Tag Archives: workshop

April update: a celebration of community

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With events cancelled and many of us in lockdown, a look ahead to what this means for FluteFling.

The Magic Flute! FluteFling Edinburgh Weekend 2019 (c) Gordon Turnbull

It’s a sunny Wednesday in Edinburgh, the windows are open and birds are busy outside. Spring is upon us and all would seem well if it wasn’t for the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic and most people are in some form of lockdown or restricted movement. It is an uncertain and worrying time for everyone, with various concerns for health, loved ones, neighbours and colleagues, physical and mental well-being, work and finances.

It has been heartening to witness many examples of people supporting each other in the community, both locally and across the world. And there has also been much celebrating and sharing of music and song to help unite people and raise spirits in these strange and difficult times.

Traditional music connects people, places and histories and celebrates what is common to us all and the festival season would be fast approaching, when musicians, dancers and lovers of music reunite, share tunes, stories and good times together.

Traditional flute workshop with Sharon Creasey at FluteFling Edinburgh Weekend 2018 (c) Gordon Turnbull

We would have seen some of that last weekend too, with what was promising to be an amazing FluteFling Edinburgh Weekend, our seventh no less. In previous years, people have travelled far for the events in Edinburgh and Aberdeen to meet, play and learn more about traditional flute playing in Scotland and to be part of a revival. As an organiser and sometimes tutor, it is both humbling and inspiring to be part of this and to witness it take on a life of its own, fuelled by the energy, enthusiasm and support of the community that has grown up around FluteFling.

It is a particularly difficult time for those freelance musicians and performers who rely on performances and audiences for an income. Please do what you can to support them — if you buy their music, follow them on social media, share their work or reach out to them, it all helps. And look out for performances from home via various streaming apps. Facebook seems to be popular for this, but there will be other outlets too, such as Youtube.

For some of us in lockdown and not key workers on the front line, events force us to slow down, restrict our movements and reflect. For me, this slower pace and gifted time has allowed me to get the flute out more, to begin thinking about ideas for future FluteFling activities, to begin tweaking and tidying up the website. The various people who are involved in running FluteFling events will also be exploring ideas together.

On a personal note, I have found it difficult in recent months, maybe years if truth be told, to focus on some parts of my own music-making. It is true I am sure for many of us with busy lives and commitments and so maybe this is an opportunity for us all to reconnect with our own music, be in less of a hurry to learn that tune for this session, to maybe explore existing repertoire. Time to to reexamine tone and tuning, revisit ornaments and articulation, to slow down and rediscover the joys and consider what our music means to us.

I have begun to take inspiration from something Paul McGrattan shared at Cruinniú na bhFliúit -The Flute Meeting in Ballyvourney a couple of years ago. Alongside many other ideas, he suggested recording yourself once a week to monitor progress and focus your practice. So my underused YouTube channel is now going to have a new tune or set of tunes posted every Friday during the lockdown period.

To begin with at least, this will focus on tunes that I have taught or might otherwise already be found in the Resources section or on my Soundcloud account, where they are slowed down for playing. I expect other tunes, recalled, revived, relearned or newly discovered for me, will also feature on that YouTube channel.

A flute session in Sandy Bell's Bar, Edinburgh (c) Gordon Turnbull

A flute session in Sandy Bell’s Bar, Edinburgh (c) Gordon Turnbull

There will be some other posts on this website, certainly more regularly than in recent months. But in the meantime, thank you everyone, for being involved, for playing and sharing your music and for being part of the traditional flute and whistle community in Scotland.

Stay safe and stay well and we will see each other on the other side when this is all over. The next FluteFling Weekend, whenever that may happen, will be quite some celebration, for sure.

September polkas, singing, breath

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Anascaul Lake - geograph.org.uk - 919995

Photo of Anascaul Lake, County Kerry by Peter Church

The Autumn workshops got off to a fine start with a look at a pair of Irish polkas that I have been teaching for many years that make a great way to warm up.

Tune background

I learned Patrick O’Connor’s Polkas from a cassette recording of a County Cork band called The Monks of the Screw, who took their name from a drinking club (the screw in their name is a corkscrew). There’s an old web page on them here and you can hear snippets of the recording at Irishtune.info.

I have also recorded the version I wrote and will add sheet music to the Repertoire page. Polkas have an interesting history as a dance form and can found around the world. In Ireland, a distinction can be drawn between the polkas of the south west, in particular Cork and Kerry and the area around Sliabh Luachra, and those of the Connaught area (Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon) further north.

The Cork and Kerry polkas are played very briskly and often have an off-beat emphasis, while those of the Connaught area are more like marches in many ways. Indeed, some of the Irish polkas can be traced to Scottish 2/4 marches. Farewell to Whiskey and The Barren Rocks of Aden are two obvious examples. For this latter reason, I find the way of playing Irish polkas on the flute and whistle a useful in road to playing Scottish marches on those instruments.

