Born in Ireland, Studied in Scotland, Living in England.
Not a musician really, (sadly) but a Ceilidh Dancer. (Not even a Ceili dancer! Shocking!)
Play Penny Whistle, Guitar, Appalachian Dulcimer. I'm in my second half-century.
I make whistles out of some weird plastic tubing that I used to think was PVC. It's Polypropylene. It's called PEX. You can't sand it, so I'm limited to cutting.
Gradually acquiring a repertoire of ITM. Gradually improving on the whistle. Onwards & upwards! I picked up a WillowFlute a year or two ago from Corwen at AncientInstruments. Since then I've been working through Jean-Pierre Yvert's Tutor Book. You can play ITM on an Overtone flute. Peg Ryan's Polka comes out pretty close, and Johnny Micky Barry not far off. "The Valley of Silence" comes out VERY nicely.
(And in response to Guernsey Pete's request for more Biog:)
I've got a long grey beard which I sometimes put in plaits. I'm male. I messed up my Mum's old fiddle by using modern wood-glue to stick the thing together when it busted. It's near worthless anyway, apart from the fact that it's playable. Maybe one day I'll learn to play it. I have Asperger's Syndrome and am slightly agoraphobic. Took the Yahoo 50-90 Song challenge in 2006 and I'm still playing the songs I wrote for it. "The Astronomical Waltz". "I want to be an Elephant". "Gossamer Hill". Family hates me playing whistle so I practice in the park.
If you ever go to the Haddenham Ceilidh you might see me there.
Tunes in Innocent Bystander's tunebook: 57
| The Lisburn Lasses | reel | March 28th 2008 |
| The Cream Pot | jig | October 18th 2005 |
| Benedict's Fancy | jig | September 25th 2005 |
| The Funny Mistake | slip jig | June 6th 2005 |
| Holtwood | reel | May 23rd 2005 |
| The Gallant Maid | December 9th 2008 |
| More Haste Less Speed | September 28th 2005 |
| Postcard Quiz! | September 10th 2005 |
| Music as Speech | July 13th 2005 |
| Discussions | Re: Fiddler of dooney | August 24th 2009 |
| Discussions | Re: What happens in countries without Banjo Control ... | June 23rd 2009 |
| Discussions | Re: What makes and aire and aire? | March 30th 2009 |
| Tunes | Re: Pachabel's Frolics | March 16th 2009 |
| Discussions | Re: Whistle Fingering - Straw poll | March 16th 2009 |