28th November 2016 - New Week New Tune

So I had a challenge last week and decided to keep on Fig For A Kiss for two weeks.  Hard decision but I felt it was the right one for quality over quantity.

This week moving on to Blackthorn Stick/Coach Trip To Sligo .. let's see ...

27th November 2016 - Car Flute

When I bring my Olwell anywhere I never leave it in the car.  I've put it in my backpack to shops and visiting friends.

Then again I don't like to take it out of the house unless I'm going somewhere I need it to practice.

So what to do when I don't take the Olwell?

I have a Car Flute.  It's a plastic Dixon D and it lives in the car.  You never know when you'll have 20 minutes waiting around when you're doing Dad-Taxi so not uncommon to find me sitting in the back seat playing Lazy Road.  Plastic isn't fantastic but better than nothing for a little practice anywhere.

26th November 2016 - Comhaltas Clane

Took a quick trip down to Clane GAA last night for their last Friday of the month session.

Unfortunately had to Dad-Taxi so couldn't stay long.  Next month I hope.

25th November 2016 - Olwell 1 Month Flutiversary

I bought the Olwell one month ago.  25th October.  Here's a letter to Aaron and Pat.


Dear Aaron and Pat,

I did my semi-Ireland tour to pick up one of your keyless flutes one month ago.

Like talking badly about an old friend it feels wrong to talk about my 25 year old flute but the moment I touched the Olwell I could feel the difference.
The heaviness, stolidity, darkness of the wood.  Even though this wasn't a new flute the finish was beautiful.

I only played a few notes - the exchange was done in the front of a car in a closed, dark East Clare garage forecourt - so I had to wait until I got home to really play.

There's a weight to the flute and it almost feels like it you can hear that weight in the lower octave.  There's a solid, dark tone to the lower notes that you can feel.  I was surprised how I could feel the notes in my fingers.  It was just a lovely tone and feeling.

I wish I could say I was as happy with my playing in the higher octave.  My old flute hadn't a great tone (a windy bottle top comes to mind) but it was forgiving.  The new flute wanted precision and wouldn't forgive anything else.  My g' squeaked and complained at my weak embouchure.  I realised I'd work to do.

In the past month there hasn't been a day when I picked up the flute and played that I didn't have a little 'that's mine!' moment when I opened the case.  Practice hasn't always been easy but it has always been rewarding and as the month has progressed the g' has been telling me off a little less each week.

It's a beautiful instrument.  Thank you for taking the time to learn and practice your craft.  Thanks for my flute.  I wasn't sure about buying it before getting the keyed on order but it was definitely the right decision for improving my tone - I don't think I'll have the work to do again on my embouchure for the keyed.  Also I have the pleasure of playing this until 2019.

Hope you're all keeping well in Virginia - happy playing, happy making.

Regards

Neil

24th November 2016 - Easy like Thursday evening

Apologies to Commodore fans for that really terrible play on their song title.

So practice tonight was really good.  I sat in a cozy seat - had a really relaxed vibe and wasn't trying to force anything.  I played really softly - or tried to.  To see if I could get the higher notes easily and without effort - with the right tone and sweetness - but without pushing too much air to force them.

It was a lovely session and gave me a glimpse of what might be ahead.
What I enjoyed was the ease.  Slowing it all down and getting a nicer result.  No rush.
Easy.

23th November 2016 - Humpday

The middle of my working week now coincides with the middle of my practice week.

I ask myself how well I'm doing .. usually worry that I'm behind.

I ask myself if I'm pushing ahead or going for quality?

Practice is good though.  Certainly enjoyable.

22nd November 2016 - God-given talent

Munster Rugby legend Paul O’Connell has warned against the notion of ‘God-given talent’ or ‘born naturals’ in sport and life.

It’s dangerous.

Success comes through hard graft and dedication.
You hear a lot about a person having a God-given talent. I hate that phrase.

It’s a dangerous saying.

You hear about somebody having an ear for music, a born natural and inheriting a talent for a game in their DNA. There are a whole load of sayings like this that permeate our conversation:
That excellence is somehow pre-ordained.
It is not.

This belief denies the incentive to practice and make that huge effort needed to reach your goal. There is this myth and I don’t buy into it. Beware of this talk about God-given talent and don’t let anybody put their dreams of success aside because they might feel they don’t have the same talent as others.

Everybody has the same opportunity to work and practice. People who are excellent at what they do have practiced more and often fail more but work harder and bounce back. It’s about being prepared to work and graft very hard.

After Tiger Woods became the youngest winner of the Masters in Augusta he was written about as being the most natural golf talent ever seen.

But if you dig into his past you see the real story of his father working on his golf game even before he was a year old. It was relentless hard work and dedication and did not come to him naturally.

The Beatles were hailed an overnight success, but the group had put in enormous time, often working in seedy nightclubs across Europe, developing their music. In one 18-month period they did more than 270 concerts before they hit the charts. Their success was not about a God-given talent, but sheer dedication and hard work.

21st November 2016 - Pick it up

So tonight I picked up the flute after very little practice for several days.

I honestly said to myself will I even be able to make a decent tone.  I was worried I'd produce terrible sounds - be unable to hit the high g (which was actually improving a lot).

But - it was great in every way.

Firstly the tone was as good as I've ever played.  If anything it was unforced, relaxed.
Once I heard the tone and - unrelated to myself - the lovely sound of the flute (again thank you Mr Olwell) I just said to myself 'wow - I love this thing' and that was it.

Went right through 'Fig for a Kiss' and really enjoyed it.

Played another couple of tunes - all fun and lovely.

It was great.  I loved it.  It was the best part of my day.
And that's what happened next.   Cool.

20th November 2016 - Weak week

What a really bad week for practice.

Since Wednesday it has been patchy or nothing.
Today Sunday was another day of driving in circles then back to Kildare.

I suspect what happens next will be the interesting bit.

19th November 2016 - Going in circles

Been struggling to find time since the middle of the week and as time goes by I plan then it doesn't work out .. then I plan again.

Saturday was a day of driving in circles (you do a lot of that when you're in a car with someone learning to drive).  And yes I could have disappeared later to practice.  But I still haven't conquered the feeling that I shouldn't do it.  I'm not sure I'm wrong.  But after a few hours driving practice and no social time you definitely have to prioritise people.

So .. no practice.

18th November 2016 - Mice Men & Flutes

I said yesterday I was planning to plan.

I said yesterday "Let's see how that goes..."

Well it didn't go.

I did Dad-Taxi until late and got home tired.  No practice.
I was tempted to do a few minutes just to do a few minutes but I felt that was crazy.  I was picking up the flute to blow a few notes just to not miss a day.  That wouldn't be practice it would be duty.

I'm not happy about it but .. there it is ..

So I think that what matters now is what I do next.  I've had a really bad week for practice - so maybe this next bit is about what you do when that happens.

