Tag Archives: classes

February Break News

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Sandy Bell's music session

A couple of quick news points at the end of this February Break.

Firstly, check out the recent  Fragments Project post to learn more about our composition project inspired by a piece of Medieval music from Hawick.

Secondly, top Scottish flute player Calum Stewart is playing at Smailholm Village Hall on Friday 21st March. If you can go, you won’t forget it as his music is extraordinary. A good excuse for a FluteFling trip!

Next, things are in motion for a FluteFling Scottish Flute Day on Saturday 10th May as part of Tradfest Edinburgh. Tutors Kenny Hadden (Aberdeen) and Sharon Creasey (Glasgow) will be teaching, as well as myself. There will be a new page with updates and information on this site very soon.

Finally, be sure to check the Diary page as classes skip a week due to the February break.

Photo: Sandy Bell’s music session (c) Gordon Turnbull. Flute player is David Begg, Pete McClements plays fiddle, Robert Chalmers concertina.

A tricky jig: Tom Billy’s No.2

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To follow on from the first jig of the term, we learned Tom Billy’s No.2, a three part tune associated with the playing of Julia Clifford, who recorded it with Tom Billy’s No.1, our previous tune.

This tune shifts key through the parts and is awkward on the flute and whistle at first as the notes don’t seem to fall where the fingers would expect them and want to go. As such it is very distinctive, but can make for hard work. Listening to a recording of it certainly helps as it becomes easier with familiarity.

There are opportunities for rolls and variations in this tune and fiddles are likely to have a different approach to this from flutes and whistles. The recordings in the resources show some of the ways I approach the tune.

Here’s a video of Julia Clifford playing an air and a slide (12/8 type of jig):

You can find out more about Julia Clifford at the Rambling House web site and this interview with her on the Journal of Sliab Luachra web site. There’s a nice little appreciation of her recording with Denis Murphy on the IvyLeaf web site.

Photo of Julia Clifford (right) pictured with her sister Bridgie Kelleher (c) Journal of Sliabh Luachra no.4

A jig from County Kerry: Tom Billy’s

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We began the term with the first of a pair of jigs that are associated with Irish fiddler Tom Billy Murphy. Tom Billy (1879-1944) was from the Sliabh Luachra (“Rushy Mountain”) are on the Cork and Kerry border and is particularly known for its polkas and slides.

The number of noted fiddlers from the area include Julia Clifford, Denis Murphy and Padraig O’Keeffe. Tom Billy never recorded, but he was an influential teacher and many tunes are associated with him or bear his name.

There is some introductory background information on Tom Billy on the Fiddle List archives and in this extract from The Cork Examiner. This excellent RTE radio documentary goes into more detail:

This PDF by Brendan Taafe talks a bit about the music and background of Sliabh Luachra, while this interview with fiddle teacher Matt Crannitch discusses the musical importance of the area.

I think that I first heard this jig played with another Tom Billy’s tune that we will also learn. Fiddlers Doug Patience (Edinburgh, now Co. Clare), Bernie Stocks (Belfast) and Davy Muir (Glasgow, now Christchurch, New Zealand), are just some of the people who I first learned play them. I think they were first put together by Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford on their recording The Star Above the Garter.

Resources for this tune are now on the Resources page.

More Mouth Music: S’iomadh Rud A Chunnaic Mi

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S’iomadh Rud A Chunnaic Mi (Many’s the Thing I Saw) is the latest Slow and Steady tune and is a piece of port a beul (mouth music) that is also a reel. The largely straightforward construction of this tune makes it suitable for getting to grips with the rhythm of the reel.

I was reminded of this tune through two routes, one through the recent Youtube video of Irish fiddler Kevin Burke and guitarist Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, who sang the port. I believe they recorded this on Portland and the Breton Gavotte that we recently covered also appeared on that album. I also found this tune in Davy Garrett’s gem of a book, An Fhideag Airgid (A Whistle Tutor for Highland Music) as I was looking at a version of A’ Cur nan Gobhar às a’ Chreig, itself a version of the Shetland reel Oot Be Est da Vong, that the Improvers class covered last week.

There’s a discussion of the tune over on The Session, where Nigel Gatherer describes the tune as a version of Cenneag Mhor, which he has music up for on his highly recommended web site. You can also find a translation of the lyrics in that discussion.

The class resources for this tune are in place. The Burke/ Ó Domhnaill version is below. I mistakenly used this to illustrate the Gavotte recently, but I have now corrected that. A version of it can also be found on The Tannahill Weaver’s Cullen Bay recording.

FluteFling Autumn term 2013

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Flutes and whistles: Bhreatnach, David Begg, Emily Donohoe and Bruce Curtis in Sandy Bell's, Edinburgh

Flutes and whistles: L-R: Saidhbhin Bhreatnach, David Begg, Emily Donohoe and Bruce Curtis in Sandy Bell’s, Edinburgh

The Summer term has only just finished but already I am looking ahead to the Autumn term. One of my many jobs this summer is making things easier for everyone to find so this site will become a one-stop shop for my flute and whistle teaching*.

So the first thing I have done is organise the dates for the Autumn term, which begins on Thursday 12th September with the Slow and Steady class. The Improvers class begins the following week on Thursday 19th September. The term will be 6 classes long, with the classes alternating and there once again being a break in mid October. Full details on the About page and other dates into Summer 2014 can be found on the Diary page.

Slow and Steady? What’s happened to the Beginners class? Don’t worry, this is essentially the same class, beginners are still welcome, but we always take things steadily in this class, which some people find useful.

The Improvers class continues to cover a range of abilities, experiences and backgrounds.

*The Flow will still contain useful information relating to traditional flute playing and The Flow Music Workshops will still carry information related to my other music teaching activities.

 Photo: Flutes and whistles: L-R: Saidhbhin Bhreatnach, David Begg, Emily Donohoe and Bruce Curtis in Sandy Bell’s, Edinburgh by Gordon Turnbull