How to Play the Irish Flute : The Cran in Irish Flute Playing

[chrysanthemumfairy]

best part "jiggidy jiggidy" that's a new one!!! i think he's a little confused!! revising for trad exam- this definitely cheered me up!!

[SuperSoupysoup]

Look, if he wasn't talking and just played, you wouldn't have a clue what's going on.

I say proper job. Explanations are good.

[PatrickM1996]

@SuperSoupysoup Yes, but he could balance it more. I know the talking is good advice but it's no use if he's just saying it and not doing enough playing to show us.

[SuperSoupysoup]

@PatrickM1996

The good thing about videos on the internet is that you can go back and rewatch. I'm pretty sure they had this in mind when they made the video. If he decided not to say that much and just play, what would be the point? You can't rewind and get any new sentences or advice.

[gogartys1]

Talk about making it up as you go along. Expert?



[MrDeclanW]

You could be a expert In classical but not in Irish trad. You don't seem to know what you are on about. Those so called crans are cuts and rolls. You don't only use one finger for rolls you use three. I know this because I'm irish and I play trad flute too. Trad and classical are not near the same. And jig a jig a de jig ? It's 1- 2-3-4-5-6. Or rashers and sausages rashers and sausages.

[Lisnageeragh]

@MrDeclanW You are correct! I doubt if he is expert in classical either.

this tutorial needs a bit of tidying up. The jig rhythm needs a bit of nuance to work in trad also ...see Nina Perlov/ BlarneyPilgrim of this parish ...often the classical players rhythm is too uniform, not sufficiently emphasised or coloured. With a good teacher , this can be rectified.

[arjantjeee]

@MrDeclanW all movies from expert village suck.

look up the rainstick xD

[Lisnageeragh]

@arjantjeee This note combination is not a cran in the best sense of the word ...listen to Matt Molloy if you can on this.

[lamariguanita159]

ijo de puta tu pagina tenia un virus pinche mierda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Lorcan1]

Dude I play the trad flute and I'm Irish haha dats not a cran dats a slow d roll for slow airs! Good vid tho

[TenorSax123]

I believe that this guy is an expert on the skin flute, but I think it's a stretch to say he's an expert on the Irish flute. You'd think an outfit that calls itself "Expert Village" could dig up someone better than this!

[beatboxhero]

i'd like to call into question the application of the word "expert."

[antumusica]

please... can you no talk and play...

[natruto]

thank you for sharing, good stuff! do you have any videos on how to play the smaller flute?

[viraghpeter]

To fourtogomusic: The holes at the end are "venting" holes, and they are not meant to be fingered. Their purpose is to make the lowest two or three notes sound more like the higher notes, or in other words to make the tone of the instrument more consistent.

[fourtogomusic]

I just got one of these for x-mas. I have a traditional one with no keys, just holes. It also has 2 extra holes at the very end. What's the difference between the two?? And what are those exta holes at the end for?? My fingers obviously can't reach them. Can someone help me out?

[eoceannabhain]

If you have keys, you can get a low Csharp and low Cnatural by pressing the key with your little finger.not all flutes have them and they're quite difficult to get the hang of...Lots of people don't bother with them cos they're not entirely necessary, good with some fiddle tunes though.

[valvetrom]

How come Seamus Tansey plays his flute the other way, right to left? You stick more to the classical style.

[mickbeater]

Easy explaination.Seamus Tansey is left handed.

[valvetrom]

Still a classic flute you cannot turn to left, His flute has keys , so some clever instrument maker must have made it. And on my classic flute the left hand has lots and difficult things to do, same an clarinet. to be a left hander would be an advantage. Mysteries.

[mickbeater]

not a mystery. His mother had a guy make him that flute. He got it when he was 11 or 12 years old. Its not a classical flute. Trad flute with keys thats all.

[mickbeater]

sorry a little correction. his mother bought it for him. the flute is a Rudal and Rose.

[deterdettol]

Problem is that Seamus Tansey sawed off the key blocks from his flute so he always play diatonically.

[gutlic]

To David!

- When you tap your fingers in order to play several G notes, aren't you just separating notes with your fingers instead of with your mouth?

I would hardly think of that as ornamentation!

I distinguish between "separation of notes" and "ornamentation".

"Ornamentation" (like in architecture or any other art) is something that we can take off or put back again, with out compromising the integrity of the piece. Would the melody work if you played one G instead of three?

[archangle555]

what wood made of that flute?

[Crazzykimgal]

What kind of flute is that?

[cool4kidz]

shouldnt he say instrument instead of ornament

[billythehobbit]

no, he's refering to the technique of the "cutting" and the "rolling" of the notes that make Irish music so cool. it's used in the same way on flutes, tin whistles, and the union pipes.

[profguy409]

The rolls, crans and cuts etc are referred to as "ornamentation" in irish music. They embellish the melody. So he refers to the cran as the ornament, not the flute as the instrument.

[cool4kidz]

thanks very much for explaining it

[HPluvrnoDOUBT]

i love your sound! very full and rich.

[bdcgm]

Very helpful! Not sure if I'll ever be able to achieve this sound on mandolin, but I'm going to try.....

[upkilt]

It's not a cran unless it's done quickly. Other than that, it's just successive cuts. The equivalent on a mandolin would just be a triplet on the D string.

[KRYPTONTEKKENMUFC]

My uncle, Desi Wilkinson is a musician, and he is in a group where he plays the flute. He is a music lecturer at Newcastle University.