Fatherly Connections

Ralph Mason (left) and Mike Rafferty (right)

Ralph Mason and Mike Rafferty were two very different men.  Ralph was my father, Mike was my flute teacher.  I began lessons with Mike in 2004, six years after my father died.  Over time, I found myself making comparisons between them.  A few similarities existed despite the fact that other things about them seemed to be reversed, just like their initials.

Rafferty

Updated July 4, 2012 

This post honors my Irish flute teacher and mentor, Mike Rafferty, who died on September 13, 2011.  At the time of his passing, so many people posted touching tributes on Mike's Facebook page (which was and still is maintained by his family).  The most moving of those remembrances, for me anyway, was the piece written by another one of his students, Brian Holleran. Although my association with Mike was not as long or as intimate as Brian's, the essence of my relationship with Mike --- indeed, of Mike's relationship to all his students -- has much in common with what Brian describes below.  Thanks, Brian, for giving words to what many have experienced and for allowing me to share it on my blog. 
  

Rafferty
by Brian Holleran

Photo by Tom Madden, used with permission.

My Flute Journey Continues

Since the December 25th arrival of my Peter Noy flute, I've been happily adapting to it. Both my embouchure and my hands are undergoing many changes. As I practice every day, I see rapid progress. If nothing else, switching from flute to flute over the past few years has taught me how to quickly adjust to a new instrument, a skill I hope I will no longer need!

Playing a different flute involves work in several areas.

• EMBOUCHURE: One must learn how best to direct air across the flute's blow hole so that a variety of timbres can be produced and proper pitch can be maintained. This area of work involves strengthening and retraining the muscles of the face and lips.
• HANDS: One must train the fingers to cover the holes. The fourth finger (the ring finger) on each hand is usually the most problematic, as it is the weakest and hardest to control. The finger span of my hands is average, but even so, I need to develop more strength to consistently cover the holes when playing at top speeds.

To strengthen my embouchure and hands, I am doing two types of work:

• TECHNICAL: Long tones develop embouchure strength and accurate pitch. Finger exercises allow me to work on various patterns that will develop my coordination while I gain strength in the wider hand stretch required of my right hand. I'm working on my left hand position, rolling the headjoint inwards to give more freedom to my left wrist and to better balance the flute against my index finger. I'm also paying attention to throat articulation and the position of my right thumb.
• TUNES: To keep from being bored out of my mind, I declared January to be Polka Month. Polkas are easy to learn and fun to play in sessions. Conal O'Grada, my teacher at Willie Clancy Week last summer, taught us some polkas so I reviewed those. I'm also learning a few from Fliuit, a flute instructional tutor by June McCormack as well as from The Irish Flute Player's Handbook by flutemaker Hammy Hamilton. I've worked on 15 polkas in January and I'm having a pretty good time, so maybe I'll keep going for another few weeks.

Thinking about how I came to develop these transitioning skills, I started to recall my journey through Irish traditional music. Being an inveterate list maker, my recollections took the form of a timeline which begins before I started blogging. Once the blog was established, I had a place to reflect on my frustrations and record my progress. Note the links and corresponding labels used for grouping similar topics.

• July 2003 Purchase of a Cillian Ó Briain Improved Feadog D whistle at the The Living Tradition shop (now closed) in Cork City, Ireland.
• 2003-2004 Whistle lessons with Bill Ochs
• Spring 2004 Took Mick Moloney's History of Celtic Music at New York University
• Spring 2004 Joined the NYU-based Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra (WSHSO)
• 2004-2005 Took whistle lessons with Mike Rafferty (Rafferty)
• 2004-2008 Attended Catskills Irish Arts Week (Catskills Irish Arts Week)
• Fall 2005 Switch my primary instrument from tin whistle to flute
• 2005-2006 Weekly Flute Lessons with Mike Rafferty (Rafferty)
• July 10, 2006 Inspired by Joanie (Flute Journey)
• 2006-2010 Occasional flute lessons with Mike Rafferty (Rafferty)
• Jan 28, 2007 Starting to Play in Sessions (Flute Journey)
• Feb 02, 2007 Silver Flute vs. Irish Flute (Flute Journey)
• June 13, 2007 Alternate Fingering for C# (Flute Journey)
• Oct 21, 2007 Playing in Sessions, an update (Flute Journey)
• 2007-2008 Played with Lorcan Otway in Sorcha Dorcha (Sorcha Dorcha)
• March 29, 2008 Sandalwood Headjoint for my Silver Flute (Flute Journey)
• April 20, 2008 Flute Dilemma Again (or rather, still) - re-evaluating the silver flute solution (Flute Journey)
• May 09, 2008 Flute Dilemma Resolved - decision to get a Peter Noy keyless wooden flute (Flute Journey)
• Aug 17, 2008 Finding an Interim Flute - purchase of the Casey Burns mopane Folk Flute (Flute Journey)
• Dec 17, 2008 Flute Choice Refined - decision to add keys (Flute Journey)
• April 30, 2009 Ireland Bound - switch to a borrowed Burns boxwood flute (Flute Journey)
• July 2009 Attended Willie Clancy School of Traditional Music, Miltown Malbay, Ireland (Willie Week)
• Jan 16, 2010 My New Flute - arrival of the Peter Noy flute (Flute Journey)

