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-----Original Message-----
From: Ralph Palmer <palmer.r.violin@...>
To: celticsession@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Mon, Jun 22, 2009 2:39 pm
Subject: Re: [celticsession] More Sets!
--
Ralph Palmer
Montague City, MA
USA
palmer.r.violin@gmail.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ralph Palmer <palmer.r.violin@...>
To: celticsession@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Mon, Jun 22, 2009 2:39 pm
Subject: Re: [celticsession] More Sets!
Greetings, Brian, and everyone else who has chimed in -
As the one who sort of initiated this thread, and as the one who has been doing the transcriptions and posting them, let me add my additional 2 cents.
I try to accept multiple approaches to music, especially Celtic music. I came from the contradance scene, and that has influenced the way that I learn tunes. I would go to a dance, hear a tune I really liked, and try to remember it. 2 hours, many dances, and even more tunes later, I would start the drive home; by the time I got home (and usually by the next morning) I would have no clue what the tune sounded like. Not having daily access to contradance musicians, I found it was easiest and fastest and most feasible to learn from sheet music. That's still the way I learn most quickly, and I think I would drive my family nuts if I tried to learn new tunes exclusively through repetition. I also have limited time. I do make an effort to memorize tunes. (And I recognize a danger in memorizing from sheet music - my own tendency is to play music I've memorized from sheet music exactly the same every time.) I also have found that I'm becoming more loose with my playing of fiddle tunes off sheet music than I used to be. However, I still frequently need the help of the printed music if I'm not totally familiar with a tune. That fact, along with the fact that the Mocha Maya session has used (at least since I started attending regularly) a fairly stable core of sets, was the initial incentive for the set lists. I got tired of the hassle of trying to find 3 tunes in 3 books (or in one book), get them set up in time to actually play the first tune, and then make the changes through the set. So, I started transcribing the sets in ABC format and printing them out, so I could just look at a single sheet. It was quick and easy to convert the ABC transcriptions to PDF, so it made sense to me to offer to share them with others by posting them on the website. I never intended the versions I posted to be definitive; I've tried to maintain a balance between compatibility (fits with the version(s) most of the other musicians at the session play), playability (not too complex), and interest (not "dumbed down"). In fact, I made a note yesterday to change one of the versions I was using because it was different from what everyone else seemed to be playing.
Seems more like a buck and a half than 2 cents, but that pretty much sums up my point of view. Ted Cahill wrote something about it being a lot of work, and that it might not be worth it if not many people are using my web versions. However, I would be doing the transcriptions for myself, Ted, and it's really pretty simple to convert to PDF and upload to the site.
Peace,
Ralph
As the one who sort of initiated this thread, and as the one who has been doing the transcriptions and posting them, let me add my additional 2 cents.
I try to accept multiple approaches to music, especially Celtic music. I came from the contradance scene, and that has influenced the way that I learn tunes. I would go to a dance, hear a tune I really liked, and try to remember it. 2 hours, many dances, and even more tunes later, I would start the drive home; by the time I got home (and usually by the next morning) I would have no clue what the tune sounded like. Not having daily access to contradance musicians, I found it was easiest and fastest and most feasible to learn from sheet music. That's still the way I learn most quickly, and I think I would drive my family nuts if I tried to learn new tunes exclusively through repetition. I also have limited time. I do make an effort to memorize tunes. (And I recognize a danger in memorizing from sheet music - my own tendency is to play music I've memorized from sheet music exactly the same every time.) I also have found that I'm becoming more loose with my playing of fiddle tunes off sheet music than I used to be. However, I still frequently need the help of the printed music if I'm not totally familiar with a tune. That fact, along with the fact that the Mocha Maya session has used (at least since I started attending regularly) a fairly stable core of sets, was the initial incentive for the set lists. I got tired of the hassle of trying to find 3 tunes in 3 books (or in one book), get them set up in time to actually play the first tune, and then make the changes through the set. So, I started transcribing the sets in ABC format and printing them out, so I could just look at a single sheet. It was quick and easy to convert the ABC transcriptions to PDF, so it made sense to me to offer to share them with others by posting them on the website. I never intended the versions I posted to be definitive; I've tried to maintain a balance between compatibility (fits with the version(s) most of the other musicians at the session play), playability (not too complex), and interest (not "dumbed down"). In fact, I made a note yesterday to change one of the versions I was using because it was different from what everyone else seemed to be playing.
