. . . so you can't complain about the subject matter of this discussion. Hee-hee.
There's been a lot of talk about classical musicians around here recently. Apparently they're robots or sumfink. Maybe we could all learn a lot from the way this geezer plays Chopin. Innit.
We had a very talented classically train fiddler at a sesesion last week. Absolutely wonderous playing. As the regulars cleared out, he, a percussionist and I stayed and played some beautiful tunes and songs. He was great at impromptu and accompaniment without a hint of being robotic. I hope mark returns again and again and becomes a regular.
I beg to differ. It has got everything to do with ITM, and any other music, for that matter. I think any instrumentalist should be able to learn something from the Yundi Li video that Joel mentioned - and other numerous YouTube videos of that extraordinary young musician - the relaxed power, flexibility and speed of his fingers, hands and arms; the coordination; the intense concentration; the sheer musicianship, all of which we should aim for, no matter what we play.
Ignore his facial expressions and body movements (which some posters on YouTube sadly seem to be obsessed by) - those are natural, unconscious results of his total absorption in the music he's playing, and by no means all that excessive compared with some I've seen; some musicians do it, others don't - it's a personal thing, except when it is done deliberately - and this is evidently not so in his case.
On a different level, the video posted gives an interesting insight into something of what goes on in a recording session in a top recording studio.
There's another Yundi Li video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yo82ipPkTRY&feature=related, 72 minutes of uncut footage showing him playing in the 2000 International Chopin Competition (which he won at the age of 18). Again, this gives some idea of the incredibly high demands on a musician at that level, not least the sheer mental and physical stamina needed.
Sorry if I'm pushing this a bit, but my Dad was a concert pianist before the War, so it's in my upbringing.
A German guy sat down next to me at the session a few weeks ago and quizzed me about what we were doing. He apparently was a classical viola player who also liked to jam a bit and improvise. Couldn't we play in different keys,? Maybe mix it up a bit with some improvisation and a backbeat - it was all a bit boring, he said. I tried to explain, but wasn't getting anywhere. I said all these tunes weren't improvised - they had names and history and were played like that just because that's how it was. I wasn't getting through, and maybe I wasn't trying too hard to explain because I just wanted to carry on playing so just tried to carry on playing. The thing is, he had such a lack of empathy with what we were doing - I don't think I've met anyone claiming to be a musician who was from such a different planet - I was lost for words really. I've met loads of other classically-trained musos who love playing session music. Oh we did have one "guitarist" who asked if he could sit in, and said the profound words when he'd been strumming for a while - "do you guys make it up as you go along?"
I'd love to make up music as good as trad tunes as I went along - I'm just not clever enough...
I imagine a lot of people who play good violin / viola / cello accompaniment have had classical training that has helped them choose the best notes / harmonies and techniques for the purpose. (I like this sort of accompaniment, done well, though some may not.)
If you can make up a tune on the spot it could be a very useful skill if you're running a tune workshop, and you find its getting progressively more difficult to find a tune that nobody in the class knows. I wonder if that has actually happened.
The important thing is that you've got to have that made-up tune complete in your head when you start teaching it - no making changes further on in the lesson! And record it during the lesson - you might not be able to remember it exactly the next day, and according to Sod's Law one of those pupils is sure to ask you later about the fingering of that tricky bit in the 2nd bar of the B-part .
A name for your made-up tune? In these circumstances I don't think you can beat the good old "Gan Ainm". Come to think of it, at a week of workshops I attended in Donegal last year nearly half of the 20 tunes were Gan Ainms ...
lazy hound....i was teaching a class and was actually at a loss to find a tune that the kids didnt know and would be suitable for their level...so i made up a reel and a jig whilst playing....notjing hectic...just nice simple melodies....and they went down a treat...had a couple of kids look at me in shock when i told them i had written them just there...."but arent all the tunes written by dead guys???"...had to laugh at that....
unfortunately then they asked me the names...so i had to improvise....hence the birth of the "Dunn O Jig" and the "Haven Taclue Reel".....
Rachel, thanks for backing me up - makes me wonder all the more about one or two of the gan ainmneacha we were taught in that Co Donegal workshop!
Actually, come to think of it, if a musician is fluent in playing an instrument and is thoroughly immersed in the Irish music tradition, effectively having the "language" of the music as a second (or even first!) language, it shouldn't be too difficult to cook up a simple reel or jig on the hoof. Especially in a session or workshop. In fact, it might be a good idea to get participants in an advanced workshop to try this out for themselves.
Joel, I'm very sorry, I really have wandered far from the subject of this discussion
Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Nothing to do with ITM . . .
. . . so you can't complain about the subject matter of this discussion. Hee-hee.
There's been a lot of talk about classical musicians around here recently. Apparently they're robots or sumfink. Maybe we could all learn a lot from the way this geezer plays Chopin. Innit.
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by McDermott
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
I mean this geezer. Err...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tvm2ZsRv3C8&feature=related
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by McDermott
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Yes, lovely music. But also, as you say, nothing to do with Irish diddley music.
Your point, caller?
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by ...
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Lovely music. Do I need another point?
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by McDermott
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
of course not
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by ...
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
We had a very talented classically train fiddler at a sesesion last week. Absolutely wonderous playing. As the regulars cleared out, he, a percussionist and I stayed and played some beautiful tunes and songs. He was great at impromptu and accompaniment without a hint of being robotic. I hope mark returns again and again and becomes a regular.
