Suvi
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Posts: 3,160
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Post by Suvi on Feb 2, 2019 14:35:56 GMT -5
Just thought to create a thread for all who play or are planning to play Irish musical instruments, hopefully I am not the only one! Currently I have a selection of Generation tinwhistles (little Bb, little C, little D, Eb, F, G), another selection of Dave Shaw whistles (low D, low F, low G, A, Bb, B, C, little D, Eb, and E) and my latest arrival, tuneable Brendan White double skin bodhrรกn.
Any questions, comments, and other discussion warmly welcome!
Suvi
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Post by Riene on Feb 2, 2019 14:38:48 GMT -5
I have a tinwhistle, bought in Dublin, but beyond basic scales I have no idea how to play it. I can do "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" level songs...that's about it. I have the remains of a bodhran, but someone thought it could be drummed on with snare drum sticks and the skin cover is destroyed.
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Suvi
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Posts: 3,160
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Post by Suvi on Feb 2, 2019 15:04:28 GMT -5
With tinwhistles, one must remember that they are not fully chromatic, so one can play only in a couple of keys on each whistle, one major and its parallel minor key. So, this is why one needs several sizes of whistles. he Basic fingerings are the same regardless of the size, and the upper octaves are usually accessed through blowing harder (not recommended for people living in flats!). One CAN play SOME accidental flats/sharps but this is at one's own risk as they might not be exactly in tune... But the most important thing for whistle playing is to listen carefully to the key and pick up the whistle accordingly. It takes some skills and time though...
Sorry to hear about your bodhrรกn Riene, if you want to resume playing it you should get it re-skinned somewhere if the rim is not too damaged. Or, just buy yourself a cheaper bodhrรกn to play...
Suvi
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Post by Riene on Feb 2, 2019 15:18:54 GMT -5
Yes, I'd noticed that with the whistle. Mine is quite small, maybe 25-30cm. Made it much more difficult to figure out! The cat absolutely hates it, so I don't play it often.
I bought the bodhran in Dublin as well. Finding someone here to fix it would be difficult, although now that I think about it, I might be able to find a Native American craftsman.
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Suvi
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Posts: 3,160
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Post by Suvi on Feb 2, 2019 15:33:39 GMT -5
You can figure out the whistle key easily, just find the lowest sound of it and that's it! My sister's cat also doesn't like any of my reed sounds, luckily she isn't here too often so I can play every now and then! Haven't tested her reaction to my bodhrรกn though!
Suvi
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Suvi
Member
Posts: 3,160
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Post by Suvi on Apr 18, 2020 13:42:10 GMT -5
Just wanting to cheer you up a bit during this awful and boring time: The festival director of the annual The Irish Festival of Oulu, Mr. Brent Cassidy, and the local multi-instrumentalist/Celtic music enthusiast Mr. Markus Lampela, have recently published a wonderful video concert entitled "Pieces and chitchat" (or, as the musicians call it, "Tunes And Talk"), and although most of the time both are chatting in Finnish (with some English used here and there), I thought to let their music speak for themselves. Enjoy! Suvi
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Post by ใค๐โณโฒ๐ง ๐
๐๐โ๐๐๐๐ on Jan 23, 2022 7:47:59 GMT -5
I haven't yet played a specifically Irish musical instrument, but the other day I did spot this D major Irish tin whistle with a CD and booklet in a music shop My main musical instrument is the violin; the closest instrument that I have played to the tin whistle is probably the descant recorder
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Suvi
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Posts: 3,160
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Post by Suvi on Jan 23, 2022 10:52:25 GMT -5
Yes, the recorder is close, though tinwhistles have obviously less holes than recorders (so the octaves are just made by blowing harder). The neatest thing with tinwhistles is that the fingerings will remain the same, only choose a suitable size/key along with what you play!
Suvi
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