Seems more like a buck and a half than 2 cents, but that pretty much sums up my point of view. Ted Cahill wrote something about it being a lot of work, and that it might not be worth it if not many people are using my web versions. However, I would be doing the transcriptions for myself, Ted, and it's really pretty simple to convert to PDF and upload to the site.
Peace,
Ralph
On Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 1:05 PM, Ted Soulos <soulost@arps.org > wrote:
Brian,
Thanks for chiming in. I think this perspective - a sight reader who has learned to learn and play by ear - is especially useful. Look forward to meeting you sometime.
TED
>>> "Brian J. Butler" <bjbutler@bjbsoftware.com > 06/22/09 10:49 AM >>>
I'm a new member chiming in so please take this with a large grain of
salt and don't assume any zealotry. This is not a big deal with me,
just an opinion I hope will be helpful. Some time ago I switched
exclusively to learning by ear. Prior to that I learned mostly from
sheet music. For session playing, I find ear-learning more effective
for several reasons:
1. For me, the selection process for learning a new tune is simply that
I hear a tune I like, so the browsing-for-tunes activity translates to
listening to a lot of CD's, Youtubes, performances, sessions, etc.,
which I find an easier and more fun activity than playing through books.
2. Listening to several different renditions (and variations within the
renditions) of a particular tune makes it clear that there are a many
ways to play a tune, a fact that is usually not captured in sheet
music. The recordings give me lots of ideas for variations. Ceili
bands, especially in competitions, stick to very precise renditions and
don't permit much variation, maybe because it would be chaotic with the
large number of instruments. In a small session, I think the different
simultaneous variations and ornamentation among the players fills out
the music in a way that is unique to Irish traditional music. There is
a strong melody line at the core of a tapestry of player- and
instrument-specific ornaments and variations. In think this is one of
the things that makes "playing in unison" exciting instead of boring.
3. Item #2 above, relaxes my concept of the "right" way to play a tune,
which makes it easier to learn a tune because I can re-engineer notes or
phrases to make them easier to play on my instrument without feeling
guilty about betraying the sheet music (and I learn a little bit about
rudimentary "arranging" in the process).
4. Becoming a more proficient sight reader made it harder for me to
"memorize" the tunes. I was basically using external memory instead of
internal memory to store the tunes, making it impossible to play in
spontaneous situations like sessions.
I think there are some very good reasons to become a good sight reader
(trying out tunes with fellow readers, playing arranged pieces with
multiple parts, etc.) but I find ear learning a better vehicle for
developing session-playing skills.
One big obstacle to learning by ear was setting up an infrastructure
where I could easily listen to recordings, repeat parts, slow them down,
adjust the pitch, and do it all while holding an instrument. My
tune-learning rig consists of a notebook computer running Transcribe,
and an Infinity IN-USB-1 dictation foot pedal that the program
supports. The total cost for the software and foot pedal was about
$125. I can "set up" a tune in a few minutes and work on it very
conveniently with this arrangement.
I would like to check out your session one of these Sundays.
Regards,
Brian J. Butler
TedCahill@AOL.com wrote:
>
>
> Hey Ralph,
>
> I appreciate al the work you are doing on the Yahoo Group. It might
> be a good idea to poll the members to see who uses the sheet music you
> are posting. I know it's a lot of work, and I'd hate to see you
> spending all this time if people are not using the music.
>
> I know I don't only because I don't read music, and learn/play by
> ear. I do point people to the group if they are new because I tell
> them the play lists and music is on the group site. Maybe we should
> put some of the recordings that Ted and I use on the Group page so
> people can hear the versions we play.
>
> Any comments from the members?
>
> Ted Cahill
> 86 Main St.
> Shelburne Falls, MA 01370
>
> 413-834-1055
>
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Ralph Palmer
Montague City, MA
USA
palmer.r.violin@
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