17th November 2016 - Plan to have a plan

So I tend to write up this blog at the end of the day.  Makes sense as mostly it's a reflection/diary.

Today I'm writing before lunch.

Yesterday's 16th Nov post noted that I was a bit distracted and wasn't keen to practice.  So that's something I'm going to plan my way out of today.

I've a bit of Dad-Taxi work to do until about 8pm.  So I'll organise things to start my practice at 8-830 and will get a good 2 hours done.

Let's see how that goes...

16th November 2016 - Giving the car a little push

I was going to write "for no reason at all today I really didn't want to practice .. it wasn't that I just wasn't bothered to practice .. I actively didn't want to"

Then I realised that this wasn't true at all.

What happened was I was busy - or more accurately - mentally engaged - or more accurately - worried .. about something else.

So the cogs of my head were off worrying about something so I was actually swatting away the work/pressure/hassle/bother of practice.

It was like a bothersome additional chore when my mind was shouting "but don't you know I'm worried about this other thing!"

But of course I should have trusted my shifting gears theory and trusted that by practicing I'd both be in a different place (away from the thing I was worried about) and I'd have the pleasure of a nice practice session.

When in doubt next time I'm just going to fake it 'til I make it for a few minutes.


I remember reading that Freud suggested that we only have so much mental energy.  Perhaps if you've used your allotment up worrying you tend to run out of fuel?  I'd suggest though that if you can push the car a little (start a bit of practice) you'll end up filling the tank with the playing?

15th November 2016 - Manshed

That Librarian who told me that men want to collect and master stuff must have also been thinking about mansheds.
Men and their sheds is a pretty universal phenomenon - right?
A place away from things were men store their hunting gear or play guitar or just get away from the house for a minute.

Not my Shed.  Mine has Guinness on tap.

Well it was pretty late when I got to practice tonight so rather than skip it I ended up in my shed playing flute at 11pm rather than keep my youngest teen - who fancied an early night - awake.

I suppose I was forced into my manshed but .. well at least I had one to be forced into ..

Come the Spring I might do a big clean up and get a chair out there to allow all hour practice in comfort.

Actually I have a snug little downstairs sitting room which I've pictured as a session room.  I've visualised a few folk coming over to play a few tunes.  Let's see.

14th November 2016 - Chores

 At this time I would be practicing at least three/fours hours per day, every day. This wasn’t so much a chore as I was so caught up with so much to learn.

Fair play to Tom McElvogue.

I might try noting the times of my practice for a week or two - put myself to shame a bit but would be interesting to note.

I had a preview of the Long Hard Road album .. sounds amazing .. well worth a listen I think.
Listen to what that much love and dedication sounds like.

13th November 2016 - Adjust your fluting

The pessimist looks down and hits his head.
The optimist looks up and misses his step..
The realist looks ahead and adjusts his footing.


That's wisdom from TV.  I wonder what my playing says about me?

The days I feel bad about my playing am I staring at the ground and just feeling bad?
The days I think I'm doing really well am I fooling myself or feeling pround?
The realist looks ahead and adjusts his fluting.  Hope I do that now and again.

12th November 2016 - Playlists

Had the idea of creating two playlists.

The idea was to create two resources.
The first was a playlist of all the tunes I've done to date.  Full version tunes and ideally in a session context.  I don't mind how many times they're in the list - so I don't mind different instruments and session contexts - the idea is to hear the tune in various contexts and get a feel for lots of sessions feels for the tune.  When I then hear it in sessions I'll have a good feel for it.

The second playlist is all the same tunes but played slowly.  I've not always found slower versions so I've discovered that Audacity is great for changing tempo without changing the pitch.  However I've also found that I've been able to change the pitch - I changed Matt Molloy's Connaughtman's Ramble from Eb to D so I can listen along/play along to the slower version.

I aim to add to both versions as I go.
Hopefully they're a good resource.

11th November 2016 - Mansplaining?!

I've realised a terrible danger about writing a blog.  I may be mansplaining ...... to myself!

Now I know the above describes Mansplaining to a Lady but I think you can Mansplain to anyone - even your future self.


How will I answer these questions as my future self .. will I say to past-me - 'you're not the expert and I didn't ask to know .. and you're not responsible to tell me .. and anyway I already know all of that'.

Am I telling things well known?
Am I equipped to talk about this?
Does everyone reading know this already?

Listen here future me .... I'm the expert on past me .. you can't ask because you don't exist yet so I have to presume you're curious .. and .. hell yes .. I am most certainly your teacher who is responsible for you .. and .. no .. you don't know this stuff already .. so .. that told ya future me.

If you don't understand that future me .. I'm happy to mansplain it to you again.  Slowly.

10th November 2016 - Time

There's a lot of mention in science about finding exoplanets in the 'goldilocks zone' surrounding other stars.  When we look closer we find planets in that zone where the heat from their star might allow liquid water.  But some of those planets are much bigger than Earth.  Even if those planets held liquid water and sustained life the intense gravity wouldn't allow our biology to function - our circulatory system would struggle or fail, our musculature wouldn't support us.  Even skirting the thin atmosphere of our planet for brief periods astronauts loose bone density and are bombarded with  lethal radiation.

We've evolved on Earth.  We use and require its many systems.  Gravity.  Water.  Air.  But what about time?

Usually we don't think about Time as an resource like heat from the sun but a news story yesterday got me thinking.  A scientist has put forward the theory that gravity isn't real.  Gravity he suggests is an emergent force.  Best explanation is comparing with temperature.  

We experience temperature when we pick up a hot coffee mug but really the physics is that of atoms moving about in the mug.  Temperature is our emergent experience of atoms in motion .. temperature in itself isn't real .. it is just how our skin evolved to experience those moving atoms.  Which brings me back to Time.

We've evolved to experience Time in much the same way as the hotness of that mug. We don't care what it is or how it works (unless we're building a flux capacitor) but the core of our humanity is immersed in the experience of Time.  It defines so much of us from the obvious alarm clock in the morning to the existential nag when we see our time here passing.

Steve Jobs in his Stanford graduation speech speaks about time, particularly death.

"almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important"

How much of our natures and behavior is determined by time?  If we had no passing time where would be our motivation, urgency, desire?  Would we have evolved a biological ability desire anything if we had an infinite time to even begin to think about fulfilling the first step in obtaining it.

Without wanting to bring concepts of religion into it .. this is one of the problems with afterlife concepts - if we have infinite time - will we really want a nice hot cup of tea in the morning?  Want.  Hot.  Really (urgency).  All these concepts fade away when we remove time.

So here we are bobbing around in a vast ocean of the relentless force that is emergent Time.

I practice each day.
I'm annoyed when I do poorly.
I'm pleased when I master something however small.
I'm looking towards October 2019.

But first I'm going to have a nice hot cup of tea.  Nothing like it in the morning.

9th November 2016 - Ideal Readers

Perhaps another reason for this blog is talking to my children (now both well into their teens) one day.  Perhaps they'll want to start something or find it hard to start something.

