In my never ending attempts to become a better flute player I have stumbled across the MadForTrad website. They have quite a few tutorial cd's available and I was thinking of getting the Flute one by Seamus Egan. I've had a look at their demo and it looks pretty good (although a tad expensive I reckon).
Has anyone seen/listened to the whole cd and if so do you reckon it's a good way to go? Or do you have other suggestions. I'm always on the hunt for the best ways to become a better player.
The MadforTrad flute tutorial is good--well worth the money (a single private lesson with someone of Egan's caliber would cost you that, and there's loads more than a lesson's worth of info on the cd).
If you're not put off by book learning, get a copy of Grey Larsen's new book, The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle (Mel Bay Publications). It comes with two cds of tunes and sound clips matching some of the exercises. If you're capable of teaching yourself, Grey's book can keep you headed in the right direction.
Of course, if you've got access to good players in Brisbane, why not hit them up for tips, advice, or even lessons? You don't need to break the bank, if you take one lesson every two weeks, or once a month, say, until you feel like you've got enough to work on for a while.
Will: I think you're right about the price. I may order Brian Finnegan's whistle one at the same time. Nothing like going overboard huh. And you're right about getting advice from Brisbane players. Belinda (from The Frank Murphy Flute Assault) is a fantastic player and has already said she'd give me some tips. I just figured the tutorial cd(s) might help when home alone and flying solo.
JDave: Good site Jonathan. Thanks. I have some reading to do. Now I have to find out if the site you mentioned (or another) site has info about the keys on an 8 keyed flute (new to me) and which keys do I press when I'm playing in different keys. Sorry...too many keys there....guess that's why I called myself "keyedup".
I got sent up a copy of that Flute CD Rom Tutorial from the Mad for Trad crew, and have evaluated it, and take it from me, it is well worth the money for someone learning, especially if it is difficult to find a good teacher/turor in your area. I was very lucky growing up here in County Derry as I had great players like Maureen McCrystal to teach me, and lessons from great players like Marcas Ó Murchú, Deirdre Havlin, Liam Kelly etc coming to Dungiven for Easter seminars (Éigse Benbradagh), held anually when I was younger.
I honestly believe that the Mad fo Trad CD Rom, is very good and worth every penny. I haven't heard Brian Finnegan's one, but can vouch for Brian being a great flute player too, so i couldn't see any problems with that either.
The concept is great, it's like having a teacher in your own house, and if you're ever stuck on a part, just rewind the section of the CD Rom and go over it again and again unil you get it right. Then once you've got the fundamentals, you can go out to seisiúns and pick up tunes by ear, until you feel confident enough to join in, once you've mastered the rythm, breathing, tuning, tone, etc etc, and through time and practice, ornamentation etc should follow suit.
Hope this is of help to you. I would definitely recommend the Mad for Trad CD Rom, and I'm sure Brian Finnegan's is very good too, but I haven't honestly heard it.
Learning to play the Flute
Learning to play the Flute
In my never ending attempts to become a better flute player I have stumbled across the MadForTrad website. They have quite a few tutorial cd's available and I was thinking of getting the Flute one by Seamus Egan. I've had a look at their demo and it looks pretty good (although a tad expensive I reckon).
Has anyone seen/listened to the whole cd and if so do you reckon it's a good way to go? Or do you have other suggestions. I'm always on the hunt for the best ways to become a better player.
Ta
# Posted on April 30th 2004 by keyedup
Re: Learning to play the Flute
Check out this site--very nice section on ornamentation. Also has articles on posture, breathing places in tunes, and learning tunes by ear.
http://www.geocities.com/feadanach/
Good luck,
-Jonathan
# Posted on April 30th 2004 by jdave
Re: Learning to play the Flute
The MadforTrad flute tutorial is good--well worth the money (a single private lesson with someone of Egan's caliber would cost you that, and there's loads more than a lesson's worth of info on the cd).
If you're not put off by book learning, get a copy of Grey Larsen's new book, The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle (Mel Bay Publications). It comes with two cds of tunes and sound clips matching some of the exercises. If you're capable of teaching yourself, Grey's book can keep you headed in the right direction.
Of course, if you've got access to good players in Brisbane, why not hit them up for tips, advice, or even lessons? You don't need to break the bank, if you take one lesson every two weeks, or once a month, say, until you feel like you've got enough to work on for a while.
# Posted on April 30th 2004 by Miss Lonelyhearts
Re: Learning to play the Flute
Will: I think you're right about the price. I may order Brian Finnegan's whistle one at the same time. Nothing like going overboard huh. And you're right about getting advice from Brisbane players. Belinda (from The Frank Murphy Flute Assault) is a fantastic player and has already said she'd give me some tips. I just figured the tutorial cd(s) might help when home alone and flying solo.
JDave: Good site Jonathan. Thanks. I have some reading to do. Now I have to find out if the site you mentioned (or another) site has info about the keys on an 8 keyed flute (new to me) and which keys do I press when I'm playing in different keys. Sorry...too many keys there....guess that's why I called myself "keyedup".
# Posted on April 30th 2004 by keyedup
Re: Learning to play the Flute
I got sent up a copy of that Flute CD Rom Tutorial from the Mad for Trad crew, and have evaluated it, and take it from me, it is well worth the money for someone learning, especially if it is difficult to find a good teacher/turor in your area. I was very lucky growing up here in County Derry as I had great players like Maureen McCrystal to teach me, and lessons from great players like Marcas Ó Murchú, Deirdre Havlin, Liam Kelly etc coming to Dungiven for Easter seminars (Éigse Benbradagh), held anually when I was younger.
I honestly believe that the Mad fo Trad CD Rom, is very good and worth every penny. I haven't heard Brian Finnegan's one, but can vouch for Brian being a great flute player too, so i couldn't see any problems with that either.
The concept is great, it's like having a teacher in your own house, and if you're ever stuck on a part, just rewind the section of the CD Rom and go over it again and again unil you get it right. Then once you've got the fundamentals, you can go out to seisiúns and pick up tunes by ear, until you feel confident enough to join in, once you've mastered the rythm, breathing, tuning, tone, etc etc, and through time and practice, ornamentation etc should follow suit.
Hope this is of help to you. I would definitely recommend the Mad for Trad CD Rom, and I'm sure Brian Finnegan's is very good too, but I haven't honestly heard it.
Murrough
# Posted on April 30th 2004 by Murrough
Re: Learning to play the Flute
Go for it, the MadforTrad CD's are good value for money. I have the piping and flute CD and they are a great help
# Posted on April 30th 2004 by Herschel Mad
Re: Learning to play the Flute
A big thumbs up for Grey Larsen's book, it's already made a huge difference to my playing and I'm only a few chapters in.
Scoiltrad is another alternative to look at.
http://scoiltrad.com/
Eddie
# Posted on May 1st 2004 by beowulf573