I haven't played for that long and am not very good (in my mind at least). I don't know that many celtic tunes, the ones I have memorized are all appalacian. | Printable Version of Topic
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| Celtic Radio Community > Celtic Music > Are You A Musician Yourself? |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 30-Aug-2004, 11:43 AM |
| Hi there! I'm playing some wind celtic instruments, like tin whislte, and will like to exchange impressions with others musicians round here. I'm not a good musician at all, but I enjoy it a lot :-). I failed to find anybody to play with in the place where I live, and that's why I think it will be interesting to exchange software, songs to play and advices with others fellow-musicians. I will be specially interested in exchanging songs in mp3, not songs to be listened, but songs to learn to play. Go ahead, tell us which instruments do you play! |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 30-Aug-2004, 11:50 AM |
| By the way, I arrived from a trip to Britanny and I bought a "bombarde" (I'm afraid my english is not good enough to translate to English a word I can not even say in Spanish), but now I'm having enourmous problems to play it. I can not even make a sound with the mouthpiece ! !. I knew it was a hard instrument to play and requiered lots of blowing, but even tough, I can not make a single sound. If somebody can help, that will be great :-). Thanks ! |
| Posted by: greenldydragon 30-Aug-2004, 02:41 PM |
| I only play the violin and so cannot help with your bombarde problem... I haven't played for that long and am not very good (in my mind at least). I don't know that many celtic tunes, the ones I have memorized are all appalacian. |
| Posted by: capttrk1 31-Aug-2004, 07:57 AM |
| Good Day' I am learning the Bagpipes and have been playing for about 1.5 yrs. I enjoy it very much as the sound relieves stress . Two sayings that my Pipemajor has taught me work very well in learning and playing " If you can sing it you can play it." you say damn my voice it terrible but that dosn't matter all you are singing are notes and melody. Trust me it really works. after singing the music you get a feel for the tune ,where to accent it, where to hold notes or cut them. once you do this a couple of time you will find out that your fingers know where to go on the instrument. The other is" Let the pipes speak" no truer statement has ever been said and it goes back many years. and holds true i believe for any instrument . Let it sing the tune for you it will relay your feelings happiness, Sadness, Joy ,Sorrow it will all be expressed by the way the instrument sounds.BUT MOST OF ALL ENJOY THE MUSIC ITS FOR YOU YOU DON'T NEED TO BE GREAT JUST BE THE BEST THAT YOU CAN BE. Play well and Enjoy Capttrk1 |
| Posted by: dundee 31-Aug-2004, 08:53 AM |
| capttrk1... great advise.... the singing playing thing....been doin that for years.... i play hammer dulcimer, hurdy gurdy and mandolin...... been thinking of delving into a variant of small pipes..... either scottish or border.... northumbrian seem a little to pricey for a decent set..... what tutor do you use the college of piping green book? or the cairns method??  |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 31-Aug-2004, 09:03 AM |
| Hi Spanish Rover! I am trying to learn to play piano and tin whistle, and the going has been pretty slow for me. I guess I'm just not a natural talent, so I'll have to learn music as a skill. Oh well... |
| Posted by: Ceciliastar1 31-Aug-2004, 10:36 AM |
I like to tell people I'm a musician. I am not a very good one though. My family has always been very musical and my bros. and sis. have better talent than I do, but here it goes. I play piano, electric and acoustic guitar, tin whistle, and recorder. I love playing the whistle. I try to play the other instruments when I get a chance but i don't have the money to buy any of them and at school the access to a piano is next to nothing. I really enjoy and all the instruments I play are self-taught. That's the reason why I am not very good but hey I need to boast about something.  |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 31-Aug-2004, 03:32 PM |