Stephen King talks about who he writes to .. I think he calls it his 'ideal reader' .. I think for him this is his wife Tabitha.

Let's presume this was pre-intervention

I'm not sure I have only one ideal reader.

One Ideal Reader is future me.  This is where I'm nudging my current self to become that future player .. encouraging that evolving self to keep learning to play.  I wrote to him here.

Another Reader is Anne who I both want to know nothing so I can amaze her by being Matt Molloy suddenly and paradoxically also ask her for ongoing understanding.  Things like this.

Then there's my children.  I suspect there's a lot of background fatherly coaching going on.  Things about patience, keeping going, attitude .. looking back I firmly suspect that I've been consciously or subconsiously (or just probably due to habit) wearing my Dad hat on those ones.

Then lastly there's the interweb.  I sort of deliberately don't write for that reader.  If I found myself doing that then I'd be trying to get readers .. saying things to get site hits etc.  That wouldn't be compatible with just writing about my journey.  One way I see this is by writing about the boring days.  They're the truth (and an important truth) but they make bad reading and if I was writing for others then I'd remove that.  But it's too important to exclude as part of the journey.

8th November 2016 - Shifting Gears

My eldest was asking me how it's going.  Funnily enough I'd only just done the first month post so I'd been thinking about it.

Told her that things were good.  Moving forward .. all that type of thing.

One thing that we did end up talking about is how this all feels to me.


I talked about what I'd been learning.
What happens if you have a hard day at work.  How you don't feel like practicing but when you do that you soon feel in a different place.  Funny how if you grumble to yourself about something it can keep you in that space.  What I've found is that after playing for thirty minutes or an hour I'm in that place - working the tune - redoing bits I'm not happy with.  It's like I have this completely different and now manageable 'problem' (that's the wrong word but it will do for now) that I can chip away at and then solve.  Perhaps it's just the act of playing music.

Whatever the reason after a time you're just emotionally in a different place to where you were when you started.  The little things that might have been said and were in your mental loop are all gone and you've definitely shifted gears.

It feels really good.

7th November 2016 - One Month

One month gone.

What have I done?

Play A Lot:
I've learnt Ryans (Fisherman's slip jig / black haired lass), Rolling in the rye grass, Pigtown and The Connaughtman's Rambles.
Concentrated on cuts and taps.
Work on second octaves.
Lots of work on embouchure and breathing.

Listen A Lot:
- Bought
Matt Molloy Shadows On Stone, Music At Matt Molloy,
Buttons & Bows: The Return Of Spring
Comhaltas: 3 sessions CDs
- Dug up (had gone missing for years) June McCormack Fliuit CD

Community/Others:
- Bought Keymaster video (Pat & Aaron Olwell Documentary)
- Contacted all Comhaltas in area - will start lessons in 2017
- Got lessons organised by Ciarán Mac Gearailt - will start in 2017
- Bought a new keyless Olwell (and had a road trip to Clare)
- Went to the Comhaltas Tour in Tullamore and Clontarf
- Had a chat with Eamonn Cotter
- Exchanged a few emails with Aaron and Pat on the new flute


I can't complain about that.

What did I learn?

You have to practice slowly and keep at it.  It has to be every day.
Practicing when you're tired after work feels better than practicing late in the evening to fit one in before bedtime which feels better than practicing too little.

Finishing a good practice session always feels great.

When you miss a day's practice you have to get back on the horse and keep going immediately.

A cheap flute is nothing to a keyless Olwell but an Olwell demands a more exact embouchure on the higher octave.  You have to just keep practicing it.

I have to be prepared to look stupid and practice when I'm away from home.

Arpeggio definition is available in the dictionary.



35 Months to go.
A long time in one way and not so long for how far I have to travel.

6th November 2016 - Playing away from home II

So I know it's all my issue.

I just don't want to look like an ejit.

And if I'm really honest isn't that connected to not sounding great.  The foolishness is the ambition versus the reality.  To practice you're saying that you're trying to achieve a certain standard but the honking of the high g doesn't exactly promote confidence.

If I was upstairs playing like Matt Molloy I'd doubt I'd be shy.

So what I'm really doing is saying .. "ok .. I'm gonna go off now because I'd like to be good at this thing but right now I'm gonna sound like a drown cat so I'm not going to look very cool".

It's ok to not look very cool.
It's ok to sound not very good.
Right?


Blowing notes out of a stick in front of people doesn't make sense.
But very little does.


I have to update my Tunes section to think about how to finish the Connachtman's rambles.

5th November 2016 - Playing away from home I

So I'm away from home until Sunday night.

This is definitely a problem I'm going to have to face into.

Small.  Far Away.

I'm in Dublin and feel a bit stupid disappearing upstairs and playing the flute for an hour.  But if I don't it makes a huge hole in the week of practice.

The lady concerned (that solitary walker on that beach in the pic in Roundstone) won't care a bit .. I think it's me being a bit embarrassed by it.

Doesn't it seem a bit pretentious to be going off to practice?
The royal philharmonic haven't confirmed the booking.
I'll feel like a fool for going off to play the flute but I'll feel bad for not completing the tune this week (which has happened).

4th November 2016 - Slow, Slow, Slow, Fast

Mostly I practice very slowly.

I'm remembering learning to type.  I started with the home keys.  Just 8 fingers sitting over ASDF and JKL: and I typed super slowly.  I resisted the urge to look down or to 'hunt and peck' for a key.
It was slow and it was boring but it worked.

So mostly when doing a tune - this week the Connachtman's Rambles - I'm breaking the tune into very small sections and playing it very slowly.
Each note I try my best to get the best possible tone - nice rich low D .. well formed higher octave (when I can) .. smooth note transitions.
Cuts I want them to feel percussive and snappy.
Taps I want to feel the hit of the rhythm or the emphasis of a well sounded tap.

This all makes the work slow.

Before I play any tunes I do an slide-cut-tap exercise starting at D and going to b' and back.  I think that this is perhaps the most important exercise.
Then a long note breathing exercise.
Then more individual cut and tap exercises.
Then arpeggios (home made design as I haven't yet found ones online).

Again all slow.

Finally I play a few tunes .. typically along to a Comhaltas session or a youtube backing track.
That is for fun.
I do worry that it will undo some of my patient practice but .. it also might help with speed and breathing timing which can't hurt?

3rd November 2016 - Second octave

I'm both enjoying and getting frustrated by the second range on the new flute.

It's been just over a week and a few of the tunes are well in the second octave.

The newest tune Connachtman's Rambles has come along at just the right time to make me work hard on those octave jumps.

I tend to start a session with clean enough g', a' and b' but as time goes by I find it increasingly slips away and the higher notes either get breathy or honk down to the lower octave.  You can imagine I don't love that sound.

It is without a doubt demanding but I can feel the progress even in the past week.
It's rewarding when you get it.  Frustrating when you don't.
Adding cuts and taps to it (especially for some reason cuts on the g') adds to the difficulty.

