Of course I like drones & low notes; bottom D on the flute for instance.
It doesn't necesarily have to be 3rd octave D; although I love that when it is well placed ~ well played. Something more like a tune with a few high B's. Can be fun don't you think? I am beginning to realize some players do not want to hear the up register at all ~ at all.
LOL - boy did I misread this post - I thought you were asking if people enjoyed going to sessions high. (My California upbringing is showing.) Sorry all, please continue with your adult conversation.
I doesn't always sound so great on fiddles and mandolins. Is that the treble clef?
Fretted instruments are often discordant with wind instruments as you move up the neck, although the high notes can be quite satisfying on a banjo
With regards to the misinterpretation above. I always go high...totally bombed...on many substances... to sessions. And I drink like a fish. I know I shouldn't, but I'm just having a bit of fun and self indulgence. After all playing music at sessions is self-indulgent, tell me its not. Except its group-self-indulgence, or self indulgence of the group (of players). Similar to many other behaviour patterns humans engage in eg sports, other arts, even theoretical physics. We don't really need to know about black holes or quantum theory to survive, we're just indiulging our intellect....
As for the actual originnal questuon, yesits good on flutes and whistles (I play whistle) but just as another little extra little tool in the box, not to be used to much (I think anyways)
I believe there can be some lovely high notes on the fiddle. Hadn't really given that much thought to banjo.
Obviously I will have to listen closer for that.We played 'Sliabh Russell' & everyone lked it. But it was in a set of tunes with 'Roaring Barmaid' & our harpist was harping on the barmaids' b's.
Some tunes are incessantly high.Those I like to transpose lower. "Ale is Dear' , for instance is nice played lower. But I am trying 'Spootiskerry' higher. The high g becomes a high d'. Not in session ('Spootiskerry) because sometimes people get rather particular about this or that or the other.
Cannot say I am much different. Like when someone drops down an octave. Sometimes I think it's grand but other times it just throws me.
so how high do you banjo & fiddle & flutes go without fluffing it? In a group indulgence sense.
I often find myself dropping tunes down a fifth on both fiddle and banjo. Mostly because I enjoy the groveling nature of thsounds on the lower strings. With flute I enjoy the occasional high 'c' and 'b', but ultimately end up playing more mid and low range. I do enjoy the octave drops on the flute.
I've found fingering for high d, e, f#, G, and A on my high whistle, and I love playing those notes in a session. Man it's so ear splitting, screeching, painful--it's awesome, like ITM AC/DC.
"I doesn't always sound so great on fiddles and mandolins."
...and it's not as easy as just blowing harder.
(For the record, I *am* aware that certain notes need to be fingered differently in the higher octaves on whistel and flute)
On mandolin or fiddle, I'd be more inclined to drop *down* an octave. On whistle, in a big session especially, I often give in to the temptation to overblow on the lower notes, just to be able to hear myself.
I also thought you were refering to that other 'high'!
As a classical player I find session tunes can often be too limited to first position and this can get boring....so I tend to naturally go into into higher positions anyway!
It makes for a more interesting life!
It' is a great thrill when a good fiddler climbs up to the next position. It's something of an infraction of the rules; but done with skill and feeling, it can have an arresting beauty. As with all other powerfull musical effects, a little goes a long way. Didn't Irish musicians invent that "high lonesome sound" in the first place?
It's one of the arresting beauties of this music that the whole art form is complete within the the range of the open D string on a fiddle (the bottom D on the pipes, the bottom D on the flute) to the fourth finger B on the E string.
Sure, it makes forays out with this range, why shouldn't it? There are no rules. I love Matt Molloy popping out those really high notes. And I love playing all those Ed Reavy tunes. But to suggest that it can "can get boring" if you don't stick within this range is such a deep misunderstanding and shameful lack of appreciation of the entire genre that I'm astonished there is any interest in it at all.
llig, what do you think about tunes which began life as pipe tunes, but have been morphed into things that no longer fit entirely on a chanter without a bit of note-folding? Fiddlers, players of flutes with low C and C# keys, and players of metal reed instruments have been exploiting that "low sociable sound" below our bottom D for some time now. Are they all dangerous heretics then? ; )
I did say I love playing all those Ed Reavy tunes. Reavy was quite explicit it stating that he wanted to explore the greater range of the fiddle. His tunes really need the G string, most tunes that go down there don't. The old workhorse farewell to erin, for example, doesn't sound any different on a flute or pipes.
