I've been a flute player for almost six years, off and on. I learned it straight after playing classical flute, which meant I bypassed the whistle -- until recently.
Since the arrival of my savage Tony Dixon whistle two weeks ago, I've been having all sorts of craic with it. I love the feel of the playing, the responsiveness, the way it makes my hands feel like a line full of light-stepping set dancers. It's awesome.
There's just one problem: I think my flute is getting jealous. I feel it and hear it when I play -- there's a sense of tension and resistance that wasn't there before, and I feel like, at least subconsciously, I have to hide certain whistle-related thoughts from it. I was a bit sloshed the other night and, with a hushed tone of secrecy, confessed to my friend how I like playing my whistle more than my flute, under the condition he didn't say a word to the flute.
I'd be a bit tempted to laugh off the issue, but not long ago I took an African drum workshop, and had the teacher tell about a famous player who's drum would get jealous when he went to play on others.
So, if it's happened to me and this African fellow, perhaps it's happened to some others of you. Have any of you had experiences with instruments getting jealous before, and if so, can you share a tip or two to soften its mood a bit?
Maybe you like it more because you don't have any residual classical training getting in the way...
Just a thought based on Brendán Breathnac's well-known recommendation that one should teach oneself to play Irish music on 'an instrument on which no other form of training had been received.'
Jealous Flute
Jealous Flute
I've been a flute player for almost six years, off and on. I learned it straight after playing classical flute, which meant I bypassed the whistle -- until recently.
Since the arrival of my savage Tony Dixon whistle two weeks ago, I've been having all sorts of craic with it. I love the feel of the playing, the responsiveness, the way it makes my hands feel like a line full of light-stepping set dancers. It's awesome.
There's just one problem: I think my flute is getting jealous. I feel it and hear it when I play -- there's a sense of tension and resistance that wasn't there before, and I feel like, at least subconsciously, I have to hide certain whistle-related thoughts from it. I was a bit sloshed the other night and, with a hushed tone of secrecy, confessed to my friend how I like playing my whistle more than my flute, under the condition he didn't say a word to the flute.
I'd be a bit tempted to laugh off the issue, but not long ago I took an African drum workshop, and had the teacher tell about a famous player who's drum would get jealous when he went to play on others.
So, if it's happened to me and this African fellow, perhaps it's happened to some others of you. Have any of you had experiences with instruments getting jealous before, and if so, can you share a tip or two to soften its mood a bit?
# Posted on September 25th 2010 by TheChrispy
Re: Jealous Flute
Maybe you like it more because you don't have any residual classical training getting in the way...
Just a thought based on Brendán Breathnac's well-known recommendation that one should teach oneself to play Irish music on 'an instrument on which no other form of training had been received.'
# Posted on September 26th 2010 by Dragut Reis
Re: Jealous Flute
At this 'African drum workshop' -- were chickens involved?
# Posted on September 26th 2010 by gam