Hi, my son is just short of 15, plays Irish well for a kid in the south, probably would be considered so-so in the Northeast, certainly wouldn't rate in Ireland. At anyrate, I was thinking of entering him in the midwestern Fleadh in Saint Louis. Maybe as a practice round for the following years. Can anybody tell me what it is like? Is it a good experience? Does anybody know the deadline? thanks
My guess is it's the Fleadh on 11th to 12th May. All the stuff you need to know should be on the Fleadh website at http://www.slia.org/Fleadh2007/. The deadline for entries is normally 3 weeks before the Fleadh date. Good luck Clifardo !!
Alison, this is great. This looks like a case of negative time travel (NTT as opposed to ITM). Fourteen minus fifteen = minus 1, which as we all know the square root of = i, which is an imaginary number, THEREFORE the whole thread is a figment, or figleaf, of clifardo's (surely yet another Danny anagram) fevered imagination.
As the solicitor said when he put down his valise, "I rest my case".
Invasion, invasion, mother got online. asked question on behalf of teenish son. is there anyone in the great beyond that would be so kind as to address the remaining questions at hand? Nonetheless very impressed with math skills.
Come on guys, lay off Clifardo's Mum ........ yesterday was Mother's Day after all, wasn't it, well at least it was for us over here, so I reckon Clifardo's Mum had every right!
I assure you Madam, there is absolutely no need for you to give out your *vital statistics* here!
Anyway, I do have a question for you. You say - "certainly wouldn't rate in Ireland." ..... but how do you know this?
"At any rate, I was thinking of entering him in the midwestern Fleadh in Saint Louis. Maybe as a practice round for the following years. Can anybody tell me what it is like? "
Well, I've never been to that fleadh but I have been to fleadh competitions & I'd have thought that it might be more prudent to just take him along to watch what went on at a couple of competitions, or maybe all the competitions for his chosen instrument.
That experience would surely either gird up his loins for battle the following year, or make him realise that competitions just weren't for him.
In other words, window shop before you buy!
Might be kinder than just *dropping him in it*!
"Is it a good experience?" - Well, put simply, some kids really like exams & tests don't they & they just love getting the opportunity to show off. For others, they absolutely scare the living €rap out of them. I'd say if perhaps you just took him along to watch this year, you would very quickly find out how he felt about the prospect.
Remember too that, even although he didn't compete, there are bound to be loads of sessions going on at the event which he could join in with, which would still make the trip a valuable & practical musical experience.
Spectators are welcome. You can enter or leave a room after a contestant has played. The 15-18 year old competitions are pretty amazing. I listened to the fiddle, whistle and flutes last year and was really impressed.
If you don't want to compete, there's a lot of opportunities to jam, too. (Late night... after the competitions are over.)
Having competed at the Midwest Fleadh for about ten years, I wholeheartedly agree with Ptarmigan's post... might be better to make the trek up to St. Louis and let him watch the competitions before entering him. Competing can be very stressful, especially in the fiddle competitions, which are often the hardest competitions of the day. By watching he can get a feel for what really "rates," and see what levels other kids his age are at. He can decide if competing is something he wants to do by seeing what it's like, rather than jumping in blindly.
Anyway, the sessions are fantastic, and the fleadh is a great way to meet other kids from all over the states.
By the way, I resent your statement "plays Irish well for a kid in the south, probably would be considered so-so in the Northeast, certainly wouldn't rate in Ireland." Where you are in the world doesn't make a difference on how well you play Irish music, it's how hard you work. I've met some incredibly good fiddle players from the south, and I'm a bit offended on their behalf.
To clifardo albrechto:
Don't get worried about the negative comments people have made to your questions. I was once a naive mom who was unfamiliar with the Irish or Scottish music "world."
alison_ceili's comments until her last paragraph, and Ptarmigan's make a lot of sense. My son is now 25 and teaches Irish fiddle in Chicago. He's also a veteran of many fleadh competitions.
I encourage you to go to the fleadh before entering your son; it's a lot of fun unless you are totally turned off. Lot's of sessions and people for you to meet. You can find out a lot. Make your reservations now!
Playing Irish music can be a lifetime hobby and interesting social benefit. I have known people who go to Europe with their fiddles, find sessions and meet people.
There is an Irish music organization in the Cincinnati/Kentucky area. If you want to know more there is probably a way for you to contact the St. Louis Irish Arts people and they will tell you.
Again, make your hotel reservations now and have a Friday evening and Saturday of fun.
I see alison_ceili 's point. I am looking for a reason for the rotten way I play the tin whistle. For a moment I thought I could blame geography. Unfortunately, alison_ceili comes from my parts and she is the greatest on tin whistle and fiddle.
questions about midwestern Fleadh
questions about midwestern Fleadh
Hi, my son is just short of 15, plays Irish well for a kid in the south, probably would be considered so-so in the Northeast, certainly wouldn't rate in Ireland. At anyrate, I was thinking of entering him in the midwestern Fleadh in Saint Louis. Maybe as a practice round for the following years. Can anybody tell me what it is like? Is it a good experience? Does anybody know the deadline? thanks
# Posted on March 18th 2007 by Clifardo Albrechto
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
what is this fleadh of which you speak?
# Posted on March 18th 2007 by matan_fiddler
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
My guess is it's the Fleadh on 11th to 12th May. All the stuff you need to know should be on the Fleadh website at http://www.slia.org/Fleadh2007/. The deadline for entries is normally 3 weeks before the Fleadh date. Good luck Clifardo !!