But .. it is progressing .. plod plod

2nd November 2016 - Plod plod plod

I think that everyone who works to master a skill knows an obvious, essential truth - a lot of the work to get there isn't fun.

The vast majority of the work on the way to Massies Mill will be boring.
Yes folks you heard me right - boring.

There will be days absent of even the smallest insight. There will be an utter lack of relevance.  Not a hint of the sense of purpose.  Miles from the interesting gig.
These are the days you'll be showing up for the plod, plod, plod work of moving forward.

And those will be the vast majority of the days.

The vast majority of days.

This is fundamental and not at all glorious.
In the end but only in the end those the result of those days transcend the daily slog but you only have that feeling looking backwards.

Forwards is a often like this -

Now I'm not saying all days are a slog and that the slow realization that things are improving isn't satisfying but it would be a much bigger mistake to think that just in recognising the monotony of the toil it suddenly becomes wonderful and translucent and meaningful.

To convey that impression on them misses the vital importance of acceptance.

We have to accept the dull, daily chore of it all.  And often this does not get transcended in a Buddha like moment.

It will not be interesting.  It will not feel important.  It will not make my day more interesting.
It will just be another day walking.
Realising this will not make the dirt track feel like the forest trail below.

The vast majority of days will feel like work.  And that's the point.
You don't keep accept this and doing it anyway you'll never reach that destination.

You keep doing it despite the lack of importance, meaning.
You accept this.  Then you work.

1st November 2016 - Spring Forward .. Fall Forward

I was on the phone to a friend in Melbourne this morning.

1st day of Summer and raining a lot.  He's Irish so may not have used exactly that phrase.

He was commenting on the videos I took of the Comhaltas tour.

In a very roundabout way this got me thinking about things.  Sort of a breadcrumb of Seasons .. time .. change .. music .. what direction does this change have ..

Maybe when the calendar gives you a change like a birthday or new years you think about where you are and where you're going.

So, I asked, where is it that I want to go with this?
I asked the question two days ago around thinking of yourself as being the person you want to be.  Do I have a vision for this?  Do I know what I want?  Am I playing tunes in my sitting room?  Am I literally walking into Pat Olwell's workshop to collect a flute?  Am I playing in sessions?

A couple of years ago I asked a local pub owner if he would be interested in a few people starting a session in his pub.  He was.  Is that a Friday evening or a Sunday morning soon?

I think that if you have a better idea of where you'd like to end up you have a much better chance of getting there.

It's the start of Winter.  Where do I want to be on the first of Spring?

31st October 2016 - Keep it up

This was a hard week for practice.

On Tuesday I did my mini-tour of Ireland to pick up the flute and Thur/Fri I was away from home for both nights.  Going from work to another house means (for me) I can't practice.  You can't just say .. hi .. yes I'll a have a cup of tea .. but first I have to tinkle on my flute for an hour.

That really presents a problem - not when it's one day but when it's a few.

This presents a few questions.
Is there a 'schedule' to all of this?  Can you fall behind?  How to recover when you fall behind?
How to keep it up?

There isn't a schedule but there is a schedule.  I'm going for a new tune each week.  I'd be disappointed not to keep that up.  It would be too easy to let one week flow into the next without a new milestone.
So really this is about setting a milestone (a new tune) and reaching it.
The achievement of that encourages the next week and not getting it discourages.

How to recover.  My first guess is to do things to avoid falling behind.  After last week I've a few ideas on that.

First - try to conquer the new tune quicker in the week.  Even if it isn't being perfectly played .. even if slowly .. it's better to have the tune worked out on Tuesday night rather than be putting part one together perfectly on Thursday then moving to part two on Friday.  Even if not perfect it's a lot better solid progress quickly than perfect slowly.

Second - if you miss time you have to pay it back quickly.  By Saturday I'd not completed a good practice for three days that week.  I did play each day .. it just wasn't the usual session.  If you're behind pay the time back as soon as you can to avoid the problem getting bigger.

Third -  be ok with it.  If life gets in the way don't worry too much about it.  Just start again.  Don't feel too bad and just start again.

Lastly - whatever happens - keep it up.

30th October 2016 - Where to go?

I know they can sometimes be cheesy but they also can say simple things that make sense.
I'm talking about those 'thought for the day' calendars.

I saw this one a few years ago and liked the idea ..

What does "You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be" mean?

Firstly, one thing it doesn't mean is the concept that if you believe hard enough in yourself it will magically happen.
The daily mantra as you brush your teeth of 'I am the flautist which Matt Molloy dares to dream he can become!!' may have limited effect.
I really hate the Simon Cowell school of philosophy which goes along the lines of 'if you dream hard enough you can have anything'.  He's poisoned  a generation with that message and has profited handsomely doing so.

What I think it means is someone subtle akin to 'if you believe you can or can't you're right'.  In other words it is belief which primarily drives our work and ultimately our achievements.

This phrase is about permission.  Giving ourselves permission to try out a new definition of ourselves.

It would be very easy for me to say approaching 50 that I can't become proficient with the Flute.  Why bother?  etc.  I have to give myself permission to become the person who practices daily, gets better, can play in a session .. deserves to be be in that space.

Blowing notes out of a stick in front of people doesn't make sense.
But very little does.
You have to give yourself a gentle permission to believe you can be the person you want to be.

29th October 2016 - Ennis Trad Fest

Not sure what the next great bit of music I get to attend but with the Ennis Trad fest starting soon I have a few great options.

Would love to see Michael McGoldrick perform with John McSherry, Donal O’Connor & Tony Byrne on 11th November or Kevin Crawford with Lúnasa on the 12th.

Looks like a great few days music.

28th October 2016 - Quick week

That was a quick week.  Perhaps the adrenaline of my mini-circuit of Ireland picking up my new flute (I'm still looking at it and admiring it like its Christmas Morning).

A week ago I went back to see the 2016 Comhaltas Tour of Ireland, Macalla na hÉireann.  It was the last night of the tour and they were performing in the Clasac in Clontarf (Dublin).

What's that old joke or story about a person in New York asking for directions and asking someone 'how to you get to Carnegie Hall?'
They get the reply  'Practice'

Just shows you where hard work can take you.

I hope the show goes on to tour the UK and the US.  These lads deserve the praise for their hard work and talent.

27th October 2016 - Patience

Doing scales.

Moving through the second octave.

Moving from the low to the high register.

Arpeggios.

Looking up Arpeggios on google.



They say it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of an needle than a rich man go to heaven.

They say that your embouchure should be the size of a grain of rice on the side.




I'm picturing that camel.  No bigger than a grain of rice.  I'm  playing a second register G and puffing the little guy through my new Olwell.  But he knows the parable (who told him?) and he won't always go.  He gets stuck and makes a low G honk in annoyance.



Patience.  I'll win him over with kindness and time.

26th October 2016 - Anything but Pong!