| I'm Glad to discover there're plenty of musicians round here! As I might have said, I only play the whistles (tin and low) and the recorder. Now I've bought a "bombarde", but I'm really stucked with it. I wanted to buy a pipe instead of it, which is much easier to play, but they were to expensive for me, even the breton one, which is smaller and so cheaper :-(. You're right when you say that you have to learn and sing (whislte in my case) before playing it capttrk1, and now that's the hardest part for me. Anyway, that's a good idea, but it's still hard to play it, as u have to do all the ornamentation, and at least with tin whistle, that's where problems begin. I'm not a natural tallent at all WizardofOwls, but as long as u enjoy yourself playing, it will sounds good (at least for ya, and that's what counts !). It will be good to exchange some whistle learning stuff if you fancy. I've never learned music, and I can not read it. All I learnt I learnt it on my own, and that's why I think exchanging impressions with people will work fine  . You're lucky to live in a musical family Ceciliastar1. Mine doesn't listen to music at all. In fact, I'm still wondering why do I like celtic and folk music, living where I live and with such a family. Allways that I see some new Instrument, and willing to play it, but unfortunatley I'm not skilled enough to play them all. |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 31-Aug-2004, 03:35 PM | ||
You are luckier than u think... I can not imagine a Piano in a school, and I dindn't take any music lessons when I was a primary studendt. (Of course, neigher I did later...). |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 31-Aug-2004, 03:41 PM |
| About exchanging resources... Those of you who play the tinwhisle, recorder or violin (or any other melodic instrument...). Do you have any favourites songs to play? Some song do you think is easy to play and sounds really good? Any recording of you playing? Some midi or mp3 files to play? (By the way, is there any method to exchange information through the web page, or it's necesary to use a messenger or icq?) Normally I use a program to play slower and replay some parts of the songs, but If I'm really in trouble, I try to look for the music sheet, but as It's really hard, I just look for the midi, and obtain the sheet. Of course, that's not enough, and you've the improve the playing of the song listening to it, but it works to begin.  |
| Posted by: MacAibhistin 31-Aug-2004, 07:01 PM |
| I play the acoustic guitar - but not well. I am a strummer, more or less, with a bit of fingerpicking thrown in. I enjoy sitting with with a group of friends, who are better musicians, and playing and singing Scottish, Irish and North American folf tunes, bluegrass, gospel, etc. I also have a bass I am trying to figure out. I sure wish I learned to read music when I was younger! |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 31-Aug-2004, 08:52 PM | ||
Amen, brother! I'll second that! It's like trying to learn another language! I wish I were one of those lucky few who could play by ear without reading music. Sure would make things a whole lot easier! |
| Posted by: MacAibhistin 31-Aug-2004, 10:02 PM |
| Me too. My brother is that way! He's a fabulous musician and all self taught! I am not sure why he got all the talent. Nonetheless, some of my most treasured moments in life have been sitting in a living room, or around a campfire sing tunes. when I lived in Nova Scotia, this was a common occurance. In recents years, living here in the North, I haven't found anyone with similar musical tastes, so I play much less. |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 01-Sep-2004, 08:35 AM |
| When I started to play, I must say I was awful... Now, I'm just bad, and some of the people who just listen me for a while, even think I'm good. Not everything is natural talent... Most ot the natural talent, comes because you enjoy what you're doing and you practice everyday. Music is a feeling, not a skill, and like all feelings, the best way to feel, is open you heart and do it often. |
| Posted by: Redbud 01-Sep-2004, 04:56 PM |
| It was just over a year ago that I got interested in Scottish fiddling from listening to some of the wonderful music coming out of Scotland & Cape Breton. My then 11yo daughter was taking violin lessons, & I couldn't get the thought of learning to play out of my head. So, September a year ago, I started formal lessons myself, with the goal of becoming good at fiddling some day. My 7yo son started lessons last March. It was some months before I learned that the violin/fiddle is one of the hardest instruments to play!  But I have perservered. I am heartened by the progress I have made, & also by the knowledge that my children will someday be good at it.Most people don't seem to understand that it takes years to get to just an intermediate level in violin/fiddle, & want us to play for them. I don't seem to have any ability to play from memory or from ear (which is important in fiddling, as the ornamentation can't be written into sheet music). My young teacher says all of that will improve with practice & time--which seem to be the two magical ingredients for playing violin.  I would also like to learn mandolin, as the fingering is the same for both violin & mandolin. Tin whistle would be fun to learn, as well. I am 44yo, so I guess I better get to practicing!  Sherry |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 01-Sep-2004, 05:25 PM |