And there is more of a tradition of going up the "dusty bit" in scotland than ireland, but I can never help wincing when I hear it on a fiddle. Only one in a hundred otherwise fine fiddle players can do it in tune. And even then it's hit and miss. But having said that, Alasdair Fraser goes up there with ease and beauty.
But it's important to remember that the standard range, D,E, F#, G, A, B, C/C#, D(octave), E, F#, G, A, B, is more than adequate. The music is complete within this range. I was just reacting to the eedgit who said to stick to this was "boring".
"I love Matt Molloy popping out those really high notes. And I love playing all those Ed Reavy tunes."
" Alasdair Fraser goes up there with ease and beauty."
thanks Michael!
Do you enjoy going high at session?
Do you enjoy going high at session?
Of course I like drones & low notes; bottom D on the flute for instance.
It doesn't necesarily have to be 3rd octave D; although I love that when it is well placed ~ well played. Something more like a tune with a few high B's. Can be fun don't you think? I am beginning to realize some players do not want to hear the up register at all ~ at all.
# Posted on September 13th 2008 by Random_notes
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
LOL - boy did I misread this post - I thought you were asking if people enjoyed going to sessions high. (My California upbringing is showing.) Sorry all, please continue with your adult conversation.
# Posted on September 13th 2008 by Jusa Nutter Eejit
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
me. too! haha
# Posted on September 13th 2008 by wyogal
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
me, too (oops on the punctuation)
# Posted on September 13th 2008 by wyogal
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
I thought the same thing as well ;)
# Posted on September 13th 2008 by hibbs21
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
I doesn't always sound so great on fiddles and mandolins. Is that the treble clef?
Fretted instruments are often discordant with wind instruments as you move up the neck, although the high notes can be quite satisfying on a banjo
# Posted on September 13th 2008 by Bren
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
I like playing top d' and e' on the whistle - mind, you can't afford to fluff these!
# Posted on September 13th 2008 by nicholas
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
With regards to the misinterpretation above. I always go high...totally bombed...on many substances... to sessions. And I drink like a fish. I know I shouldn't, but I'm just having a bit of fun and self indulgence. After all playing music at sessions is self-indulgent, tell me its not. Except its group-self-indulgence, or self indulgence of the group (of players). Similar to many other behaviour patterns humans engage in eg sports, other arts, even theoretical physics. We don't really need to know about black holes or quantum theory to survive, we're just indiulging our intellect....
As for the actual originnal questuon, yesits good on flutes and whistles (I play whistle) but just as another little extra little tool in the box, not to be used to much (I think anyways)
# Posted on September 13th 2008 by Cosmic Ray
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
tee he .... I agree. I'm often asked what sessions are and the simplest answer is a bit of musical self indulgance. Pretty straight forward really.
(by the way, should I be worried that you turn up to your day job of fission-fusion thermonuclear weapon development totally bombed?)
# Posted on September 13th 2008 by llig leahcim
Raising the bar in treble clef?
I believe there can be some lovely high notes on the fiddle. Hadn't really given that much thought to banjo.
Obviously I will have to listen closer for that.We played 'Sliabh Russell' & everyone lked it. But it was in a set of tunes with 'Roaring Barmaid' & our harpist was harping on the barmaids' b's.
Some tunes are incessantly high.Those I like to transpose lower. "Ale is Dear' , for instance is nice played lower. But I am trying 'Spootiskerry' higher. The high g becomes a high d'. Not in session ('Spootiskerry) because sometimes people get rather particular about this or that or the other.
Cannot say I am much different. Like when someone drops down an octave. Sometimes I think it's grand but other times it just throws me.
so how high do you banjo & fiddle & flutes go without fluffing it? In a group indulgence sense.
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by Random_notes
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
I prefer the mid-range of my flute. We get a lot of whistes and it can be a very shrill sound.
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by Greg the Piano Tuner
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
It is situations like that where I came up with transposing some higher tunes down a bit.
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by Random_notes
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
I often find myself dropping tunes down a fifth on both fiddle and banjo. Mostly because I enjoy the groveling nature of thsounds on the lower strings. With flute I enjoy the occasional high 'c' and 'b', but ultimately end up playing more mid and low range. I do enjoy the octave drops on the flute.