So first evening with the new Olwell.

I was worried that it might not be what I hoped it would be.  What would happen if it was just the same as my old, super cheap, 25 year old flute?

What would happen if I couldn't get a note out of it?

What would happen if I simply didn't like it?

It isn't an exaggeration so say this was a bit like a blind date - will she like me .. will I like her .. will we 'click'?   Or like opening a present Christmas morning when you sort of expect the box is just the right shape to be an Atari 2600 .. is it or isn't it?  Please don't be Pong.  Anything but Pong.

And there's a lot riding on this.  I don't believe that a flute will make me a better player - not even by a small percentage - but if I'm on a road to be a better player I'd hope that my playing will - once improved - sound better on a decent flute than on a kids shop recorder.
So yes .. no miracles .. but you're hoping to get the sense of something that might take you somewhere if you can take it somewhere ..

The low notes are just beautiful.  Deep.  Resonant.  You can feel each note in your hands and on your fingers as the instrument responds.  This was a new sensation.  I don't want to get too mushy but those low notes are just wonderful.  You don't need to play a tune to feel their clarity and power.  Cuts and taps feel hard and acoustic.  All just lovely.

The second register.  This is where things got interesting.  After three hours playing I began to think of my old flute like a bottle.  You can blow over the opening and make a note - it won't be pretty or powerful or in tune with anything but you can get a note anytime.  The Olwell wants you to control your embouchure to hit a sweet spot.  When you get the right place you absolutely get that beautiful sweet, fulfilling note but miss it by even a touch and you've nothing.  Ironic that my cheap bottle top flute can make a windy, leaky note no matter what you do but the Olwell demands control.  This is counter-intuitive (reputation says the Olwell is easy to play) but also it makes sense.  You have no control over the bottle top but it won't let you down.  The Olwell wants that second register G to be just so but it will reward you in a way the cheap flute won't when you get it right.

My thinking on this challenge - if it even is one - is happiness not frustration.  I realise that I'll have to work hard to master something a lot more precise and subtle but ultimately with a reward once achieved.  I could blow on the old flute for another 25 years and the tone wouldn't improve.  So it's all learning and pushing myself to another level .. and that's all great.

Now past midnight and I've spent the evening on a great first date.  But I've work in the morning so will have to call it a night.  That was fun .. let's do it again ..

25th October 2016 - My Precious new flute

So after putting a post up on Chiff and Fipple I got an email to see if I'd be interested in buying an Olwell keyless D with a matching Eb body/foot ...

After a bit of looking into it and mulling over the finances I decided to purchase.

And so started a crazy 48 hours of getting all my blackwood dominos in a row.  I was originally moving on my '54 Fender 50th edition to pay for that 'Decent Flute' I mentioned in my post (the one I was going to use while waiting for the 6-key Olwell in 2019).

To get down to the flute in Clare I ended up doing a mini-circuit of Ireland after work.

First to Kilkenny to wish a fond farwell to my Fender then on to Clare.

Scene of the crime.   The very inauspicious location where I met my first Olwell flute.

I'd always pictured the scene of my first Olwell purchase as being a tad more cinematic .. but .. who cares about the set if the soundtrack is decent.


There we were .. the garage owner locking up .. turning out the forecourt lights .. perhaps wondering if the two men dimly lit by the dashboard lights were planning some dodgy infiltration of the Clare Trad community.

Had a look at my new Olwell for the first time.  Instant impressions - compared to my 25 year old cheap flute it was heavy - you could see the density of the wood and the careful craftsmanship immediately.  I listed to him play a tune.  That was the next impression.  The lovely tone - depth - deep earthy bark of the low D (flute players can be rightly mocked for trying to over describe a good low D so I'll stop now).

All I can say was that with his playing of The Steampacket I was delighted to know that I'd soon by leaving with my new flute.

For a second the thought crossed my mind that with playing just those few notes he'd fall back in love with the instrument, change his mind, boot me out of the car and screech away leaving me with a clutch of cash and a wasted journey shouting 'Noooooooooo!!' into the bleak October Clare darkness ..  ..  I wanted to throw the cash at him, grab the instrument and drive quickly home with my precious flute.

But .. no such drama.  The deal was done.  We shook hands and I parted on the long road home with my new D and Eb Olwells.  An embarassment of riches flute-wise for a beginner but I'm not complaining.  Was delighted.

Sadly no time to practice when I got home.  I could have played a tune but I was tired and didn't want to spoil it.  After work this evening .. watching the day go by .. I'll be home soon .. there are Silver Rings on the flute .. Precious.

Monday 24th October 2016 - The perfect boat

"Well, you know what the perfect boat is?" "No, what?" "It's the one that's 2 feet longer than the one you already have." You never stop checking and trying.

I recon it's a basic fact of evolution to eventually be unhappy with what you've got.

We get something.  This might be something like a house, car or a boat.  Equally we might obtain something like a job or a skill or even a new friendship.  The day we get it and we're happy.

But .. give it a little time .. and we start seeing the better job, the bigger house, the cooler car or the longer boat.  People can't sustain contentment - it just isn't in us - and I think that's by evolutionary design.

Now I'm going to annoy some people with my Anti-Panda propaganda but I recon that the Panda's biggest problem is that he's happy sitting on his butt chewing bamboo.

New food source strolls past .. nah .. I got my bamboo.

Lady Panda saunters past .. nope .. yum bamboo.

There's nothing like a literal or existential thorn in your paw to motivate you to change and perhaps sadly we need that.  I say sadly because when you stop and notice all the things on the evolutionary ladder who have thorns in their paws they all tend to be predators.  And by 'all' I mean the boat owners and flute players as well.

Without it we'd all be sitting munching the bamboo and not carving them into flutes.

With it we want to get to the newer pasture and to make a better bow.  This gets us to explore, change, improve, master .. everything from Mr Olwell's flutes to Picasso's were born in that urge.  But it also fires malice, gluttony, Ashley Madison and very big boats.

Like everything it's probably neither good nor bad .. it's what you do with it.

Me?  I'm very slowly playing Pigtown this week.

23rd October 2016 - Play through the rough

Really strange what difference a day makes.  Which sort of tells you how much of things are going on not in the outside world but the space between your two ears.

My last blog I was feeling things weren't going well.  I was a bit fed up with the practice.  Not that I didn't want to keep doing it but I suppose I wasn't seeing the payoff.

Today it was great.  I put on some session tunes and played along and really loved it.

Just shows you that you have to keep playing through the rough (eh .. sorry) days.

22nd October 2016 - Joy

"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, 
which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." 

(William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939)


Should we take our tone Seriously?  Should be be Serious about our playing?

I'm not enjoying a lot of the playing at the moment if I'm really honest.  I've decided to stop playing tunes for enjoyment and slow everything right down for practice.  To get things right.  To practice.  Seriously.

It's all a bit rubbish if I'm honest and not fun.

