I was playing in a session just recently when one of the musicians produced a piccolo and started belting away. I have to confess it brought back great memories as I haven't seen one playing ITM for many years.
Back in the forties and fifties many of the Ceili Bands that I saw had a Piccolo player in the band. Even the bands that broadcast from Radio Eireann (National Radio) from time to time featured a Piccolo player and you could heard it's shrill whistle belting out the tunes. I always felt that it gave the music a great lift. The Garda Ceili Band/The McCusker Brothers Ceili Band /Eugene Leddy's Ceili Band all had a Piccolo player with them, so maybe it was a Northern thing. At that time I don't ever remember seeing a concert flute in a ceili band. Not in the north east of Ireland anyway. Anybody out there still play one?????
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
I have encountered two people who play them at sessions, and both referred to them as 'octave flutes,' which is just another name for 'piccolo.' Each instrument was brought as an auxiliary. But it's easy see how a noisy dance hall would have required one.
Billy Ballantine and John Doonan played piccolos.. it's not Irish music per se, although Doonan was Irish. Maybe one of our resident musos in the North can tell us if they're still playing them piccolos up there?
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
I've heard of Billy Ballantine and seen John Doonan, but if I've seen another piccolo player in NE England I can't put chapter and verse to it. Leaving aside the Irish community, there doesn't seem to have been a concert flute / piccolo / whistle folk tradition to speak of in Northumbria in years past (this is to say, before the folk revival unleashed every kind of outlandish instrument on the area..!); players of these seem to have been one-offs - Billy Conroy made whistles out of bicycle pumps, while I can't think of any example of a concert flute player in Northumberland in, say, the generation of "The Shepherds".
It would be interesting to know if the piccolo belonged elsewhere in Northumberland / Tyneside society in the early-mid c20: miners' bands / military bands / juvenile marching bands? I don't know. You tell me.
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
John Doonan's playing of the piccolo in Irish dance music was carried on by his son Mick, who used to play it with the Tyneside group "Hedgehog Pie" in the early 1970s. Gordon Tyrall from Leeds also used to play it, and so did Sean O'Rourke of the "JSD Band" in Scotland, again, early 1970s.
Harry Bradley - being an admirer of the early recordings of Irish music from the 1920s - also has recorded a few tunes on piccolo on one of his recent recordings.
Coincidentally, I have piccolo 2 tunes of Gordon's which I've been meaning to post for some time, but need to run them past either "Dow" or "Ceolachan" first - watch this space.
I suspect the piccolo may have been used in ceili bands for the very practical reason of volume, and may have been rendered redundant by the arrival of PA systems. Seems logical, anyway.
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
well i knew and played with ..The late kevin mc cusker who played the piccolo with his other 8 brothers in that band ...and his playing was always geared to not dominate or be louder than those he played with ...any one who recorded the band always placed him near to the mike.....because they thought it was a weak instrument...i know of no other piccolo players in the north......of course general consensus is ..northern musicians are .......still ..catching up....did we listen to the mccuskers too often .....
Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
I was playing in a session just recently when one of the musicians produced a piccolo and started belting away. I have to confess it brought back great memories as I haven't seen one playing ITM for many years.
Back in the forties and fifties many of the Ceili Bands that I saw had a Piccolo player in the band. Even the bands that broadcast from Radio Eireann (National Radio) from time to time featured a Piccolo player and you could heard it's shrill whistle belting out the tunes. I always felt that it gave the music a great lift. The Garda Ceili Band/The McCusker Brothers Ceili Band /Eugene Leddy's Ceili Band all had a Piccolo player with them, so maybe it was a Northern thing. At that time I don't ever remember seeing a concert flute in a ceili band. Not in the north east of Ireland anyway. Anybody out there still play one?????
# Posted on October 15th 2008 by Free Reed
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
I have encountered two people who play them at sessions, and both referred to them as 'octave flutes,' which is just another name for 'piccolo.' Each instrument was brought as an auxiliary. But it's easy see how a noisy dance hall would have required one.
Billy Ballantine and John Doonan played piccolos.. it's not Irish music per se, although Doonan was Irish. Maybe one of our resident musos in the North can tell us if they're still playing them piccolos up there?
You can listen to Ballantine and Doonan play with various other musicians at http://www.asaplive.com/FARNE/Home.cfm
# Posted on October 15th 2008 by gravelwalks
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
argh.. I meant to type "playing piccolos up there."
I hereby retract my statement from the other thread, regarding the necessity of an 'edit' function.
# Posted on October 15th 2008 by gravelwalks
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
I've heard of Billy Ballantine and seen John Doonan, but if I've seen another piccolo player in NE England I can't put chapter and verse to it. Leaving aside the Irish community, there doesn't seem to have been a concert flute / piccolo / whistle folk tradition to speak of in Northumbria in years past (this is to say, before the folk revival unleashed every kind of outlandish instrument on the area..!); players of these seem to have been one-offs - Billy Conroy made whistles out of bicycle pumps, while I can't think of any example of a concert flute player in Northumberland in, say, the generation of "The Shepherds".
It would be interesting to know if the piccolo belonged elsewhere in Northumberland / Tyneside society in the early-mid c20: miners' bands / military bands / juvenile marching bands? I don't know. You tell me.
# Posted on October 15th 2008 by nicholas
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
Maybe the piccolo player on the Michael Coleman recordings shamed them into silence...
# Posted on October 15th 2008 by Dragut Reis
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
John Doonan's playing of the piccolo in Irish dance music was carried on by his son Mick, who used to play it with the Tyneside group "Hedgehog Pie" in the early 1970s. Gordon Tyrall from Leeds also used to play it, and so did Sean O'Rourke of the "JSD Band" in Scotland, again, early 1970s.
Harry Bradley - being an admirer of the early recordings of Irish music from the 1920s - also has recorded a few tunes on piccolo on one of his recent recordings.
Coincidentally, I have piccolo 2 tunes of Gordon's which I've been meaning to post for some time, but need to run them past either "Dow" or "Ceolachan" first - watch this space.
I suspect the piccolo may have been used in ceili bands for the very practical reason of volume, and may have been rendered redundant by the arrival of PA systems. Seems logical, anyway.
# Posted on October 16th 2008 by Kenny
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
I knew a guy who played one in Japan. I loved it.
Reminded me of those old 'Dan Sullivan's Shamrock band' recordinPr
# Posted on October 16th 2008 by Hugo Chavez
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
Pictureesof old "bothy bands" in NE Scotland sometimes showed them with a piccolo, if I remember correctly - perhaps Kenny can verify
# Posted on October 16th 2008 by Bren
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
No - never came across that, Bren. The occasional whistle, and pipe chanter, but never saw a flute of any type, I'm afraid.
# Posted on October 16th 2008 by Kenny
Re: Whatever happened to the Piccolo in Ceili Bands
well i knew and played with ..The late kevin mc cusker who played the piccolo with his other 8 brothers in that band ...and his playing was always geared to not dominate or be louder than those he played with ...any one who recorded the band always placed him near to the mike.....because they thought it was a weak instrument...i know of no other piccolo players in the north......of course general consensus is ..northern musicians are .......still ..catching up....did we listen to the mccuskers too often .....
# Posted on October 18th 2008 by camlough