| I wish my parents will have tought me some music... Good luck with your fiddle Redbud! By the way, do some of the musicians round here are up to send some of their playing? I think it will be good for me to listen to some people playing, so that I can get some ideas or get motivated... |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 01-Sep-2004, 08:08 PM |
| Spanish Rover, I don't have the hardware or software necessary to record myself playing and post it for you. And to be completely honest, I think you're better off that way! My playing is not much beyond beginner level and it really stinks if I do say so myself! |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 02-Sep-2004, 04:05 AM |
I'm not good at all! It's just that I speak too much!  If you want the software to record yourself, i can lend you some, altough we'll have to Stablish a direct conection (9 Mb). Of course you'll need a microphone, but that will only cost about 3 or 4 ?. It's a good idea to record yourself, to see what are you sounding like and to improve your playing! |
| Posted by: MacAibhistin 03-Sep-2004, 11:27 PM |
| Good for you Redbud! I appreciate your dedication and it is great to know you have your children starting into the music at an early age. There are many great Cape Breton fiddlers. I have found that in all of the Celtic music I've listened to, the Cape Bretoners have the best sense of rhythym. All the best. Rory MacA |
| Posted by: whistlenrun 04-Sep-2004, 07:23 PM |
Hey!  Tin whistle is a great instrument. I play whistle, violin, guitar, highland bagpipes, trombone, saxophone, tuba, and baritone but sorry I don't play that spanish instrument. Keep looking for help I'm sure you'll find some. I know how it feels to have no one in your area to play whistle with. It makes it kinda hard to learn and get new songs.  sláinte!!! maith ádh. |
| Posted by: Keltic 04-Sep-2004, 09:41 PM |
| Highland bagpipes, bodhran, whistles (favourite being my low 'd'), lap dulcimer and drums (kit). I read music but prefer playing by ear. |
| Posted by: MacAibhistin 04-Sep-2004, 10:23 PM |
| Wow! Keltic and Whistlerun should form a band. You guys are true talents! Hey, Whistlerun, what does maith ádh mean and how do you say it? Rory |
| Posted by: Macfive 05-Sep-2004, 07:50 AM |
| Whoa, didn't realize all of the musical talent that is here!! This is completely awesome. There is no better experience than to pick up an instrument to play no matter what your level is. For myself, I took organ lessons for many years when I was younger. My very traditional teacher told me whatever I do - do not buy one of those electronic keyboards. Well, I grew up and unfortunately I can't afford to have a huge hammond organ taking up my entire living room. So I did settle for one of those electronic keyboards. I can play the keyboard, but I am by no means accomplished at it - although I do like to compose songs I have not done that for about 5 years. Perhaps once all of these Celtic music influences my musical hear will I once again try my hand at composing. Here is a midi file of myself playing a composition I made called downstream (has a few mistakes in it if you listen carefully!). http://www.celtichearts.com/php/sounds/downstream.mid |
| Posted by: ANNHAM 05-Sep-2004, 07:57 AM |
| Hello All, I wish I were musically inclined, I can't play anything but I try the harmonica. My favorite on that is "Polly Wally Doodle All Day" And I love to sing, but no solos please  I would love to be able to play the bagpipes because I love the sound. And I love listening to music in general  Anne |
| Posted by: ANNHAM 05-Sep-2004, 08:03 AM |
| PS... I just listened to Macfive's "Downstream" Good Work! I love it. Anne |
| Posted by: whistlenrun 05-Sep-2004, 01:21 PM |
| Thanks MacAibhistin. maith ádh (pronunciation is mah ahd) means good luck in Irish Gaelic. The low D is one of my favorites, play for all the airs, and it's the one I learned on but I think that I prefer the high D which in my opinion is better for jigs and reels. Sláinte |
| Posted by: Jimmy Carbomb 06-Sep-2004, 10:40 PM |
| Spanish Rover... The rest of the band would debate whether or not I'm a musician. If you would like a few mp3's, hit the website below... go to the "BarleyStore" and take the offerings that are listed under our two CDs. Grab them and then run before we know they're gone. I'll meet you in back of the pub to see what you need to know in order to learn to play them. |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 24-Sep-2004, 11:05 AM |
| Good... :-). I'll be listening those mp3s in a while. I'm sure they'll decide you're a musician (as I consider myself one, and I'm much worse). By the way, which kind of whistles you play? (I mean which mark, if that word's is allright...). I've been having some problems to find a high D which has good performance on the higher notes of the 2º octave. That's why I prefer the low D. I manage to find a decent one! I wish I could try a Dixon high D... I've been told they work great! |