But I don't see the alternative.  If I play for fun I'll be doing the equivalent of one finger typing .. it will get the job done but the technique won't be right.

Be Serious and get the job done or have fun.

I'm sure there's a graph somewhere that illustrates practice over time to competence?  

When learning to touch type you have to go through the pain barrier of slow speed to get the benefit of a lifetime of touch typing.  Same here.  But it feels a bit like playing a jig with my fingers in casts at the moment. 

Is it wrong to sneak in a faster tune for fun .. or do all the little errors in that tune undo the good habits you've paid so dearly for in the hour before it?  

Is it immersion or nothing?  Sadly I sort of suspect so.

When do you get the upswing of awesome?  When is the temporary period of joy?

21st October 2016 - Neal Petersen's ship in full sail

I updated the FAQ on my About page.

I wrote about Neal Peterson overcoming a childhood physical disability, poverty, Apartheid to a become a solo yacht racer  

I met Neal at a MySQL conference in Orlando a few years back.  Lovely guy.  Great speaker.

Going through the fog in the Atlantic he was struck by a Russian freighter.
Rather than turn back because of the leak in his boat.  He had to pump water manually out.
15 to 20 minutes each time.  15 times per day.  15 days of pumping water out of the boat.
He came second in the race.
Hard work does pay off.

20th October 2016 - Eamonn Cotter

I'd previously used a quote from this interview but I read it again today.

A few things stood out for me.


"When you’re surrounded by fiddle players, your style is influenced more by fiddle playing"

Maybe more than anything there's a truth in there that is the heart of this blog.
I didn't grow up in a very musical house.  I'm not in the middle of players.
For whatever reasons I want to play the flute to a reasonable degree .. I suppose I'm chasing that feeling you can get when you play the tune and you're in the middle of it and it feels great.
That takes a lot of work.  The work takes commitment and disciple.
When you're surrounded by fiddle players - or players - it soaks itself into your DNA.  You listen a lot.  You play a lot.  You're surrounded by it.
I think that the blog is a way of finding connections to that place.  Looking for those opportunities and not letting them go.  Then telling the story along the road.



"You need to practice tone separately from everything else"

Sometimes I hate slowing things down but you have to don't you?
Years ago when I was working in the Library I was cataloging books as a part time job.  I couldn't type at all and pecking out my work daily didn't appeal.  I started with the home keys .. the asdf and jkl; you'll see under your fingers if you're at a PC now.  It was boring and slow but it worked.  Once they were done I added a key or two at a time until I could pretty competent touch type.  That was twenty five years ago so the bit of slowing down has really paid off in my life.
So now when I do the tunes I make sure to get the tune right piece by piece - try to get the tone well - my cuts nice and neat etc etc.  Hopefully it will pay off in the end.  But - yes - boring now!



"you have to practice each aspect of flute playing"

Kind of like the previous - but just shows the need to slow it all down and do the work.
What do the golfers say - drive for show but putt for dough? (Is dough another theme in this blog?)



"Put very few rolls in jigs, because when you put a roll in a jig it takes up half a bar"

Interesting to hear how a Clare player sees the world.  He mentions his legato style.  I wonder how Sligo players feel?

19th October 2016 - 30.5mm!!

Interesting video I found with Pat Olwell again talking about heresy and finding your own answers.  Great stuff.

Been thinking about getting a decent keyless flute in D.  Had a look at Hammy Hamilton, Martin Doyle, Olwell, Glen Watson but came dwon to Eamon Cotter.  I think he hit a sweet spot in terms of price, wait time and most importantly tone/easy of filling.  I might have gone for a Hamilton but you hear a lot about his Pratton's being hard to fill?

Made a call to Eamon Cotter  Have to say I like the sound of his flutes.  Wonder if there's anyone in the area who plays them?

18th October 2016 - Flute in one month (unlikely)

Have you heard the idea that you need 10,000 hours to master something?

I saw a video about how talent or genius is really a myth and that essentially it comes down to practice, practice, practice.  I think that while there are obviously some people more gifted naturally at, say, complex math or hitting a tennis ball or singing a tune I tend to agree with the overall hypothesis.  As someone who is fond of evolution as an explanation of, well, pretty much everything it would make sense to me that it would be, in evolution terms, less favorable to have a few people brilliantly gifted with everyone else incapable of mastery.

Evolution, it seems to me, would prefer to have a species who - once stuck with intelligence rather than strength or sharp teeth - can learn to do things well rather than sprinkle genius dust throughout the tribes.  Skills like cookery to boat making to hunting to herbal medicine would need to be mastered each generation for the evolutionary advantage to stay with the tribe/species and it wouldn't make sense to allow the randomness of the village genius to appear .. "we can't cross the fjord to the nicer pastures" said Ug to his village "but just you hang on a few years and a gifted child may be born".  Unlikely.

I see us as a clever bunch of grafters.  Toiling away every day with our fishing and hunting and pottery making - getting a lot wrong but trying and trying until we master it.  Then passing it down.  Cheese was an accident when milk was left in an unclean animal gut-sack allowing the rennet to do it's magic (yum right?) .. but once it was discovered it was refined and refined and .. well you should go to the Sheridan's summer food festival.  I'm sure the flute was based on a lot of accidental discoveries and tweaks.  Even in Keymaster Pat Olwell talks about taking years to tweak and assemble his abilities.

So what about the 10,000 hours?  Is that true?  Do we need so long?
Had a look at this video where he says you only need 20 - which is a month of daily practice.

I'm not sure .. maybe to do something very simple to to get it to the point you can get away with it.
But for the sake of argument I'll accept one of his points that you shouldn't be put off starting to learn something.
He makes a good point that learning something new is an emotional barrier - often we're afraid to get things wrong and feel bad/look silly.

I also like his idea of not being blocked or finding reasons not to practice.  I have to admit that I can be guilty of wanting to read every manual on something before I try it .. the idea of knowing just enough to 'give it a go' is a good one if you suffer from 'analysis-paralysis'.

I could go on about Habits and stuff .. but perhaps another time ..

Back to the practice.  I've only 3 weeks left in my month to master this.

Monday 17th October 2016 - 40%

"One paper published by a Duke University researcher in 2006 found that more than 40 percent of the actions people performed each day weren’t actual decisions, but habits"
  from The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg.


Had a nice quiet evening so got a chance to play Rolling in the ryegrass and Blackhaired lass loads of times.  I find you have to balance a bit of fast play along to a session recording (the comhaltas book or a youtube video or whatever you have) with slowing things down.
The fast is pretty much for fun - maybe it also brings up your confidence and breathing - but really for me I'm just having fun (which is good otherwise I should stop now!).
The slow is to really get the technique right.  Making sure the tone of every note is as good as I can make it .. working on each cut and tap to get it nice and clean.

Then I do some very boring breathing and cut exercises.  I don't enjoy these but I think they will eventually help.

You have to balance out these things but more than anything I think you have to keep doing it every day.