The collage below makes the point in a more concise way, showing the variety of instruments I've played since 2003.

Top left - borrowed Casey Burns keyless boxwood flute

Top middle - my Cillian Ó Briain tin whistle (2004 photo, lesson with Mary Bergin)

Top right - Peter Noy head joint, on loan, for my silver flute

Bottom left - borrowed Terry McGee keyless African blackwood flute

Bottom middle - my Casey Burns mopane folk flute

Bottom right - my Wm. S. Haynes handmade solid silver flute

Center - my Peter Noy 6-keyed boxwood flute

Yes, the years since that momentous visit to Ireland in 2003 have been full of growth and adventure. During that time I've become acculturated in the world of traditional Irish music and have learned many tunes. I've experimented with Irish piano accompaniment and have discovered I can sing a bit when I'm of a mind to do so. I've even tried set dancing. Flute is my primary interest though, and now that I have a good instrument I'm ready to do some serious work on my playing abilities. If only there were more hours in the day!

© 2010, Linda Mason HoodTruffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

My New Flute!

It arrived on Christmas day. A post office deliveryman rang my doorbell at 10:56 AM and handed me the package I've been waiting for since May 8, 2008. My new flute is finally here!

My Merry Christmas!
A new coat (with tags still dangling from the sleeve), a new watch, and a flute!

The flute Peter Noy made for me is a six-keyed boxwood flute. The head joint is unlined and unthinned, with a Cooper cut embouchure which includes a blow edge insert made of horn. The rings which reinforce all the joints are made of horn as well. Modeled after the Rudall & Rose 19th century flutes, it has rather large Nicholson-style finger holes. The middle joint is divided. With six keys, it is a fully chromatic instrument. The traditional Irish repertoire doesn't use the flute's third octave, but this flute does in fact have a viable and pleasant sounding third octave.

The flute, cleaning rod, and humidifier rest in modified art supply case.

The head crown of my flute was made by Catherine Crowe of Toronto, an enamel artist and traditional Irish singer I met in the Catskills. Unbeknownst to me, Peter and Catherine have been friends for years, which is how Peter came to have the enamel crown Catherine made. Reading my blog posts, Peter recently discovered that I knew Catherine as well and suggested I might like her crown on my flute.

Catherine's art uses patterns and objects that draw their significance from the folklore of ancient Celtic, Scythian and Etruscan cultures. The pattern she used for the flute's crown is the Celtic triple spiral. According to Catherine, The triple spiral is one of the oldest Celtic designs. It was in use from the 7th century BC right up to the present. This particular one is based on an enamelled escutcheon from around the 7th century AD. (Click here for more information)


Interestingly, Catherine's triple spiral is very similar to Peter's logo which incorporates a stylized representation of the three-pronged trillium, the emblem and official flower of Ontario. The trillium holds special significance for Peter because he grew up in Ontario and lived in Toronto for many years.


Like the flute makers of old, Peter engraves his logo on each section of the flute. The main stamp, to the right of the right-most ring in the picture below, has the letters NOY arranged in a semi-circle under the trillium shape. From this photo's prespective the stamp is on its side, with the N at the bottom. The main stamp is located on the flute's third joint. The stamp Peter uses on all the other joints is simply a very tiny trillium, as seen on either side of the left-most ring. You can see these a little better, especially the one on the lighter piece of boxwood. Double-click on the picture below to enlarge it.