| Posted by: sir_tal 25-Sep-2004, 02:33 PM |
| I learned to play clarinet and played all through school and college, getting into State and County Honor Wind Ensembles. After I graduated from High School, I decided to pick up a couple other instruments, so I started learning to sound decent on all the different clarinets as well as all the Saxophones. I prefer the Soprano Saxophone, but my best instrument is the clarinet, which I've played for about 15 years. From there, when I decided I loved Celtic music, I decided to pick up the whistle, which I absolutely love. I wish I had the time to practice more on it. All I've been able to play are a couple songs that I have on my older Seven Nations CD's. I like the sound of the lower whistles, and I love my C!!! I wish I had a low D...that would be cool. -Chris |
| Posted by: RovingWhistler 26-Sep-2004, 12:29 AM |
| I am a Tin Whistle player myself. I've only been playing a few months but am hopelesly addicted to it. Coming from no musical background my Uncle did send me a whistle he made himself a few years back while living just outside Killarney. The whistle did not play quite right but was enough to prod me to get the resources and whistles that I needed to learn. I have to say that D whistles are my favorite as they allow you to play along with most any other instrument with little to no adjustments needed on the part of the other players. my playtime is split between my tweaked Generation D and Clarke original whistles while I wait for the day I finally can pick up a Sindt D whistle. As for what I play, that would be mainly lamants and slow airs. For some reason these tunes seem to stir my soul more then the jigs and reels(though they are a must for any good party). I also have a tendency to turn non airs into airs to suit my tastes better(afterall, irish traditional music is not about conformity, but whatever moves one the most right?) |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 28-Sep-2004, 09:49 AM |
| Hey! Good to see another whistling maniac! I normally enjoy more listening to tin rather than low, but for me low whistles are much easier to play (yes!! I do really think so!), so I when I'm the one playing, i prefer low. I have a generations (not really tweaked, but they're so bad that you always have to make the sth) in D, C and G. I always have the same problem, they don't work well in the high second octave :-(. My favourite one is the D sustato, so I also have some preoblems in the 2º octave... We have plenty to talk about whisltes and maybe excahgne some music to play or some music sheets. Do you use soulseek RovinWhislter? |
| Posted by: RovingWhistler 28-Sep-2004, 08:53 PM |
| Aye I do use soulseek, my name is RovingWhistler. My Clarke Sweetone plays the second octave quite well though my Clarke original always seems to have too much of a breathy sound to it. I have a few whistling tutor books as well as some song books that I use to pick/learn songs, though I find myself spending hours searching for sheeet music to a song I heard and happen to love. |
| Posted by: unisono 29-Sep-2004, 08:18 AM |
| hello my friends! it's the 1st time I visit this site and I'm very glad 2 know that there r lot of musicians here. I'm going 2 produce a cd with my goup here in italy and we r looking 4 people who wants 2 record some tracks in our work. if u have a home recording software and u r able 2 record some tracks we'd like u let us know: we can send u our songs (in mp3 format) and u could record a track by your own. then, if u send back to us your tracks we can use them in our cd. we can not pay for that but we'll insert your name in the booklet. it's just an experiment but if it works it'll allow us to realize the biggest recording studios in the world. I know my english it's not very good but 4give me: i'll try to improve it. 10q since now. andrea |
| Posted by: The_Spanish_Rover 11-Oct-2004, 05:21 PM |
| Unfortunately, I don't think my recording software and micro is good enough... But the main problem is that my quality is eve worse. Canned music doesn't work for me. |
| Posted by: Haldur 05-Dec-2004, 10:22 PM |
| Hello all! I have loved and played music for as long as I can remember. Whether it was beating out rhythms on my toy Smurfs drum set when I was 5 years old or tinkling around on the piano as I have the last little bit. I play acoustic guitar and sing mostly (I have a Takemine EG-240), but I also play electric guitar, mandolin, some piano (learning, as a matter of fact), drums/percussion, harmonica, and am wanting to one day learn either violin or banjo (maybe both!) I am also interested in home recording! I have a few different types of software (Cool Edit Pro, Fruity Loops, Acid Pro, and Sound Forge) but am looking for some quality, affordable, user-friendly recording equipment including but not limited to a mixer, microphones, processors, and whatever else anyone else here might suggest. I am in the process of working with a good friend of mine, Aaediwen (who frequents this site often), on recording some of his poetry in a spoken word format with some musical tapestries in the background. I'm looking to spend a fairly small amount on most of this equipment but he already has a good tape deck; meanwhile, I have a 40 GB PC with 128 MB RAM and a 533mHz processor (not bragging for sure, I need to upgrade this sucker along with building my home recording studio!) and enough musical instruments and recording software to get started I just need the hardware, that's all! If anyone has any suggestions on this matter, drop me a line or reply. Thank you! |
