hear that) - which is how I do them too, though there are many who prefer the different sound one gets if one keeps the top hole closed. I don't know the tune and, being away from home, can't investigate notation etc. to advise further on playing technique re: the jumps to high B - but really it ought just to be a question of slow practice of the relevant passage until the fingering pattern and breath/embouchure control click in.

[gillis]

For what its worth, I 'cran' on middle D quite a bit. I used to do R2, R1 and L3 quite a lot but lately I tongue the first, then R1, then L3.

P.S. first post in many moons (actually I had an account years ago but can't remember my login info.)

[emmdee]

I used to teach whistle occasionally, at Festivals and the like. The first time someone asked me "how do you cran?" I told them honestly. "I have no idea". I just concentrated on getting the sound until I got it, but don't ask me to analyse it.

Best advice I can give is to try different things and see what works for you. If you try to analyse it, you'll go mad. Practice makes perfect!

m.d.

[Cubitt]

I don't see how you can vent when cranning middle D. Fast as it is, your note value on the other notes will be wrong unless you only vent when actually playing the D, which seems pointless since it goes by so fast.

[jemtheflute]

I don't see how you can vent when cranning middle D. Fast as it is, your note value on the other notes will be wrong unless you only vent when actually playing the D, which seems pointless since it goes by so fast.

Well, plenty of us, Seamus Egan included, do do so (vent L1 continuously throughout a middle D cran). When you habitually vent middle D, not doing so is really awkward and takes effort.... and as for the cut notes in the cran, their pitch value doesn't matter as such, though obviously which ones you do hit does cause noticeably different effects. If you vent the D and use a combination of cuts with L3, R1 & 2 (or even R3), the cut notes all come out as variably off-pitch C naturals just below the D, but they make an effective burble in it. There are old threads about this, so I won't hold forth further.

[Cubitt]

I don't see how you can vent when cranning middle D. Fast as it is, your note value on the other notes will be wrong unless you only vent when actually playing the D, which seems pointless since it goes by so fast.

Well, plenty of us, Seamus Egan included, do do so. When you habitually vent middle D, not doing so is really awkward and takes effort.... and as for the cut notes in the cran, their pitch value doesn't matter as such, though obviously which ones you do hit deso cause noticeably different effects. If you vent the D and use a combination of cuts with L3, R1 & 2 (or even R3), the cut notes all come out as variably off-pitch C naturals just below the D, but they make an effective burble in it. There are old threads about this, so I won't hold forth further.

So can we agree that if you are in the habit of venting D, a cran on D involves venting, whereas if you don't, you don't?

Despite what you personally do, would you of necessity advocate venting D on anything other than when the D is going to be sustained (which is what I do)?

[MTGuru]

Listening to the album cut (from 3-Way Street), not the YT vid ...

Seamus is consistently venting the D crans everywhere, with the cut "pitch" below the D. And Jem's explanation is correct. There can't be a "wrong" note because there's no "right" note. It's just a pitchless cut.

I don't see any particular technical problem with the high b. It's not contiguous with the crans anyway: |ad~d2 Adbd|G2 etc.

There's no need to be dogmatic about the cran or to impose arbitrary rules. Vent it or don't vent it, different effects for different tastes or whims, or for comfortable fingering in a particular phrase. Choose a comfy combination and order of 3 cutting fingers and use that. Or pseudo-cran by breath articulating the first "cut" and following with a double cut. Or avoid the cran altogether.

[Gabriel]

Not venting middle D while cranning will increase the chance of ending up with sounding a high A (first harmonic of middle D) instead of a middle D, depending on cranning technique, speed of fingers, embouchure and flute.

I normally use vented D's when cranning, works flawlessly and I prefer the slightly crisper sound due to the low D partial sounding to a lesser extent. OTOH, I just tried Emily's with unvented D crans and I quite like it...

[groxburgh]

I've been playing Emily's for a number of years: it used to be my favourite Irish reel until I found out it was written by Cape Breton luthier Otis Tomas. So now it's just my favourite reel....

The way I play the crans changed when I changed flute. Previously I would vent L1 and use tongue, R1, L3 This is what worked well on the flute I was using. Since changing flutes I now do not vent L1, and use L2, L1, L2 for the cran.

You should listen to what sound you get from your flute, and adjust what you do to get as close to the sound you want as you can. It will vary from player to player, and flute to flute. And that applies to everything else not just crans. And as already mentioned listen to the recording not (just) the YouTube vid.

Cheers
Graeme

[jemtheflute]

So can we agree that if you are in the habit of venting D, a cran on D involves venting, whereas if you don't, you don't?

Despite what you personally do, would you of necessity advocate venting D on anything other than when the D is going to be sustained (which is what I do)?

1st bit - more or less yes. I can do unvented middle D crans if I pay attention to doing so, practice them and actually want the different sound in a particular context, but my default middle D is vented, so that's what comes naturally to me in the vast majority of contexts (bar the odd lazy fingering, maybe, in particular contexts....).

2nd bit - yes, I would advocate learning middle D with L1 vented as one's default fingering at all speeds, not just because I do it, but for the well established reasons why it is the standard fingering (which is why/how I learnt it....). Like using the Eb key routinely, it is just one of those things the vast majority of fluters (not being genre specific here, but including ITM fluters) learn to do in/through the early stages of learning the instrument and it becomes automatic, second nature, not in any way difficult or an extra effort of any kind. That is not to exclude the usefulness of the unvented version for chosen special effect.

Pretty much in agreement with all MTG, Gabriel and groxburgh have written.