At first I thought Catherine's design was a fancier form of Peter's logo. However, in email conversation with both Catherine and Peter, I realized that each design was distinct, with its own meaning and story. It's a rather an uncanny coincidence that the two are so similar!

In the end, I came to appreciate the synchronicity of my flute's two symbols. It reminds me of the ribbons in a Celtic knot, twisting through both personal and historical circumstances. All of the Canadian provinces, including Ontario, took in many immigrants from Ireland, particularly during 1800's as a result of the Great Famine. As a result, Ontario has a rich and lively Irish community, with an Irish Canadian population of approximately two million people according to the 2006 census. Living in Ontario and participating in the Irish community, both Catherine and Peter would have been exposed to many Celtic patterns over the years. Likewise, I'm sure they both would have seen the trillium represented in many forms for various reasons. In an email exchange with Peter about the relationship of his trillium logo to the triple spiral, he concluded it was what Joyce called " the ineluctable modality of the visible." (and if you need help with that statement, as I did, click here)

In closing, here are a few more pictures. Actually, taking good flute pictures is quite difficult. One needs a much better camera than mine and proper lighting to prevent the the flash or the sun from reflecting off the finish and distorting the rich hues of the wood. Nevertheless, I hope these photos will give you some idea of the marvelous workmanship that goes into a Peter Noy flute. I'm just thrilled with it. Bet you never would have guessed!!

© 2010, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Ireland Bound

Cover by June McCormack, used with permission

This summer I plan to attend the 37th Annual Willie Clancy Summer Music Festival in Ireland. "Willie Week," as it's affectionately known in traditional Irish music circles, is the prototype for all the traditional Irish music festivals. Held in the hometown of Willie Clancy, a piper who played a prominent role in the Irish folk revival in the 1960's, the festival in Miltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland, draws about 1300 attendees who take lessons, hear lectures, play in sessions, and attend dances for one glorious week. I am very excited, to say the least.

With accommodations secured and ticket purchased, I've turned my attention to polishing up my playing. Over the past year most of my flute efforts have focused on two areas: transitioning to the Irish flute (changing fingering and embouchure) and learning tunes, especially those tunes I play as part of the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra. Sadly, I have paid very little attention to ornamentation, which is what originally drew me to Irish music in the first place.

You'll recall that while I'm waiting for my custom Peter Noy flute I bought a Casey Burns Folk Flute, the ergonomic small-handed version. (17-Aug-2008: Finding an Interim Flute) I was really excited about it when it arrived, but it has proved to be a disappointment. While the mopane wood makes a lovely sound, the whole flute is flat and proved unworkable in ensemble playing. Sometime in the late fall of 2008, I switched to a borrowed Casey Burns Boxwood flute, a better instrument all around as it is pitched properly and is in tune with itself. Its other advantage is that the spacing between the finger holes is more standard.

So, in the last 10 months I have changed from silver flute fingerings to keyless wooden flute fingerings. I have also adjusted my embouchure and reworked my coordination twice - the first time to cover the holds of the Burns small-handed flute, and then increasing the stretch to cover the spacing of the holes on the Boxwood standard holed flute.

You probably have no idea how much slow playing is needed to establish good muscle memory for playing tunes quickly. Lots, and then lots more. To keep from losing my mind, I started attending more sessions. I have used the sessions as 3-hour practice periods. Even though the music I played at faster speeds had a lot in common with Swiss cheese (lots of holes in the melody), I could focus on the group sound while mentally aiming my fingers at the holes and hoping for the best. In the process, I learned more tunes, and made a few new friends too. I'm now feeling pretty comfortable about being able to play the Burns Boxwood standard holed flute, albeit without much ornamentation.

To add some grace and style to my playing, I've started working through a book entitled Fliuit, Irish Flute Tutorial by Irish flutist June McCormack. June does an excellent review of ornamentation, with explanations notated and illustrated on the CD that comes with the book. Fliuit contains 64 tunes, most of which are unfamiliar to me. I purchased the book last summer at the Catskills Irish Arts Week, but I hadn't used it until now. (If you'd like to order a copy, click here.) It seems to be just what I need.