| Posted by: greenldydragon 10-Dec-2004, 07:55 PM |
| Wow! There are a LOT of musicians here! I would post some of my playing, to your ears sorrow, but I don't have the equiptment! Oh well.. good luck with your home recording studio Haldur! I hope to be looking into something like that one day..but unfortunately don't understand a word you said describing your equiptment.. Anyway..I tend to use sheet music, because that was the way I was taught Viola, my first instrument. Working on piano, D tin whistle, and flute at the moment..but should probably get better on the violin first! Some nice websites with sheet music that I use at times are: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/ http://crab.rutgers.edu/~pbutler/music.html (this is more renaissance and medieval) and http://www.celticmusic.com/cgi-bin/tunes.pl Hope these help whoever would like sheet music! |
| Posted by: Rindy1202 10-Dec-2004, 10:22 PM |
| When people ask me if I am a professional musican. I say yes I listen to it professionally. I used to play the five string banjo. I ended up selling it on ebay and haven't played since. |
| Posted by: Aaediwen 12-Dec-2004, 05:37 PM | ||
THE SHAME! /me goes to get Rindy a 5 string Banjo |
| Posted by: Rindy1202 12-Dec-2004, 10:10 PM |
| Thanks Aaediwen I do miss it but I will survive. I have great friends to talk to and wonderful music from Celtic Radio to listen to. That was so sweet... |
| Posted by: rwfranz 15-Dec-2004, 02:44 AM |
| Oddly, I have 5-string banjo that's currently unused (I'm busy with cittern, recorder, guitar, mountain dulcimer, getting ready for small pipes, and trying not to lose my skill on the keyboard). It's an old (el cheapo) Hondo II that needs a resonator and a 5th-string tuning peg. I got it mostly free. I do plan to learn to play it. Sometime. Some music sites I use for sheet music - http://chivalry.com/cantaria/ http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/#abc (you'll need something that'll handle abc format) http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/~praetzel/sca-music.html among others. I am also planning on setting up a home recording studio - using my linux computer's hard drive and the sound equipment I've got. Somewhere in amongst all the rest of what's going on. Anyone for Lark Camp next summer? http://www.larkcamp.com/ Or the Wicked Tinkers at Angels Camp for Equinox? Not sure I'll make it. http://www.poundiron.com/page8.html |
| Posted by: Rindy1202 15-Dec-2004, 08:57 AM | ||
Hi rwfranz and welcome to the site. I think you would enjoy playing the banjo. I never read music I read tablatur. Not sure of the spelling. You sound like you are quite talented, must be nice. I had to learn to tune the banjo by ear that wasn't a lot of fun. Do you write any music? We Welcome once again I think you will enjoy the music and the people here, we call each other family. Slainte Rindy |
| Posted by: Arianrhod 16-Dec-2004, 07:41 PM |
| Well,, Drum Corps stuff when I was a kid,, picked up the bass in Highschool,, played that ever since.. Started to play the Hammered Dulcimer about two years ago.. I love it, and it lends itself beautifuly to Celtic music,, working on some songs from Phantom atm ... Home recording.. haha I have a four track pig , that I've had forever.. you know, it still makes some pretty fine recordings,, and can be transfered to a CD format easily ... In Service to the Dream, Paula |
| Posted by: Haldur 17-Dec-2004, 01:53 PM |
| That sounds great rwfranz! Keep up with all those instruments...it pays off in the end because its such a great outlet for creativity. I've never went about learning the banjo, though I've held a couple in music stores and it was Greek to me (the whole Stairway to Heaven thing!) They have a very interesting sound...I grew up listening to them a lot because much of my family played music and we frequented some Bluegrass shows. And if you know anything about Bluegrass music, the banjo is always in there! Speaking of recording on a Linux system, Aaediwen and I are starting work on our own little "home recording studio". He runs a Linux system with Audacity. Never used either (I'm still a Windows junky for some reason) but this promises to be a great project! |