16th October 2016 - One step at a time

Well that's almost the end of my first week of this blog.  You don't climb a mountain all at once - you just put one foot in front of the other.

Has this week helped me along the road to Massies Mill?

Likely it's much too early to tell but it has given me a bit of focus.
Over the week I've made a bit of progress.  Most likely done a few too many things if I'm honest but I feel I've put in a good foundation.

There are three things I'll look at each week .. playing, listening and things that encourage my links to the habit of playing/music.  Play a lot, listen a lot, feed the good wolf.

Play a lot -
That's all a lot of obsessive collecting unless it's useful.  What I'm now able to do is find a tune in the Foinn Seisiun collection and slow it down in VLC and play along to it.  There're also great to suggest sets.

Listen a lot -
I've got a lot of tunes together this week.  Months or years of listening and definitely a lot of really good session tunes.
I've gathered a lot of useful material - Matt Molly 'Heathery Breeze' on download (for Fisherman), Matt Molloy 'music at matt molloys' coming from Amazon, Matt Molloy 'shadows on stone' coming from discogs.  Bought Foinn Seisiun 1 to 3 books and CDs.

Feed the good wolf -
Going to the Tullamore session on Friday was great.  I also talked to Ciaran and we agreed to lessons shortly.  I also contacted a few local Comhaltas branches and know where/when there are lessons.
I need to work more on this but it's a start.

On tunes ..
I've not finished with the blackhaired lass but I've also started on rolling in the rye grass.
I won't really start that tune until tomorrow but giving myself a little preview.

So .. I think a good start .. a good week .. here's to week two!

15th October 2016 - Skipping The Bridge

Last night went to the 2016 Comhaltas Tour of Ireland, Macalla na hÉireann in Tullamore GAA.  It's difficult to describe how great a group of musicians perform in a writing.  Videos also don't do it justice.  You just have to be there.

Ciarán Mac Gearailt 2016 Comhaltas Tour of Ireland, Tullamore GAA

While listening to some amazing musician do something magical I kept thinking how lucky I was to be right here, right now and about all the people who were far afield who couldn't be witnessing this tonight.  I know that's a bit heavy and I perhaps at the back of my mind I was thinking about Pat Olwell talking about how eventually he had to go to Ireland to see the music.  So many people far afield who don't get to pay just €10 to see what so many perhaps might take for granted.

Great selection of tunes.  Great vibe in the place.  They played from 8 to 11:30.  Had a quick chat with Ciarán afterwards.  Agreed we'll organise lessons when the madness of the tour is over.  He said they were all going to the Bridge House for supper and then they'd start a session (this wasn't that session but to give you an idea) up there and probably play until 4am.
Unfortunately I had to get home so I had to skip the bridge this time but .. there'll be a next time .. and maybe that next time I'll bring my flute.

To help me get there ..

I'd been thinking for a while of getting Foinn Seisiún 1 to 3 so picked them up for a good price on the night.  If you don't know them there're a lot of the popular Comhaltas/session tunes in Ireland.  Very conveniently they group the tunes into sets.
In the three books you end up with 328 tunes and on the 3 double CDs you have them played in a session environment.  Great resource to get your practice, bravery, confidence up for a session!

14th October 2016 - Feeding time

It's said that the more you practice the luckier you get.  I've always liked that saying.

It's very similar to "80% of success is showing up".

We tend to think of success as being down to the big things.  Maybe that's because movies and stories tend to revolve around big set pieces and ignore all the little but important things.  I'm sure that opening the Arc of the Covenant is a lot more cinematic than 'Indy .. the college/study years'.

I believe that by showing up things happen.  You're in the room when someone says 'does anyone know anything about ....?'  Now maybe you spent 20 years working away, learning but if you were under the duvet at the time that door wouldn't have opened for you.

When you don't show up nothing can happen.  When I wrote about starting to play flute in the 90's there just wasn't enough grist to that mill.  Not enough 'stuff' to keep up momentum.  This is why I'm chucking grist at that that the old flute gods  .. tunes, sessions, people, practice, lesson, comhaltas.  I'll write more about habits and nudges another time but - for now - enough to say that you don't stick at anything .. keep showing up at anything .. in a vacuum.  All good intentions and ideas fade over time unless you feed them.

A grandfather is talking with his grandson and he says there are two wolves inside of us                       which are always at war with each other. 

One of them is a good wolf which represents things like kindness, bravery, love and excellent embouchure. The other is a bad wolf, which represents things like greed, hatred, fear and unnecessary ornamentation.

The grandson stops and thinks about it for a second then he looks up at his grandfather and says, “Grandfather, which one wins?”

The grandfather quietly replies, the one you feed

So


Tonight I'm going to the 2016 Comhaltas Tour of Ireland, Macalla na hÉireann in Tullamore GAA.
Ciaran (potential tutor) will be performing.  No doubt a few others on the list I might eventually cross paths with.

From The Session I also found out a Kildare Pipers event tomorrow night.  Interestingly it's in the same house pictured on the cover of Christy Moore's Prosperous album

13th October 2016 - Slow Thursday

“To get a good tone you need a tight embouchure. You need to practice tone separately from everything else. Play long notes, and keep adjusting your embouchure until you get a nice tone.”
—Eamonn Cotter

Got a message back from Ciaran Fitzgerald.
He was in Omagh last night for the Comhaltas Tour of Ireland (same Tour I'm heading to on Friday) but can give lessons from Celbridge.

With a bit of luck Saturday might be the first lesson.

I might hold off on the Comhaltas decision until I meet Ciaran.

Read an interview with the late Jack Coen  .. interesting to see his reflections on over ornamentation and importance of melody/musicality.  Looks like an outlook from an older style where flashy ornamentation and speed was less important than the music.  Taking your time to learn a tune right seems to be the lesson here.
I'll have to go back this evening to the Fisherman's Slip Jig (see Tunes) and take it nice and slow.
Burning all my Matt Molloy CDs tonight.
Ok .. not doing that.

12th October 2016 - lessons

“Always play with someone who’s better than you are. That way you can only get better.”
—Jack Coen

Today was a day to think about lessons.

First I contacted Attracta Brady - came first in the 1989 Fleadh.  She was my first thought for lessons because of her experience (father Fleadh winner 1967).

Then contacted most Comhaltas branches in my area to see where there were lessons.
Ardclough - got a reply to say branch closed down
Eadestown - called me back but when I called her back went to voicemail
Kilcock - lessons Monday
Edenderry - Full up at the moment but maybe after Christmas
Clane - Tuesday
Maynooth - emailed Karen Tracey.  Had lessons before from Karen in CCE Clane.

Pros and cons about going to Comhaltas classes -

Great to be part of a community.  Great to have a session.  And of course great to do anything that enforces the habit of tune/practice.

Like most group classes they can be of a general level and the pace can be too fast or too slow.  Also the sessions tend to be twice a year so you might not get as much community as you think.
I'm a big supporter of Comhaltas so will still sign up - perhaps after the Christmas.