To illustrate what I find so inspiring, here's June McCormack and harpist/husband Michael Rooney playing a lovely set of hornpipes.



This new focus has renewed my enthusiasm for practicing. While I won't play like June in that video, playing BETTER by the time Willie Week rolls around has given me an exciting goal. In my practicing, my reading, and trip planning, I am truly Ireland bound!

© 2009, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Flute Choice Refined

As you may recall from my May 9 post, I ordered a keyless boxwood flute from Seattle flutemaker Peter Noy. At the time I placed the order, I told Peter I would confirm later whether or not I wanted an E-flat key as well as my preference regarding finger hole size. Recently, I had started to feel like my final decisions were a bit overdue.

I sought advice from Ben Power, an Irish musician I met in NYC who now resides in San Diego, California. Ben pointed out that each maker has his own design, and what one describes "large" or even "huge" finger holes might not be so big, comparatively speaking. Ben asked if there were any way I could play some of Peter's flutes. Since I don't actually know anyone who has a Peter Noy flute, I spoke to Peter about my dilemma. He agreed to send a couple flutes with the two finger hole sizes we talked about on the phone. Perfect!

On November 18th I received a head joint, a foot joint, and two middle joints. By swapping the middle joints I was able to experience both the small and the large holed models. The smaller finger holes were very comfortable, but it seemed to me that the flute's sound was freer and fuller when assembled with the large holed middle joint. Most importantly, I was pleased to realize that my hands are not too small for Peter's large holed design, so that's what I'll be getting.

The flute pictured below is Peter's large holed model, made of grenadilla wood with silver rings and a mother of pearl blow edge on the embouchure. That's an E-flat key on the foot joint, and it works the same as on a silver concert flute.


The discussion about finger holes brought up the question of keys. I was surprised to learn that ordering keys doesn't add much time to the waiting period. After talking to some flute players in the October 12th Mercy Center Benefit concert (Ivan Goff and Shannon Heaton), as well as to Ben Power and Linda Hickman, I decided to go for it! I'll be getting six keys: G-sharp, F-natural, E-flat, B-flat, and two C-natural keys.

My worst fear was that having Peter's flutes on loan and playing them for nearly two weeks might bring on a bout of second guessing about my choice of flute maker. After all, Peter Noy is relatively unknown here in NYC. Most of the serious players here either own a flute made by Patrick Olwell or else they're on his waiting list. However, I took the large holed flute to a few sessions, and everyone who played it said really good things about it. I was certainly happy with it. Trading flutes with people in sessions bolstered my confidence as well. I'm satisfied now that the Peter Noy flute I've ordered will be worth the wait.

© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Flute Lessons with Mike Rafferty

Although a fair amount of biography and some good descriptions of Mike Rafferty's playing are available online (see links at the end of this post), I have yet to find anything written on his teaching. This blog post attempts to fill that void. What follows here are my reflections about Mike as a teacher and what I’ve learned from him over the past four years.

Finding an Interim Flute

Ever since I ordered a boxwood Irish flute from Peter Noy (as described in my May 9, 2008 post entitled Flute Dilemma Resolved), I've been eager to start transitioning my technique from silver flute to Irish flute. By the time my Peter Noy flute arrives in late 2009, I want to be ready for it. That means I need some sort of Irish flute now! And so began the quest for an interim flute. I watched the Chiff and Fipple Flute Forum as well as eBay, and I started asking all my friends with wooden flutes if I could play a tune or two on their flutes. Little by little, I learned what was available in the various price ranges and started to form some opinions.

In May, an interesting flute appeared on the Chiff & Fipple Flute Forum, a Terry McGee blackwood flute, the Grey Larson Preferred model with the Minimum Disruption Tenon. The owner was willing to lend it to me for a trial period. After a week or so I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it. However, I wasn't sure I would ever get much resonance from it, so I finally decided it wasn't the flute for me. I am very grateful to its owner for trusting me with it for a while. That was incredibly helpful. I took its picture before sending it back.


