It's going to happen sooner or later...there will be a trad idol..where hopeful young traditional musicians will display their talents only to be berated and abused by judges on national television. Whether or not this will make good television is debatable. However, I'm wondering which pillars of the traditional musical community do you reckon would make the best judges and why?
You would really have to have someone who knows their stuff, but I have a feeling that if it did come to pass the usual suspects would be on the top table. Dr Donal Lunney and the female fiddle player Mairead from Altan, whose name I can't spell comes to mind straight away. I would like to see people of the calibre of Paddy Moloney - Martin O Connor - Matt Molloy - Paddy Glacking - Cathal Hayden. I feel they would be fair and friendly not like some of the judges I've seen over the years. One particular judge comes to mind at a county fleadh some years ago. He actually swore at some of the young contestants and brought some of them to tears. Mind you I always found him an ignorant sod at the best of times.
I'd hope that those best qualified to judge (i.e. those listed in post #2, and a few others) would distance themselves by a few light-years from such an appalling event.
The show is already in production, under the name "Diddly-idol".
Although judges haven't been confirmed, rumours in the production office (phone booth outside the cobblestones) are Seamus Tansey, Tony McMahon, Finbar O'Pleurisy and the ghost of Kip Scanlon.
We need above all men of the highest integrity, confidence, unchallenged pedagogical skills, who are adherents of the more traditional and noble aspects of musician education such as incessant scale and arpeggio training, and above all people who have been playing this stuff for 25-30-40-65 years minimum. People who know that if it's good enough for Kevin Burke it's good enough for them. Sh!t. I can't think of anybody.
Is this thread still here? I wouldn't have bet on it, but I guess it is.
Steve, maybe I should expand on that remark I made a while ago.
If it's good enough for Kevin Burke--or Martin Hayes, Tommy Peoples, Liz Carroll, Randall Bays, Dale Russ, Brian Conway, Sean Smyth, Franki Gavin, James Kelly, Patrick Orceau, Natalie MacMaster, Donal Leahy, Gerry O'Connor, Donal O'Connor, Mairead ni Mhaonaigh, Ciaran Tourish, Alasdair Fraser, Nollaig Casey, Mairead Nesbitt, Mair Breatnach, Will CPT, benhall.1, or reenactor--it's good enough for me.
I could learn plenty from all of them, and from many other more-experienced-than-me fiddlers, too. If that's all right with you.
Why not get Guinness to sponsor the event and insist that every competitor (and maybe judge) must consume a minimum quantity of the dark beverage before the competition with bonus points for those that have drunk more. This would make the competition a much more serious test of skill.
Best players aren't always good teachers. They wouldn't always be good judges either. So it's pointless to nominate your favourite musicians.
Don't forget non-musicians are also important members of the "traditional musical community," and some of the best judges would be included in such people. I suppose good dancers will be better judges than well-known musicians in general.
fiddle4321, what about Joe Cooley, Johnny O'Leary, Lucy Farr, Denis Murphy, Julia Clifford, Elizabeth Crotty, Willie Clancy, Seamus Ennis, Leo Rowsome, Paddy Carty, John Doherty, Con Cassidy, Tommy Potts, P.J. Crotty, Frankie Kennedy, Derek Bell, Fr. P.J. Kelly, Sean Maguire, and Kitty Hayes?
(I recently made a "good enough for Kevin" comment about bowing technique, and thought you were lumping me in where I didn't want to be lumped in. My mistake.)
I'm astounded that my name hasn't been mentioned as the only D-list celebrity on this board based in Ireland (and certainly the only one who's had to apologise to the entire population of Buncrana on Highland Radio, not individually, of course, but en masse).
On the real Idol, all the female contestants are required to sound like
Whitney Houston and all the male ones have a choice of (a) Stevie
Wonder or (b) an operatic tenor.
So in trad idol all the fiddlers would be required to play like Kevin Burke
or Cathal Hayden, all the 'tinas like Noel Hill .... etc etc
Hello, we have a new troll, just when peace was breaking out. I'd have thought you could have been jig reincarnated, except for that apostrophe in the right place.
hypothetical judges for trad idol
hypothetical judges for trad idol
It's going to happen sooner or later...there will be a trad idol..where hopeful young traditional musicians will display their talents only to be berated and abused by judges on national television. Whether or not this will make good television is debatable. However, I'm wondering which pillars of the traditional musical community do you reckon would make the best judges and why?
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by fiddle4321
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
You would really have to have someone who knows their stuff, but I have a feeling that if it did come to pass the usual suspects would be on the top table. Dr Donal Lunney and the female fiddle player Mairead from Altan, whose name I can't spell comes to mind straight away. I would like to see people of the calibre of Paddy Moloney - Martin O Connor - Matt Molloy - Paddy Glacking - Cathal Hayden. I feel they would be fair and friendly not like some of the judges I've seen over the years. One particular judge comes to mind at a county fleadh some years ago. He actually swore at some of the young contestants and brought some of them to tears. Mind you I always found him an ignorant sod at the best of times.
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by Free Reed
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
I'd like judges to prove their superior ability by playing whilst walking a tight rope...
http://inbetweennoise.blogspot.com/
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by wolfbird
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Really?? Really?? Did free reed actually stop long enough to consider such a thing?! Thats gas!
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by JM
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
"...hopeful young traditional musicians will display their talents only to be berated and abused by judges on national television..."
"...He actually swore at some of the young contestants and brought some of them to tears..."
Why bother doing it on TV when all they need to go is participate in their local "Traditional Music" "Competition"?
Traditional music competition, what a grand oxymoron.
A regular moron would be the judge Free Reed was speaking of.
