Tag Archives: Portobello

Another Donegal Highland

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Last night the Improvers and Beyond class learned Charlie O’Neill’s No.2, the third and final tune of a set comprising a strathspey and two Donegal highlands. The other tunes are Bidh Eoin and Charlie O’Neill’s No. 1.

The version of the tune I play has come from the playing of regular musical partner Cathy Sharp in Edinburgh sessions and it is a little different from ones I have come across online. Versions have been recorded by Altan and by Cran, that I am aware of. Cran call it Charlie O’Neill’s and I have added the number to distinguish it from the other Charlie O’Neill’s we learned. It may be that both tunes are also known by other titles.

See the Resources page for the music.

Cathy learned it in Donegal, where there are many fiddle workshops and events that reflect the dominance of the instrument in that area. Flutes barely feature at all, although the late Frankie Kennedy was part of Altan for many years and has a festival in his honour.

The Donegal highland is related to the music of Scotland, in particular that of the west coast, where that have been strong cultural links over the centuries. If you’re looking around for examples of Donegal music, this site makes a good introduction and there is a good Wikipedia overview as well.

Photo of James Byrne in Glencolmcille by Rik Walton, some rights reserved.

 

Dates and a Breton Gavotte

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Last night the Slow and Steady class learned a Breton tune that I have since discovered is an untitled Ton Double Gavotte from the playing of fiddler Kevin Burke on his Portland album with guitarist Mícheál Ó’Domhnaill. They also played together in The Bothy Band and made a couple of duet recordings, all of which are highly recommended. He also plays with Celtic Fiddle Festival, a group with fiddlers from different countries.

We also discussed the English band Blowzabella and later I mentioned Ti Jaz to Pierre-Marie. You may also want to check out flute player Jean-Michel Veillon, his work with the groups Kornog and Barzaz and this interview with him. If you are completely new to Breton music, you have to check out Alain Stivell, who first brought the music to the wider world. There is plenty more to explore and lots of links on YouTube of course.

The dots for the tunes will be up presently but recordings of the Gavotte and an An Dro I thought we might also try are available in the Resources section.

In the meantime, you might enjoy this video of people dancing and discussing gavottes:

Dates reminder

It’s October break in Edinburgh so there will be no FluteFling class on Thursday 17th. Classes resume on Thursday 24th with the Improvers class. Slow and Steady resume on Thursday 31st.

Photo: Binou and bombarde players by Ludovic, some rights reserved.

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

Spring FluteFling and SMG whistle classes information

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Classes are continuing at the Scots Music Group whistle and FluteFling flute and whistle classes. I now have dates for the current term up on this site. Dare I say it, but plans are beginning to be made for the Summer term dates too.

Meanwhile, I am slowly making the transfer of FluteFling, Scots Music Group whistle class and now Portobello Music School traditional whistle class information over to this FluteFling site. You can find all of the tunes were have been learning on the new Resources page and other material will be sure to follow.

For the remainder of this term however, blog updates about the tunes can be found over at the sister site which covers all of my music teaching, The Flow Music.

Photo of a Sandy Bell’s session table by Gordon Turnbull

Flute and whistle classes in Edinburgh this Autumn

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This Autumn, the regular traditional flute and whistle classes in Portobello, Edinburgh resume with a new name. Fun Flute is becoming FluteFling to clarify the more folky and traditional part of the classes. (The ‘fun’ part is a given!)

Flute Fling was originally the name of the Spring workshop in Portobello, and I have every intention of running further ones under this name. However, it made most sense to me to bring these two strands of my traditional music teaching together under the one name.

I will continue to run whistle classes with the Scots Music Group and will also be teaching whistle to children at the busy Portobello Music School.

Photo: An Poitin Still (19) by youn-ar-gall under a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.