I started reading more and more about the Casey Burns Folk Flute. One of my friends has a Burns flute that I had borrowed a few times, so I had some first-hand experience with Burns flutes. Priced at $375, the Folk Flute seemed a reasonable interim flute.  However, the predicted delivery date would have been too late for me to use it during Catskills Irish Arts Week. I decided to keep looking.

About this time a Casey Burns Folk Flute appeared on eBay for $275. Bingo! It was made of mopane, a beautiful dark wood. It was the small-handed version which I thought might be a good as a transitional flute. Buying a flute without playing it -- or even seeing it -- seemed risky, but the Burns flutes have a good reputation and at $275, how could I pass it up? I had never before bought anything on eBay, so it took me until the last few hours of the auction to muster my courage and click the "Buy It Now" button.

On June 10, 2008 my eBay flute was delivered to me at work. I was so excited that I declared it lunchtime and headed for the park to try it out. I was very pleased. It played easily, had a nice sound, and the hole placement was really comfortable. At home that night I oiled it per the maker's instructions (which had thoughtfully been included) and started breaking it in.

A few days later I learned that it was virtually a new flute. The seller was a whistle player who thought he'd like to play the flute as well, but changed his mind after only a few attempts.  I felt like I had landed a real bargain - a new flute from the maker I had decided upon with no waiting period!  Here it is - isn't it pretty?  


I've been surprised at how much progress I've made over the last two months. I'm now able to predictably cover the holes and to play many tunes at a decent tempo. As I work on tone, my sound gets stronger and more resonant. Yes indeed, this Casey Burns Folk Flute will be a good interim flute for me.

© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Flute Dilemma Resolved

If you're a regular reader, you know that I've been perplexed by the Silver Flute vs. Irish Flute question (first expressed in my 2/2/07 post). Every time I think I've decided which flute I want to use for playing Irish music, something makes me reconsider the question from a different angle. Finally, this spring I decided the answer was a Sandalwood Headjoint for My Silver Flute (see my 3/29/08 post). But that solution became complicated when I realized the sandalwood headjoint wouldn't actually fit my own flute. In my 4/20/08 post I detailed various options. Here's what has transpired regarding each option since that post:

1. The Sedona flute and sandalwood headjoint combo had a really nice sound, no question about that. In the end, though, I couldn't accept the idea of switching to what is essentially a good quality student flute. My own flute, albeit 30 years old, is a professional, handmade, solid silver flute from the Wm. S. Haynes Company in Boston. If you've ever played a professional flute, you'll know it's hard to step down from there.

2. Vintage flutes come with a whole different set of difficulties and complications. I decided it's probably not practical to adopt a vintage flute as my everyday flute.

3. After a number of inquiries, I realized that I would never find a used headjoint that would actually fit my thin-walled Haynes. Flute construction has changed too much over the last 30 years.

4. Peter Noy said he would indeed make a headjoint to fit my Haynes, and he sent me a boxwood as well as a grenadilla headjoint for evaluation. To expand my comparisons, I borrowed a Gemeinhardt flute so I could mix and match. Here's all the headjoints, lined up side by side.


The only headjoint that fit my flute was the one made for it. However, I was able to do a number of comparisons by alternating all the headjoints on the two borrowed silver flutes. Surprisingly, the body of the flute has much more effect on the sound than I expected. Here's the pile of flutes I tested in various combinations.


In case you're wondering about the white stuff on the tenons of some of the headjoints, that's teflon tape (also known as plumber's tape) which helps achieve a tighter fit when the headjoint is smaller than the body of the flute.

5. Reconsidering the silver flute vs. Irish flute question, a friend asked me what I was really trying to achieve. "A more woody sound," I answered. To which my friend replied, "then why not get an Irish flute?" In other words, rather than try to imitate the sound of an Irish flute, why not just get the instrument that makes that sound? My objection has always been my fear that changing to the Irish flute will set me back a year or more in terms of my playing. I'll have to learn a new hand position, relearn most of my tunes, and change my embouchure. In response to my moaning about all that, someone else pointed out to me that I seem to love the challenge of new musical ventures. After all, look at what I've accomplished in the past five years: I've taken up a new instrument, the whistle, and immersed myself in a whole new musical genre. I'm now proficient at learning tunes by ear in the traditional way, have even come to prefer it! I've gained a decent grasp of phrasing and ornamentation, and have translated whistle ornamentation to the silver flute (which entailed learning new fingerings and inventing some fingering shortcuts). I also learned a bit about piano accompaniment of Irish instrumental music. And in the last year I've started singing Irish songs, first in English and now working myself up to learning some Irish. Have I not realized that I love the challenge of something new?