Patrick O’Connor’s Polkas were originally collected in Ceol Rince na hÉireann vol 2 as untitled tunes and I reversed the order that they appeared there and in the recording as I preferred the contrast between the runs of the first and the more punchy jumps in the second. It turns out that the one we learned first is better known as the Anascaul Polka (notation and discussion on The Session), named after a village on the Dingle peninsular, whereas the other one has no other name of its own (notation and discussion on The Session).

Caution: The Session is a very useful website that I often refer to, but the notation and information can sometimes contain errors, so please refer to it with a pinch of salt

To my knowledge the tunes are not as widely known as they maybe should be. Perhaps their relative simplicity puts people off, but this also creates an opportunity to concentrate on playing techniques.

Techniques

We began by listening to the Annascaul Polka, which is constructed on simple runs up and down. In A Dorian (see here for some ready modes information) with A as the top note and G at the bottom, it sits within the bagpipe scale, hinting that it may even have been a bagpipe tune at one point. There is a C natural as it ascends, but this and the F# are missed on the descent, making it a little ambiguous. Patrick O’Connor’s No. 1 is more punchy within the same scale.

We then alternately sang and played that part of the tune to help root it and connect it to our breathing more directly. Singing the tune, no matter how quietly, helps to develop the ear and to find places to breathe. We also naturally articulate parts of the melody in diddling that can be referenced when playing our instruments, particularly the whistle or low whistle.

It is arguably present in Gaelic puirt à beul, here’s a direct Irish example:

On the flute, glottal stops are more common in Ireland for rhythm and articulation, but tonguing is sometimes subtly used and is generally associated with whistle playing.

We looked at generating pulse with breath and on the low whistle this proved to be subtle but effective.

We discussed cuts, strikes, rolls and crans and also what I call The Sylvain Barou Method for learning and developing them, which is described in this post from 2017.

Finally, we looked at some books to support our learning. Some of the stand-out ones are discussed in this post, to which I would add Steph Geremia’s Up She Flew, a CD with her accompanying book of transcriptions and notes. To date, the only book on the low whistle I am aware of is The Low Whistle Book by Steáfán Hannigan and David Ledsam.

Upcoming events

The next Edinburgh workshop will be 23 November, while the Aberdeen Weekend takes place 1-3 November.

Autumn workshops in Edinburgh and Aberdeen Weekend 2019

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FluteFling returns to Aberdeen 1-3 November 2019

The 3rd FluteFling Aberdeen Weekend for traditional flutes and whistles will take place Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd November.

The weekend will include:

  • sessions each day, including performance spots
  • a full day of workshops with 3 tutors, including a special guest
  • special guest discussion

Details are are very close to being finalised. Check back for further announcements, including ticket sales.

Edinburgh workshops schedule

Gordon will be resuming monthly workshops in Portobello, Edinburgh in September. Dates and booking details will be announced as soon as the venue details have been confirmed.

February Workshop: Calum Sgàire, voice, breath and bow

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The beach at Bosta, Great Bernera, Western Isles, Scotland

Calum Sgàire (Òran Chaluim Sgàire) is a Gaelic love song from Bernera that was the focus of the February workshop in Edinburgh. We also looked at a Swedish tune (Engelska frå Småland) and had fun with Laridé de Portobello.

The story behind the song can be found here. Here’s the rich Bothy Band arrangement of the song, which is the one I am most familiar with, having first heard it in 1982:

Other versions can be readily found too. However, the instrumental version that we focused upon was that by fiddler Alisdair Fraser with Tony McManus on guitar:

Convention holds that the best way to learn a song air is directly from a sung version. This provides an understanding of the lyrics and phrasing that underpins the delivery of a fine narrative. This is important when playing flute or whistle as the breathing and dynamics are able to closely match that of the singer. (The best performances of song airs on flute or whistle are often singers).

The next best way is to learn from a musician who knows the song, but also to have an existing understanding or performance of the song in mind. This provides an anchor to reference. In Alisdair Fraser’s playing, the bow performs the role of the breath and it swells, rises, falls, stops, pulls and pushes the timing to bring out a sense of the story.

Additionally, certain grace notes and articulations lend themselves to the fiddle, much as they do with other instruments, including the voice. We sang along with the song to get a strong sense of the phrasing and inflections and then also to the fiddle version, which was simpler to focus upon due to the simple and sparse arrangement.

I have put a bare bones written version of this in the resources section. The arrangement does attempt to show how to negotiate the phrases that go below the flute range and it should help when referring back to the original.

The question of fingered vibrato (ghost trill, or flattement in Baroque flute parlance) arose and we tried a few ideas out for this. Each flute and whistle will be different and various combinations of fingers will suit different situations. It is worth taking the time to try these out and they aren’t confined to slow airs, but may also appear where notes are held in other tunes too.

