🎻 I've been giving myself musical brain teasers

Hi Reader!

First, I just want to say that there are some really awesome people reading this newsletter (yes, you)! I brought up the topic of allyship and how similar themes show up in the Irish fiddle world that help us use these skills across many different areas of life in last week's newsletter, and the responses I received over the week have been so encouraging to see that many of you are doing the work as well!

I start most days with a cup of coffee and a cat or two plastered to my lap. It's usually Rose, but this morning Bewley also established himself unconcernedly against my leg smack on top of the logic puzzle I was working on -- he got a cute pass for that one.

It's certainly been a week for puzzles and brain games!

One of my friends at our weekly Wednesday session is getting work done on his usual set of uilleann pipes which are tuned to D, so he's been bringing his C set of pipes to the session but just using a D chanter instead (since most of the tunes we play are in D, G and A scales).

If all of that was entirely too much nerd speak, welcome to what I put up with on an average Wednesday evening... 😆

In all honesty, it's fun to learn about the different instruments at our session! We happen to be pipe-heavy, so I hear a lot about reeds, floss, humidity levels etc.

With the C pipes, you can use a C chanter (the part that plays the melody) or you can detach it and use a differently tuned chanter (in this case D). You just can't use the C drones with a D chanter -- or you could if you wanted to make some really spooky sounding music!

There are a few tunes that are written in C and F in Irish traditional music, many of which I love! They are fewer and further between though than D and G, so my friend has mostly been taking tunes he already knows in D and G and just playing them down a step when he uses the C pipes.

Just for fun the past couple of weeks while his other set is in limbo, we've been having some fun trying a few sets that he'll start in C instead of D!

For pipers, it's easy because it's the same finger patterns that you'd use on a D chanter. For guitarists, it's easy because you have a capo.

For fiddlers, not so much...! But we like a challenge!

So in the mornings I'm logic puzzling, then troubleshooting the tech world for my customer support job, then working with 1:1 students in the afternoon, and at long last doing a brain game in the evening of transposing tunes I normally play in D down to C and tunes I normally play in G down to F. #casual

You could tune the fiddle down, certainly, and I know people who do! Personally with my classical background, I like to pull out some of those scale patterns that haven't seen as much use since I made the full switch over to Irish traditional music.

Our weekly Wednesday session is what drew me to the area and helped me realize that I wanted to move here and be a part of this community more regularly. I knew that I could learn a lot from the musicians here and keep growing my own understanding and skills.

If you have one of those sessions near you, amazing! If not, come to Detroit! 😉

Most nights there are at least several sets of tunes I don't know yet, and we don't really have a set list of tunes that we play every week. Maybe a few regulars that we return to, but nothing set in stone. I love that because it means I get to practice listening, recognizing intervals, and trying new tunes in the moment after a couple of listens through.

Then you get nights like this past Wednesday where you get to take the brain challenges a step further and play a tune you know in a key you're less familiar with playing it in. It changes the character of the tune and unlocks a whole new layer! The C pipes are especially mellow, and are a bit like a meditative buzz -- so even though it's a bit of an active process to transpose the tune, you can really sink into a relaxed state while playing C tunes.

Your version of this doesn't have to be transposing a tune you already know. It could be discovering a new jig ornament and looking for ways to add it into your tunes.

It could be playing two tunes that start similarly back to back and challenging yourself to pinpoint the spot of the tune where they head off in different directions.

It could even be putting on the headphones and playing along to your favorite recording of your favorite tune!

But let it be fun. 😊

Weekly Tune Library Update

There's a new tutorial up in the library for The Rambling Pitchfork under jigs! This is a sweet and fairly straightforward jig that's a nice one to add to your "D jig list". I don't hear it all that often, though it is fairly well-known, so in my opinion it makes for great session material (not overplayed but there's a good chance you won't be the only one playing it).

Next week I'll be adding The High Drive to our reels! I associate this tune more with Scottish than Irish music, but am a sucker for a good A reel -- and this one definitely qualifies!

I've joined the Tune Supply Teaching Roster!

Caitlin Warbelow has put together an incredible online learning platform ever since the pandemic, and I'm so thrilled to be teaching my first ever workshop through Tune Supply on Sunday December 13th!

There are a bunch of amazing fiddle workshops, so while I hope you'll sign up for mine (I need 15 students minimum signed up in order for the workshop to run), please do check out some of the others that speak to you as well!

My session is open to all melody instruments and we'll be working on using familiar phrasing patterns to help make memorizing and learning tunes by ear go more smoothly (i.e. If you know Rakish Paddy and Spike Island Lassies, you're well set up to master The Bank of Ireland).

Workshops are recorded, so you can register and receive the video afterwards even if you can't attend in person. The cost is "Pay What It's Worth To You" so all can attend. (But they can't run the program if most people only pay a dollar...so please support at the level you're able.) Check out the full class listing here!

Last bit of news for the week -- there's a new episode up on Find Your Lilt! I had the great pleasure of sitting down to chat with Katie Grennan of Reverie Road + The Bow Tides. Katie is such a warm soul, and it was so nice to get to hear more of her story and dig into all kinds of topics (ie being a beginner at secondary instruments, tailoring tunes to support dancers better etc).

Katie is also on the Tune Supply teaching lineup for the first batch of workshops (hers is Tuesday Nov 10th), so if you find yourself wanting to play for dancers and working on the different speeds needed, definitely sign up for her class!

Happy practicing and puzzling this week!

~Hannah