So, having fallen in love with the Peter Noy boxwood headjoint, I called him and ordered an entire flute -- conical, simple system Irish flute! Yup, I really did. Put down a deposit to seal the deal. I chose a boxwood flute with bone rings just like the headjoint below.


The unthinned boxwood headjoint has such a sweet sound. The Cooper embouchure cut is easier to play, for me anyway, than the round embouchure of most Irish flutes, and I really like the effect produced by the bone inset along the top of the blow edge.

The flute he will make for me won't be ready til late 2009, but it will be beautiful and it's what I want. Could it be that my ongoing dilemma is finally resolved? Perhaps. I feel very comfortable with my decision. No second thoughts have surfaced. And now, to wait...


© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Alternate Fingering for C#

As you can see from my profile picture, I play Irish music on a silver concert flute. One of the difficulties of this instrument is managing the keys so that the ornamentation flows in the same way that it does with the simple fingering system used by the whistle and the wooden flute. Tonight I discovered an alternate fingering for C# which enables me to make the ornaments around B more graceful.

On the silver flute C# is played with all the keys open, all fingers up except the right-hand pinkie. Well, I discovered that you can get a C# even while your left thumb is depressing the B key. It's a slightly flatter C# -- but that note tends to be sharp anyway. You can do a really fast half-roll or cut on B if you only have to move one finger.

None of my very fine classical teachers recommended this as an alternate fingering to be used in fast passages, nor have I ever seen it published in fingering charts. Therefore, I was pretty excited to have stumbled upon this fingering for C#. This type of hunt-and-peck experimentation is how Joanie Madden made the silver flute sound Irish. Yes! I can do this too!!!

For all of you who aren't flute players, I'm sorry if this post doesn't make much sense. Just share with me the excitement of a new discovery.

© 2007, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Silver Flute or Irish Flute?

I am in the throws of a decision. From here on, do I want to work at playing Irish traditional music on the silver orchestral flute or the wooden flute which has become the standard in traditional Irish music circles?

A year ago, the silver flute was my logical choice. I started learning Irish music on the whistle, but its high register began to hurt my ears so I switched to the silver flute. I already owned very fine flute (a handmade Haynes solid silver flute) because in college I majored in music with a concentration in classical flute. Even though I didn’t play for 20 years while my son was growing up, I still have good coordination in my fingers and consistent practicing puts my embouchure back in shape. I took some lessons with Joanie Madden (see my post from July 20, 2006) and learned a few tricks about how to make the ornamentation sound “right” on an instrument that is over-engineered for the demands of Irish music. Until recently I was working on producing a darker sound and was getting some pretty good volume on the low notes.

Then a friend of mine got a new keyless Irish flute, handmade by Patrick Olwell. His wooden flutes are highly regarded, and I just went ga-ga with envy.

About the same time I dropped my own flute. It was the first time in my life I had ever done that. The lid came loose from the the case, and the flute slid out onto the floor, bending the low C# key. While it’s in the shop I’m borrowing my friend’s "student flute" - a Pratten-style Seery polymer flute.

Flutes pictured immediately above are made by Terry McGee.

The wooden flutes from the 19th century had keys and could play the entire chromatic scale. This keyless version is a "relative" of the mid-19th century flute. It lacks the keys of its historical relative, however it's conical construction as well as the shape of the embouchure and spacing of the fingerholes are much the same. Apparently this keyless version was invented in the 1970's during the Irish folk revival. By that time Jean Pierre Rampal's influence in the classical world had made the flute enormously popular. These two factors meant many flute players wanted Irish flutes. Keyed wooden flutes cost at least double what the keyless version costs, and the wait time can be up to four times as long. Therefore, the keyless Irish flute was an ideal solution. 90% of Irish music can be played on the keyless flute, which is pitched in D major but can function in G major as well and the relative minors of those two keys. When playing any of the remaining 10% of the Irish tunes, players of keyless flutes artfully skip certain notes or pick another note in the chord instead. Or just step up to the bar for another beer!