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
"go" should read "do"
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
I'd hope that those best qualified to judge (i.e. those listed in post #2, and a few others) would distance themselves by a few light-years from such an appalling event.
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by Trevor Jennings
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
The show is already in production, under the name "Diddly-idol".
Although judges haven't been confirmed, rumours in the production office (phone booth outside the cobblestones) are Seamus Tansey, Tony McMahon, Finbar O'Pleurisy and the ghost of Kip Scanlon.
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by WorzelGummidge
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Our own Michael Gill, of course! He'd be handy in the Brendan 'whatshisface' or Simon Cowell role
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by the wounded hussar
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Feck off
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Sorry llig...no Russian judges would be allowed.
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by Free Reed
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
I'd watch if one of the judges was Father Jack Hackett
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by Nate Ryan
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Micho Russell would have been a natural!
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by nicholas
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Is there really going to be a trad idol?
Liz Carroll and Paddy Ryan...
I don't know about the third though...
Devin Shepard maybe
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by keys05
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Can me and Ceol judge the dancing
Although I like the Idea of Mr Tansey being the lead judge along with a certain barefoot guitarist
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by bazouki dave
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
We need above all men of the highest integrity, confidence, unchallenged pedagogical skills, who are adherents of the more traditional and noble aspects of musician education such as incessant scale and arpeggio training, and above all people who have been playing this stuff for 25-30-40-65 years minimum. People who know that if it's good enough for Kevin Burke it's good enough for them. Sh!t. I can't think of anybody.
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Steve Shaw
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Best judges would be people with a good background in both Trad music nd new trad music. My 3 would be:
Michael McGoldrick
Sean Og Graham or Damien Mullane (younger opinion )
Michael O'hEihin
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by byheck
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Is this thread still here? I wouldn't have bet on it, but I guess it is.
Steve, maybe I should expand on that remark I made a while ago.
If it's good enough for Kevin Burke--or Martin Hayes, Tommy Peoples, Liz Carroll, Randall Bays, Dale Russ, Brian Conway, Sean Smyth, Franki Gavin, James Kelly, Patrick Orceau, Natalie MacMaster, Donal Leahy, Gerry O'Connor, Donal O'Connor, Mairead ni Mhaonaigh, Ciaran Tourish, Alasdair Fraser, Nollaig Casey, Mairead Nesbitt, Mair Breatnach, Will CPT, benhall.1, or reenactor--it's good enough for me.
I could learn plenty from all of them, and from many other more-experienced-than-me fiddlers, too. If that's all right with you.
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by John Galt
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Why not get Guinness to sponsor the event and insist that every competitor (and maybe judge) must consume a minimum quantity of the dark beverage before the competition with bonus points for those that have drunk more. This would make the competition a much more serious test of skill.
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Donough
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Best players aren't always good teachers. They wouldn't always be good judges either. So it's pointless to nominate your favourite musicians.
Don't forget non-musicians are also important members of the "traditional musical community," and some of the best judges would be included in such people. I suppose good dancers will be better judges than well-known musicians in general.
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by slainte
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Anyway, do you really need judges to tell you whether you are good enough? You are the best critic of your own playing, right?
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by slainte
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
I have no idea why you think my pathetic attempt at facetiousness was in any way directed at you, mickray. It just wasn't. Smile.
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Steve Shaw
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
just a bit of fun, slainte...
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by fiddle4321
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Dancers?! Dancers!?
I thought they were only invented to be musicians' girlfriends...
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Krick Stahlschwanz
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
fiddle4321, what about Joe Cooley, Johnny O'Leary, Lucy Farr, Denis Murphy, Julia Clifford, Elizabeth Crotty, Willie Clancy, Seamus Ennis, Leo Rowsome, Paddy Carty, John Doherty, Con Cassidy, Tommy Potts, P.J. Crotty, Frankie Kennedy, Derek Bell, Fr. P.J. Kelly, Sean Maguire, and Kitty Hayes?
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by slainte
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Wasn't banking on waiting that long for the filming (being optimistic, like)
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by fiddle4321
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Do they do a version of the show for lazy osteopaths?
It could be called "Bone Idol"
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
OK then, Steve, my knickers are now untwisted.
(I recently made a "good enough for Kevin" comment about bowing technique, and thought you were lumping me in where I didn't want to be lumped in. My mistake.)
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by John Galt
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
I didn't even see that! I was, of course, referring to gij (anag.)
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Steve Shaw
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
I'm astounded that my name hasn't been mentioned as the only D-list celebrity on this board based in Ireland (and certainly the only one who's had to apologise to the entire population of Buncrana on Highland Radio, not individually, of course, but en masse).
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by MacCruiskeen
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Will they count ability to make freinds and influence others?- something that many Trad musucians excel at.
You know, buying a round or two at the local pub for the judges and their entourages, that sort of thing?
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by zippydw
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
On the real Idol, all the female contestants are required to sound like
Whitney Houston and all the male ones have a choice of (a) Stevie
Wonder or (b) an operatic tenor.
So in trad idol all the fiddlers would be required to play like Kevin Burke
or Cathal Hayden, all the 'tinas like Noel Hill .... etc etc
# Posted on July 16th 2008 by Hup
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Wouldn't you have to do songs, not tunes, to win a thing like that?
If you're under about 30 you'll not understand the above reference to "tunes" but basically, it's what you call a song but without any singing in it!
# Posted on July 16th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
flossy, maybe it's because nobody really values your opinions.
# Posted on July 16th 2008 by skip canlon
Re: hypothetical judges for trad idol
Hello, we have a new troll, just when peace was breaking out. I'd have thought you could have been jig reincarnated, except for that apostrophe in the right place.
# Posted on July 18th 2008 by Steve Shaw