The Engelska (a Swedish interpretation of an English dance) I learned from Fun Fiddle in Portobello. We tried out some harmonies and Malcolm Reavell contributed a third one on the spot for his sonorous A flute. Here’s an authentic Swedish version, that shows we were in the ballpark. Note the bowing emphasis, which squeezes and stretches the melody:

The next workshop takes place on Saturday 23 March and will focus on a set of Irish jigs. A recording for this will be sent out in advance.

Look out for the Annual flute and whistle weekend on 26-28 April. Lots of things happening that weekend: workshops, performances and sessions featuring flutes and whistles.

December workshop: of Squirrels and Tatties

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A few of us braved the icy conditions last Saturday to continue the journey of learning tunes aided by a process of internalisation. The Tribe Porty White Hall is far warmer than a couple of years ago, with new heating and insulation in place. And Malcolm brought some mince pies along, which were equally welcome!

A few blind tunes were prepared and all of them had noteworthy names: Hunt the Squirrel and The Droketty March were from the playing of Cran, an Irish band with an active interest in Scottish repertoire that also have flutes, whistles and pipes at their instrumental heart.

These proved to be popular, but everyone was also taken by the performance of Mike Vass and Mairearad Green of Tha ‘m Buntata Mor. So instead of working on a new tune and then repertoire, we learned Hunt the Squirrel and Tha ‘m Buntata Mor. Sheet music and recordings of all three tunes are in the Resources section.

Hunt the Squirrel has a rich history. The Sleeve notes for Cran’s Dally and Stray CD seem to be no longer available online, but a search around sees it associated with Dumfriesshire and Ayrshire.

Tune Archive suggests it is played in England, Scotland, Ireland and USA and first published in Playford’s English Dancing Master, 1689. There it is listed as A New Scotch Jigg, as Scottish music was fashionable in London at that time. It appears in Oswald’s Caledonian Companion in 1760.

Another, possibly later, name for it is The Geud Man of Ballangigh, which seems to be the name of the dance that accompanies it. This fascinating account reveals that The Geud Man was none other than James V in disguise going about his people in Stirling. Although whether that tale was collected by Scott or invented by him is open to question. The dance that accompanies Hunt the Squirrel can be found on YouTube.

Other references associate it with Ayrshire, Dumfriesshire and Kelso, which gives it a good Lowland spread.

Cran play Hunt the Squirrel in quite a stately and unhurried way, which leads nicely into the busier 3-part Drocketty March. The D and G notes sit strongly on flutes and whistles and are helpful for getting the ear into focus.

Tha ‘m Buntata Mor translates as The Potato is Large and appears to be a 9/8 port a beul, as sung by Julie Fowlis here:

Aside: Note that the port Julie Fowlis sings is more like what the Irish call a hop jig, characterised by an underlying long-short note pattern throughout. By comparison, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh‘s following song An Bairille has a more standard slip jig sound featuring quavers grouped in three. Incidentally, if that second sounds familiar, it’s a version of The Rocky Road to Dublin. This set is one they recorded on dual, available as a download here. With fine singing, flutes and whistles and Éamon Doorley and Ross Martin accompanying, it’s one to look out for.

However the arrangement by Mike Vass and Mairearad Green, simply entitled Buntàta, is in the old 3/2 hornpipe time, illustrating the connection between 3/2 and 9/8 tunes. Indeed, their arrangement, as recorded on A Day a Month may have been influenced by that relationship.

In G and Em, the tune sticks closely to an arpeggiated melodic structure, so the rhythm becomes even more important. The close repetition of phrases and unusual time signature lends it a hypnotic and beguiling air that draws the listener in. As in some other 3/2 tunes such as Pawky Adam Glen, the underlying rhythm is a constant:

1-and-2-and-3-and | 1-and-2-and-3-and |

1-and-2-and-3-and | 1-and-2-and-3-and ||

The beat tends to fall most heavily on the 1 and 3, so requires a pulsing breath. 3/2 tunes tend to be punchy but this one can also take a moderate pace, so feel free to take it easy while learning it as you won’t lose its inherent identity.

At the workshop we had the three low whistles and two flutes getting into quite a groove with countless repeats and nuances merging that was pleasing to be part of. I wish I had recorded it at the time, but it inspired me to play for a bit longer than usual in my own reference recording of it.

This tune would go well in a set ahead of Pawky Adam Glen. Both are in 3/2 and the shift from G/Em to Bm/D is a striking one. Alternatively, going into a tune in 9/8 would also be effective.

The Droketty March is from Drogheda in County Louth. While we didn’t manage to cover this tune, I have also included it in the Resources.

Upcoming worshops

Edinburgh FluteFling workshops resume 26 January 2019. The FluteFling Scottish Flute Weekend for flutes and whistles will take place in Edinburgh 26-28 April. Sign up to the FluteFling Newsletter to hear news about events and tickets directly.