But getting back to the Seery, I confess that it's hard for me to cover the holes. The right-hand position in particular is very different from what's required on the silver flute. I must stretch my fingers as wide as possible and use the middle section of my finger rather than the fingerpad to cover the holes. I’ve been at it a week now, and it’s getting better. (Note that I said better, not more comfortable.) I need to rest after each tune because I don’t have the strength to maintain the stretch for too long, and my tempos need to be slow to consistently cover the holes.

The question is this: which flute do I want to spend my time on? I'm definitely enjoying the novelty of the Irish flute. The fingering is the same as the whistle so it’s easier to switch back and forth. And I like playing the instrument that most traditional players use. There’s a good bit of acceptance in that. However, the silver flute is really more "playable." By that I mean that one can play in any key. The hand position is comfortable. It’s just that the finger coordination needed to accomplish conventional sounding ornamentation is more difficult than what is required on the Irish flute (assuming one has mastered covering the holes on both instruments).

I’ll admit it: I am looking for the shortest route to the level on which I want to play. I’m better on the silver flute, so even though it’s harder in certain respects, I have an advantage because of all my years of study on it. But the coordination is less demanding on the Irish flute – so even though I have to backtrack a bit, it might be worth it in the long run. I’m not worried so much about acceptance of others or the sound the instrument can make. If I play well with a dark, strong tone, I don’t think it will really matter (although some players might disagree).

Unfortunately, writing this post hasn't helped me decide. If you have an opinion, please post a comment. Meanwhile, I’ll experiment with the Seery for a while longer, at least until I get my Haynes back. Then, who knows? All I can say is: I'll keep you posted. (GROAN!! very bad pun, sorry folks!)

© 2007, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Starting to Play in Sessions

Traditional Irish sessions are a social time when players meet, usually in Irish pubs, to play tunes together. This presumes they have many tunes in common. A newcomer to Irish music, particularly one with a classical background, can be pretty intimidated by session playing. At least that was the case with me.

My first two years were spent learning tunes and acquiring enough technical skill to approximate an acceptable tempo and sometimes even add a bit of conventional Irish ornamentation. I rarely played in sessions in 2003-2005. In 2006 I attended sessions maybe once every month or two. Until last Tuesday, I considered session attendance to be an exercise in humility. I listened more than I played. When familiar tunes were selected, I couldn’t play them up to speed. I was terrified of being asked to lead a tune. However, all Irish traditional players seem to think session playing is an essential part of musical life so I just keep dusting off my classical ego and hauling myself back to have another go at it.

This year I’ve decided to go as often as possible to the session at Dempsey’s Pub. It’s close to where I live. The age range of the players varies widely. (I like to see a few heads of gray hair so I won’t be discouraged by trying to keep up with gifted youth). The range of abilities among the players varies as well, which probably helps keep this group's tempos more moderate than some of the other sessions around NYC. The Dempsey’s session employs a “round robin” format; going around the circle, players take turns starting tunes. One advantage of this method is that you’re assured of getting to play at least a few familiar tunes at a comfortable speed. However, if you start a tune that nobody knows, you’re stuck playing a solo. That happens to me a lot, and I find these unintended solos quite unnerving. Once I totally blanked out and forgot the second half of the tune. Another time I started a tune in the wrong key. (Exercise in humility, remember?)

The last time I was at Dempsey's, however, I finally picked a pair of tunes that were more or less familiar to most people. I felt good about that. During the session I noticed how many tunes I actually do know, how often I could join in the playing, and that my fingers were finding familiar patterns and executing them more easily. Hmmmm, could it be I’m getting the hang of this?