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by Imnotirish
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
I've found fingering for high d, e, f#, G, and A on my high whistle, and I love playing those notes in a session. Man it's so ear splitting, screeching, painful--it's awesome, like ITM AC/DC.
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by InSearchofCraic
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
"I doesn't always sound so great on fiddles and mandolins."
...and it's not as easy as just blowing harder.
(For the record, I *am* aware that certain notes need to be fingered differently in the higher octaves on whistel and flute)
On mandolin or fiddle, I'd be more inclined to drop *down* an octave. On whistle, in a big session especially, I often give in to the temptation to overblow on the lower notes, just to be able to hear myself.
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by ragaman
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
...I am the antithesis of a gentleman (No, not a lady, silly!) - one who can't play the whistle, but does anyway.
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by ragaman
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
I too, thought this thread was going to be about "SUBSTANCE USE" and would have preferred it to more about "gravy" than the grave.
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by hauke
Just for hauke ~ high at session?
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/8315/comments/comments
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by Random_notes
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
I also thought you were refering to that other 'high'!
As a classical player I find session tunes can often be too limited to first position and this can get boring....so I tend to naturally go into into higher positions anyway!
It makes for a more interesting life!
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by Emily Pentreath
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
please explore! why limit trad with connect-tne-dots . . .
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by Random_notes
Tunes with high notes
Iníon Ní Scannlàin
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/540
Emily you might find this Lúnasa tune interestings. The "comments" on the above link are worth a read.
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by Random_notes
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
It' is a great thrill when a good fiddler climbs up to the next position. It's something of an infraction of the rules; but done with skill and feeling, it can have an arresting beauty. As with all other powerfull musical effects, a little goes a long way. Didn't Irish musicians invent that "high lonesome sound" in the first place?
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by Atahualpa Quigley
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
It's one of the arresting beauties of this music that the whole art form is complete within the the range of the open D string on a fiddle (the bottom D on the pipes, the bottom D on the flute) to the fourth finger B on the E string.
Sure, it makes forays out with this range, why shouldn't it? There are no rules. I love Matt Molloy popping out those really high notes. And I love playing all those Ed Reavy tunes. But to suggest that it can "can get boring" if you don't stick within this range is such a deep misunderstanding and shameful lack of appreciation of the entire genre that I'm astonished there is any interest in it at all.
# Posted on September 14th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
llig, what do you think about tunes which began life as pipe tunes, but have been morphed into things that no longer fit entirely on a chanter without a bit of note-folding? Fiddlers, players of flutes with low C and C# keys, and players of metal reed instruments have been exploiting that "low sociable sound" below our bottom D for some time now. Are they all dangerous heretics then? ; )
# Posted on September 15th 2008 by Atahualpa Quigley
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
I did say I love playing all those Ed Reavy tunes. Reavy was quite explicit it stating that he wanted to explore the greater range of the fiddle. His tunes really need the G string, most tunes that go down there don't. The old workhorse farewell to erin, for example, doesn't sound any different on a flute or pipes.
And there is more of a tradition of going up the "dusty bit" in scotland than ireland, but I can never help wincing when I hear it on a fiddle. Only one in a hundred otherwise fine fiddle players can do it in tune. And even then it's hit and miss. But having said that, Alasdair Fraser goes up there with ease and beauty.
But it's important to remember that the standard range, D,E, F#, G, A, B, C/C#, D(octave), E, F#, G, A, B, is more than adequate. The music is complete within this range. I was just reacting to the eedgit who said to stick to this was "boring".
# Posted on September 15th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
Is this part of the thread about getting too sweaty in sessions?
# Posted on September 15th 2008 by geoffwright
The higher & higher thread?
"I love Matt Molloy popping out those really high notes. And I love playing all those Ed Reavy tunes."
" Alasdair Fraser goes up there with ease and beauty."
thanks Michael!
# Posted on September 15th 2008 by Random_notes
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
She's not an eejit. Emily, you mustn't stop contributing your views here on our account.
# Posted on September 15th 2008 by Atahualpa Quigley
Re: Do you enjoy going high at session?
Don't worry I won't!
I love playing this genre and I did not mean to cause any offence! It's all good fun and I believe thats what music is all about!
# Posted on September 15th 2008 by Emily Pentreath