"The pipes are a peculiar musical instrument, because they emit a continuous tone; therefore, the piper must use ornamentation to make the melody stand out. This generates a rich and very specific system of ornaments: cuts, taps, rolls, cranns, etc. The piping ornaments were adapted to the other traditional instruments and more ornaments were added, and this ornamentation is a very important part of the Irish music sound."
So, are there any relatively simple rules or guidelines for ornamentation that us non-pipers could use? If so, what is a good source? Thanks.
There are no "rules" for ornamentation, of course; it's pretty much whatever you need to do to articulate the rhythm and melody.
Guidelines, though, there are some: because their job is to articulate the rhythm and melody, never ornament to the point that it obscures the melody or worse, throws off the rhythm!
I play pretty hardcore piperly, so whenever I play two notes of the same pitch in a row, I almost never just change bow directions; I use a cut instead. In jigs with an ending phrase like GGG, I change it to accomodate that idea: GFG, GBG, ~G3, G2-cut-G, G-cut-G2, (3GGG-cut-G, etc...
An old man now,, flute player- Leslie Bingham Co Down..
Told me never play the tune always the same right through,
like dots,, Even if you only put in a wee phrase - It makes the tune different and the people listening will notice something
happened in the tune/music .And it makes them sit up and
listen more,,
And I Think He Was Right,,,
jim,,,
I think it's wrong to spread the idea that there are no rules to how you twiddle the twiddley bits in these tunes. I think the best response is to say, yeah go ahead and break some rules, but never ever before you've learned how they go first.
TheMuse, the link that you shared is the first several pages from the 140+ pages that Mr Larsen's book devotes to cuts, strikes, slides, rolls, cranns etc.
Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
From Murphy Roche Irish Music Club
http://www.murphyroche.com/index.htm
Ornamentation
"The pipes are a peculiar musical instrument, because they emit a continuous tone; therefore, the piper must use ornamentation to make the melody stand out. This generates a rich and very specific system of ornaments: cuts, taps, rolls, cranns, etc. The piping ornaments were adapted to the other traditional instruments and more ornaments were added, and this ornamentation is a very important part of the Irish music sound."
So, are there any relatively simple rules or guidelines for ornamentation that us non-pipers could use? If so, what is a good source? Thanks.
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by dfost
Re: Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
I've always tried to make my fiddle sound like a set of pipes, for whatever that's worth.
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
There are no "rules" for ornamentation, of course; it's pretty much whatever you need to do to articulate the rhythm and melody.
Guidelines, though, there are some: because their job is to articulate the rhythm and melody, never ornament to the point that it obscures the melody or worse, throws off the rhythm!
I play pretty hardcore piperly, so whenever I play two notes of the same pitch in a row, I almost never just change bow directions; I use a cut instead. In jigs with an ending phrase like GGG, I change it to accomodate that idea: GFG, GBG, ~G3, G2-cut-G, G-cut-G2, (3GGG-cut-G, etc...
--DtM
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by Dan the Man
Re: Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
Craobh Murphy Roche obviously doesn't know it's arse from it's tit when it comes to piping.
Wasn't the Irish Pipes one of those pipes that does NOT emit a continuous tone but allows the piper to play non-legato, fully staccato even?
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by kilfarboy
Re: Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
Remember the ornamentations are actually articulations.
There is a difference.
Listen to many pipers to find who you want to follow.
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/13358/comments#comment275119
Thanks Harry B
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by Random_notes
Re: Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
An old man now,, flute player- Leslie Bingham Co Down..
Told me never play the tune always the same right through,
like dots,, Even if you only put in a wee phrase - It makes the tune different and the people listening will notice something
happened in the tune/music .And it makes them sit up and
listen more,,
And I Think He Was Right,,,
jim,,,
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by FIDDLE4
Re: Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
I think it's wrong to spread the idea that there are no rules to how you twiddle the twiddley bits in these tunes. I think the best response is to say, yeah go ahead and break some rules, but never ever before you've learned how they go first.
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
dfost,
This book contains an extensive section devoted to ornamentation, and is available at some public libraries:
http://www.melbay.com/product.asp?ProductID=98214BCD&Title=&mediatype=&Author=grey+larsen&Series=&Difoverall=&Publisher=&Category=&SongTitle=&TypeOfSearch=criteria
# Posted on April 6th 2008 by ceciltguitar
Ornamentation ~ Grey Larsen
Grey Larsen has put together a great book ceciltguitar
Here is a link to a PDF (4 pages) of his introduction to ornamentation.
http://www.greylarsen.com/store/samples/essguide_ornament.pdf
# Posted on April 6th 2008 by Random_notes
Re: Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
Thanks everybody for the helpful suggestions.
# Posted on April 8th 2008 by dfost
Re: Ornamentation rules/guidelines?
TheMuse, the link that you shared is the first several pages from the 140+ pages that Mr Larsen's book devotes to cuts, strikes, slides, rolls, cranns etc.
# Posted on April 8th 2008 by ceciltguitar