At the end of the evening, one fellow played a waltz. Mostly what’s played in sessions are reels, jigs and maybe a few polkas. Hearing that waltz brought immediately to mind a waltz that Mike Rafferty taught me more than a year ago. He called it "The Old Man’s Waltz." I learned it really well – even played it on the whistle as a prelude in church once. Maybe it was the beer, but I decided to play Mike’s waltz for them on the whistle, knowing it would be a solo. For moral support I asked a guitar player to accompany me. Even though his chords were not always what I would have chosen, it worked. I remembered the tune accurately. I put in a few ornaments and even varied them a little on the repeated portions. (Something the more experienced players do as a matter of course.) The phrasing was nice but not overdone, and the upper octave was in tune. I was so pleased. (Allow me to brag just a little. I have suffered through so many embarrassing moments at sessions) Yessiree, I really nailed that waltz! For once I played Irish music like I want to – and not in my bedroom while practicing, not in church in a performance situation, but in an entirely Irish context, in a session. It was a glorious moment!

Besides gaining confidence, I’m seeing other advantages to attending sessions. I’ll get over my emotional block about playing fast. When playing along with the group, I can more easily keep my hands and arms relaxed during the faster tempos. I’ll become less self-conscious if I play in sessions regularly, and then I’ll be able to take more risks. And finally, session playing will help me learn tunes. Particularly if I go to the Dempsey's session regularly, I will learn the unfamiliar tunes of their repertoire as well as get a regular review of the tunes I already know.

I am realizing how different session playing is from classical performances. Competition and critique of others’ playing is much less prevalent; acceptance and sociability is much more prominent. I’ve heard people at Dempsey’s play one set of tunes really well, then fall apart the next time their turn comes around. I’ve heard beginners encouraged and accomplished players congratulated. And people look forward to seeing each other, having a beer, and sharing some music.

So now I’m telling myself to commit to one session each week if at all possible. And riding on my encouragement from Tuesday night, I think I’ll show a lot of improvement by the end of the year if I can do that. I’ll also have made some new friends and had a very good time. So that’s the goal. One session each week if at all possible. We shall see. . .


© 2007, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Teacher Man

I just finished reading Teacher Man by Frank McCourt. The book recounts his experiences as a NYC highschool teacher of grammar, literature, and creative writing. McCourt is a grand Irish story teller. Frequently the tales he tells have to do with making an authentic connection with the students in his classroom. He seems to have tried to dig through the well constructed teenage facade to catch a glimpse of the individual person inside.

Inspired by Joanie

Photo by Linda Mason Hood

Well, for me it wasn't Irish Arts Week, it was just Irish Arts Days. But what a glorious two days they were! I had two lessons with Joanie Madden of Cherish the Ladies and one lesson with Laura Byrne. I played in two large group sessions and heard many fantastic performances.

The lessons with Joanie Madden were the highlight of my time in the Catskills (as evidenced by this picture -- I'm the smiling face in the lavender shirt). Joanie is the only major Irish traditional artist who plays the silver flute. All the others play the wooden flute. Since the flute I own is a professional concert flute, I have been trying to figure out how to execute the ornaments so that they sound like they do on the wooden flute or the tin whistle. I hoped to pick up some pointers from Joanie.

A good silver flute can be coaxed into coming very close to the fat, dark sound of the wooden flute, but the player must work on his or her embouchure to be able to produce a consistently strong sound in the low register. Joanie's low register is absolutely amazing. I've never heard anyone make the sounds she makes on low D. Her solid silver heavy weight Miyazawa flute gives her a little assistance, but her technique is the main element in the sound she produces. She doesn't teach embouchure exercises or advise practicing "low tones." She tells of her own experience -- just playing a low D until she could produce a "dirty D" (a phrase used by older musicians that she knew). Once she got it, she practiced for weeks until she could get it on demand. Reflecting on her method, it seems like your ear has to guide you. To train my ear, I've decided to practice with headphones on, listening to HER sound while I play. If I can solidly implant that sound in my head and work on reproducing it even without the headphones, maybe I can make it mine. By the way, this is an original idea as far as I know. I've never heard anyone talk about developing sound or tone with the method I just described.

Some creative fingerings and stylistic finesse are needed to to get the ornaments of Irish music to sound "right" on the silver flute. I had figured out some cuts and rolls on my own, but Joanie taught me some new tricks (taps and slides). She also talked a bit about how the ornamentation lends rhythmic emphasis, which plays a role in where the ornaments are placed.

Yes indeed, it was a great two days. I learned a lot, I knew more tunes this year in the sessions, amd most importantly, I came away with renewed passion to play this music well. Now all I have to do is practice, practice, practice!


© 2006, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement