Flute Talk, Book Review >>
by Brad Hurley
The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle by Grey Larsen (Mel Bay).
When Boehm-system flutes gained popularity in Europe during the late 1800s the classical simple-system flutes used during the previous century began to lose value. Some ended up in pawnshops and some eventually were sold to traditional Irish musicians. The simple-system wooden flute has six open holes and was excellent for Irish dance music because it could use the same fingering system as the tin whistle or penny whistle. Irish Gaelic speakers referred to the flute as the fheadog mhor or big whistle, and it has since become a mainstay of the tradition. Today the simple-system flute is so popular among Irish musicians that antique instruments by famed English makers, such as Rudall and Rose, routinely sell for more than $5,000. Modern versions are made by some 50 flute makers worldwide, and several of the top makers have waiting lists of five years or more.
The owners of these flutes, along with players of Boehm-system flutes and tin whistles will appreciate this indispensable guide to learning to play traditional Irish music. Larsen's 480-page manual covers nearly everything that players of all levels need, from how to hold and blow the instrument through the intricate details of ornamentation, phrasing, and articulation. Most of the book focuses on the simple-system flute and tin whistle, although Larsen includes six pages of advice on adapting traditional Irish flute techniques to silver flute.
An Ohio native with a degree from the Oberlin Conservatory, Larsen writes about Irish music with care, humility, and with a firm command of the subject gained from over 30 years of listening, learning, and playing. The book takes a thorough and systematic approach, with nearly 150 pages that discuss the various orna mentation forms used in Irish dance music. These include cuts, strikes, single and double rolls, and cranns. Players soon discover that ornamentation and rhythm are the most difficult aspects of Irish music, and the clear detailed explanations in this book surpass most other manuals. Most Irish ornaments should be played so quickly that listeners don't hear the note, but rather the articulation effect. Larsen devises a new ornament notation system that does not mislead students into playing these as distinct notes.
Irish music is an aural tradition at heart, and newcomers find it almost impossible to learn tunes from a book and play them in an authentic manner, because the written notes merely indicate the basic melody. To understand how the tune is played requires attentive listening to traditional musicians. Accordingly, two CDs covering all of the examples, studies, and tunes in the book come with the guide, a combination that is the next best thing to having an experienced teacher at your side. Transcriptions of 27 great performances on flute and tin whistle, recorded by leading Irish musicians from 1925 to the present are also included although the performances themselves are not included on the CDs. Larsen's transcriptions and commentary on the performances are invaluable to anyone who has struggled to figure out what a virtuoso musician was playing in a tricky passage or a flurry of ornaments.
While several other popular tutors and manuals are available to learn how to play traditional Irish music, Larsen's is the most thorough, although he advocates tonguing instead of what he calls "throating," or glottal stops. Classical and jazz flutists learn tonguing as a standard technique, but many traditional Irish players prefer glottal stops and use tonguing sparingly if at all. Larsen describes the glottal-stop technique and mentions it frequently when analyzing other musicians' playing but says that "a far greater degree of nuance and agility" is possible with tonguing. However, the glottal stop is arguably an intrinsic part of traditional Irish style playing flute. Larsen insists that tonguing was more widespread among older players than purists believe, but a close listen to today's most respected Irish flutists reveals that many of them employ glottal stops more frequently than tonguing. Examples of both glottal stops and tonguing on the CDs might have helped students distinguish between the two styles of articulation. Once past this small quibble with an excellent book, players will find a remarkably complete guide, which will provide enough material to keep many a flute or whistle player busy for years. I recommend it highly for anyone who wants to learn Irish music on flute or whistle, and for intermediate players who want to improve and develop further.
03/01/04