Attracta did come back when I asked about a recommendation and suggest Ciarán Mac Gearailt (Ciaran Fitzgerald) from Celbridge/Leixlip CCE.  Wonder if he'd be available?

I'd happily go to Comhaltas instead or as well.  Would be great to be part of that community .. get involved with sessions that are on etc.

Also spoke to guys in Killeigh CCE and there're tickets for the gig on Friday

11th October 2016 - Dough Ray Me

Maybe it's because I'm hungry this evening .. maybe it's because I'm heading to the middle of the week and it's now been a few days since I was in Galway .. but whatever the reason I've been thinking about the pizza and the story of the Dough Bros

When I said "if they can get that crust perfect 2013 to now then I can manage a tune somewhere on the rocky road from Galway to Massies Mill in the next three years" I wasn't joking.

But earning that Olwell Flute or making Great Pizza .. doesn't it always come back to believing in what you're doing ..  doing what you love .. and really immersing yourself in it .. 

Would I make it to Galway before closing time if I leave now?????

11th October 2016 - Keymaster

Being a heretic.

Should we be bound by a set of rules or a canon to learn or do we find our own way?

Keymaster (Patrick Olwell documentary) ..  he was speaking about the rigid process of rules and duplicating classic flute designs and his desire not to follow rules that didn't make sense to him.

I'm sure there are a lot of people  happy to tell us how to do something and even more people happy to tell us when we're wrong  (obviously wrong by their rules).

If we're reverent to rules then maybe we don't follow our own path?


Here's an idea ..... Whatever works.


Essentially doing what works for you.  And obviously NOT doing what doesn't work.

What works - a simple but powerful concept.

I recon as I go through this blog and re-read my ideas perhaps the whole point of it might be 'why' and 'how'.  Exploring why I'm taking this journey and what's the best route to get there - what works for me.

What's your journey?
What works best to get you there?



The Old Orange Flute tells the story of Bob Williamson, a weaver of Dungannon, who is considered a "stout Orange blade" by his associates. However, "he married a Papist named Brigid McGinn. Turned Papish himself, he forsook the ould cause" and was compelled to flee to Connacht, taking with him his flute. Enrolled into a Catholic church choir, he finds that the flute will only play Protestant songs such as The Boyne Water. Eventually the priest buys him a new instrument and the flute is condemned to be burned for heresy, though in the flames a "quare noise" can be heard as the flute still whistles "The Protestant Boys".

Follow what doesn't work or burnt for heresy? 

Monday 10th October 2016 - Tell me why I don't like Mondays

Was having a look around the Comhaltas site.
It's great that the resource exists but I have to say that both in terms of navigation and content it isn't all it could be.  It's all a bit netscape (if you get that joke you might have designed the site).

If you go into Blog and Fleadh dates you get entries from 2010.  The 2010 results are the most up to date on the site.  Anyway what I was really looking for was up to date activities I could get involved with ..

My local choices for branches are Clane and Ardclough but I can't really see anything on Comhaltas or anywhere else about them.  Back in 2013 they brought their flute teacher in from Maynooth so would be great to join a branch with a good flute history and teacher.
Offaly's Killeagh has the history with Attracta Brady.  Best thing might be to call each local branch and ask about flute classes .. who does them ..

I'm not going to start Oct-Dec.  Will start with a Comhaltas early 2017.  That gives me about 3 months to brush up on my own.

Was also interested to read about the SCT (Scrúdú Ceol Tíre) - maybe again this is something to aim towards.  Perhaps when Comhaltas breaks for the Summer?


And also - most importantly - practice of the Fisherman's Slip Jig

https://thesession.org/tunes/407

Catchy tune ... er .. sorry

Got an email reply from a chap on adverts about a flute for sale he replied "I do have an Olwell boxwood 6 key that I will be selling. I paid around $4,500 for the flute. It's a gem."
He sent me a few pics - beautiful flute - but I have my flute booked so I'll have to wait to earn it.

8th October - Galway

Took a drive into Galway via Clifden.  Really nice drive from Roundstone to Clifden.

Last summer spent a few days in Galway with kids and went into Kieran Moloney's shop .. he mentioned the CD of his Father's collection and I intended to pick it up by ended up going back to Kildare without it.
Made it my business to drop in a pick up Eddie Moloney's CD this time.  Had a read over the slieve notes .. interesting and talented man .. will look forward to listening to it.
Listen a lot.

Had a look around the Comhaltas website to see where I might pick up some lessons around Kildare.  Noticed Attracta Brady and Killeigh Comhaltas .. a bit further than Clane or Sallins .. but perhaps some great teachers/experience?


This might be a good night https://www.facebook.com/killeigh.comhaltas/posts/925220157582459?pnref=story

7th October 2016 .. first steps

Ok so .. Birthday.  Decision made.

So a lot of clearing the decks and getting things in order.
Play a lot.
Listen a lot.
I think these are basically the two rules that should guide me.

Play a lot.  So I have some tunes from the Online Academy Of Irish Music which I'm going to be going through.  Starting basic and building up.  This week is the Fisherman's slip jig.  Working on getting my cuts nice and clean.

Listen a lot.  I think you have to get involved with the world of Irish music not just pick up the flute once a week so to get involved with the world ..
Birthday present to myself was downloading 'Keymaster - Patrick Olwell story'  Here you'll see a lot about the unique Mr Olwell who I hope is putting aside a lovely piece of blackwood for me.

Cleaned up my iTunes/phone music.  Have Stony Steps (maybe a mistake as the genius on that is just intimidating but so beautiful) .. Deiseal (more on this later - love this album) .. Kirsten Allstaff's Gallow Glass (from OAIM).

More house cleaning.
Thought about improving my Flute.  A few years ago I thought it was an Arie de Keyser but I emailed him and he said no .. so I recon it's some type of very cheap thing.  Now I don't mind it .. but wonder if a better flute might be more rewarding in the next three years .. not like I will always want to bring my Olwell (again fingers crossed I end up deserving it) everywhere so won't go to waste ..
I sent an email to Glenn Watson and Martin Doyle who both kindly replied.  Heard that the Hammy Hamilton's were excellent (if you have the air) .. saw one on adverts.ie
And yes I know that these aren't practice temporary flutes .. but buy it once and buy it right has been a good motto for me.

My birthday so .. went to Roundstone in Galway for the night.

A bit colder than Port Navalo but Ms Le Guil seemed to like it

Not a bit of music to be had (October?) but the beautiful Dog's bay beach made a lovely stroll and driving through Connemara listening to Matt Molloy not too shabby either!

Talking of not too shabby - would be a shame not to mention Dough Bros new shop in Galway - amazing pizza and if they can get that crust perfect 2013 to now then I can manage a tune somewhere on the rocky road from Galway to Massies Mill in the next three years!

Dreaming of the Perfect Do