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by feardearg
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
So he was improvising on the violin while the rest of you played tunes?
I'd find that pretty annoying.
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by Hup
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Just me on the tunes and songs, mostly songs. but some nice work on slow tunes. I was selecting tunes that I knew would work.
Usually that annoys me, too.
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by feardearg
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Well, since we're already off topic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifKKlhYF53w
and a great (yet hilarious) example of the lack of translation between styles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKZITB_r8t0&feature=related
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by fiddleK
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Those are cute, fiddleK, but they are not "nightmare music."
This is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypycpKQxXR0
(not for the squeamish--don't say you weren't warned!)
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by John Galt
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
I beg to differ. It has got everything to do with ITM, and any other music, for that matter. I think any instrumentalist should be able to learn something from the Yundi Li video that Joel mentioned - and other numerous YouTube videos of that extraordinary young musician - the relaxed power, flexibility and speed of his fingers, hands and arms; the coordination; the intense concentration; the sheer musicianship, all of which we should aim for, no matter what we play.
Ignore his facial expressions and body movements (which some posters on YouTube sadly seem to be obsessed by) - those are natural, unconscious results of his total absorption in the music he's playing, and by no means all that excessive compared with some I've seen; some musicians do it, others don't - it's a personal thing, except when it is done deliberately - and this is evidently not so in his case.
On a different level, the video posted gives an interesting insight into something of what goes on in a recording session in a top recording studio.
There's another Yundi Li video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yo82ipPkTRY&feature=related, 72 minutes of uncut footage showing him playing in the 2000 International Chopin Competition (which he won at the age of 18). Again, this gives some idea of the incredibly high demands on a musician at that level, not least the sheer mental and physical stamina needed.
Sorry if I'm pushing this a bit, but my Dad was a concert pianist before the War, so it's in my upbringing.
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Yes, that's right.
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by Romkey
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
With a title like this the only way to hijack this thread is to start actually talking about Irish Traditional Music - wouldn't that be daring!
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by Donough
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
A German guy sat down next to me at the session a few weeks ago and quizzed me about what we were doing. He apparently was a classical viola player who also liked to jam a bit and improvise. Couldn't we play in different keys,? Maybe mix it up a bit with some improvisation and a backbeat - it was all a bit boring, he said. I tried to explain, but wasn't getting anywhere. I said all these tunes weren't improvised - they had names and history and were played like that just because that's how it was. I wasn't getting through, and maybe I wasn't trying too hard to explain because I just wanted to carry on playing so just tried to carry on playing. The thing is, he had such a lack of empathy with what we were doing - I don't think I've met anyone claiming to be a musician who was from such a different planet - I was lost for words really. I've met loads of other classically-trained musos who love playing session music. Oh we did have one "guitarist" who asked if he could sit in, and said the profound words when he'd been strumming for a while - "do you guys make it up as you go along?"
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by RichardB
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
delete repeat "so just tried to carry on playing" - I wish we could edit!
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by RichardB
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
I'd love to make up music as good as trad tunes as I went along - I'm just not clever enough...
I imagine a lot of people who play good violin / viola / cello accompaniment have had classical training that has helped them choose the best notes / harmonies and techniques for the purpose. (I like this sort of accompaniment, done well, though some may not.)
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by nicholas
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
If you can make up a tune on the spot it could be a very useful skill if you're running a tune workshop, and you find its getting progressively more difficult to find a tune that nobody in the class knows. I wonder if that has actually happened.
The important thing is that you've got to have that made-up tune complete in your head when you start teaching it - no making changes further on in the lesson! And record it during the lesson - you might not be able to remember it exactly the next day, and according to Sod's Law one of those pupils is sure to ask you later about the fingering of that tricky bit in the 2nd bar of the B-part .
A name for your made-up tune? In these circumstances I don't think you can beat the good old "Gan Ainm". Come to think of it, at a week of workshops I attended in Donegal last year nearly half of the 20 tunes were Gan Ainms ...
# Posted on January 19th 2009 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Gans Ainm ????
# Posted on January 20th 2009 by mcknowall
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
There must be a grammatically correct Irish plural for Gan Ainm - help, please!
# Posted on January 20th 2009 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Gan Ainmneacha
# Posted on January 20th 2009 by Donough
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Donough, Thank you!
# Posted on January 20th 2009 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
lazy hound....i was teaching a class and was actually at a loss to find a tune that the kids didnt know and would be suitable for their level...so i made up a reel and a jig whilst playing....notjing hectic...just nice simple melodies....and they went down a treat...had a couple of kids look at me in shock when i told them i had written them just there...."but arent all the tunes written by dead guys???"...had to laugh at that....
unfortunately then they asked me the names...so i had to improvise....hence the birth of the "Dunn O Jig" and the "Haven Taclue Reel".....
rachel =]
# Posted on January 21st 2009 by Mrs.Lonal Dunny
Re: Nothing to do with ITM . . .
Rachel, thanks for backing me up - makes me wonder all the more about one or two of the gan ainmneacha we were taught in that Co Donegal workshop!
Actually, come to think of it, if a musician is fluent in playing an instrument and is thoroughly immersed in the Irish music tradition, effectively having the "language" of the music as a second (or even first!) language, it shouldn't be too difficult to cook up a simple reel or jig on the hoof. Especially in a session or workshop. In fact, it might be a good idea to get participants in an advanced workshop to try this out for themselves.
Joel, I'm very sorry, I really have wandered far from the subject of this discussion
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by Trevor Jennings