# Posted on March 18th 2007 by Bannerman
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
how is it that you're fourteen years old and have an almost fifteen year old son?
# Posted on March 18th 2007 by alison kale
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
Alison, this is great. This looks like a case of negative time travel (NTT as opposed to ITM). Fourteen minus fifteen = minus 1, which as we all know the square root of = i, which is an imaginary number, THEREFORE the whole thread is a figment, or figleaf, of clifardo's (surely yet another Danny anagram) fevered imagination.
As the solicitor said when he put down his valise, "I rest my case".
# Posted on March 19th 2007 by maxF
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
Max, you are absolutely right!!! that makes perfect sense!
maybe clifardo is not a native speaker of this land and therefore has his numbers mixed up just a wee bit....
# Posted on March 19th 2007 by BE
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
is this something spectators can go to, or competitors only?
# Posted on March 19th 2007 by matan_fiddler
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
Maybe I'm 32^12.3,
or something like that
# Posted on March 19th 2007 by Clifardo Albrechto
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
Invasion, invasion, mother got online. asked question on behalf of teenish son. is there anyone in the great beyond that would be so kind as to address the remaining questions at hand? Nonetheless very impressed with math skills.
# Posted on March 19th 2007 by Clifardo Albrechto
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
Come on guys, lay off Clifardo's Mum ........ yesterday was Mother's Day after all, wasn't it, well at least it was for us over here, so I reckon Clifardo's Mum had every right!
I assure you Madam, there is absolutely no need for you to give out your *vital statistics* here!
Anyway, I do have a question for you. You say - "certainly wouldn't rate in Ireland." ..... but how do you know this?
"At any rate, I was thinking of entering him in the midwestern Fleadh in Saint Louis. Maybe as a practice round for the following years. Can anybody tell me what it is like? "
Well, I've never been to that fleadh but I have been to fleadh competitions & I'd have thought that it might be more prudent to just take him along to watch what went on at a couple of competitions, or maybe all the competitions for his chosen instrument.
That experience would surely either gird up his loins for battle the following year, or make him realise that competitions just weren't for him.
In other words, window shop before you buy!
Might be kinder than just *dropping him in it*!
"Is it a good experience?" - Well, put simply, some kids really like exams & tests don't they & they just love getting the opportunity to show off. For others, they absolutely scare the living €rap out of them. I'd say if perhaps you just took him along to watch this year, you would very quickly find out how he felt about the prospect.
Remember too that, even although he didn't compete, there are bound to be loads of sessions going on at the event which he could join in with, which would still make the trip a valuable & practical musical experience.
Anyway, good luck to him.
# Posted on March 19th 2007 by Ptarmigan
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
Matan,
Spectators are welcome. You can enter or leave a room after a contestant has played. The 15-18 year old competitions are pretty amazing. I listened to the fiddle, whistle and flutes last year and was really impressed.
If you don't want to compete, there's a lot of opportunities to jam, too. (Late night... after the competitions are over.)
# Posted on March 19th 2007 by nofrets
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
Having competed at the Midwest Fleadh for about ten years, I wholeheartedly agree with Ptarmigan's post... might be better to make the trek up to St. Louis and let him watch the competitions before entering him. Competing can be very stressful, especially in the fiddle competitions, which are often the hardest competitions of the day. By watching he can get a feel for what really "rates," and see what levels other kids his age are at. He can decide if competing is something he wants to do by seeing what it's like, rather than jumping in blindly.
Anyway, the sessions are fantastic, and the fleadh is a great way to meet other kids from all over the states.
By the way, I resent your statement "plays Irish well for a kid in the south, probably would be considered so-so in the Northeast, certainly wouldn't rate in Ireland." Where you are in the world doesn't make a difference on how well you play Irish music, it's how hard you work. I've met some incredibly good fiddle players from the south, and I'm a bit offended on their behalf.
# Posted on March 19th 2007 by alison kale
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
To clifardo albrechto:
Don't get worried about the negative comments people have made to your questions. I was once a naive mom who was unfamiliar with the Irish or Scottish music "world."
alison_ceili's comments until her last paragraph, and Ptarmigan's make a lot of sense. My son is now 25 and teaches Irish fiddle in Chicago. He's also a veteran of many fleadh competitions.
I encourage you to go to the fleadh before entering your son; it's a lot of fun unless you are totally turned off. Lot's of sessions and people for you to meet. You can find out a lot. Make your reservations now!
Playing Irish music can be a lifetime hobby and interesting social benefit. I have known people who go to Europe with their fiddles, find sessions and meet people.
There is an Irish music organization in the Cincinnati/Kentucky area. If you want to know more there is probably a way for you to contact the St. Louis Irish Arts people and they will tell you.
Again, make your hotel reservations now and have a Friday evening and Saturday of fun.
# Posted on April 6th 2007 by chicitysue
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
My last paragraph made perfect sense.
# Posted on April 14th 2007 by alison kale
Re: questions about midwestern Fleadh
I see alison_ceili 's point. I am looking for a reason for the rotten way I play the tin whistle. For a moment I thought I could blame geography. Unfortunately, alison_ceili comes from my parts and she is the greatest on tin whistle and fiddle.
Darn.
# Posted on April 14th 2007 by feardearg