Before and After (Hard Criticism)

[Mike Buesseler]

Well, I'm nothing if not a glutton for punishment. I said I'd try again, after all that brutal criticism I received

So, here is my latest attempt at Connaughtman's Rambles. Kind of an abrupt opening and ending...my ineptitude at recording. But, how's the rest? Hmm?

[Bernie Daniel]

Sounds good to me. What is your source for the tune and what kind of a mandolin are you picking on?

[Mike Buesseler]

I'm not exactly sure where I learned this version, but it's close to the one I was playing along with in the headphones, which is from a CD titled "Jiggle The Handle." The mandolin is the same one I used on the other attempt, my Labraid (Brian Dean) L & H Deluxe 2pt Semi-bowl, #55.

[Steve Jeter]

Ill second the "sounds good"

[Tavy]

It's good, and certainly a lot quicker than I could play something like that(!), but if this was me I would:

Slow it down a little, concentrate on getting more expression and feeling into the tune, then try and figure out how to make it "swing" a little more.

Hope you find this useful, John.

[Mike Buesseler]

Thanks for the input! Personally, I like it slowed down some. Tough to get much expression into it when you are going about as fast as you can. I was playing along with a recording at that tempo. I hoped that might inspire the necessary energy and swing. Guess not. This was fun and instructive for me. Thanks so much for taking the time to listen and comment.

[Bernie Daniel]

Pull it up on the Amazing Slowdowner (if you have it) and then adjust the speed. That is what I usually do.

[Susan H.]

Mike, that sounded good to me too. You're way too hard on yourself! Keep on playing.

[Mike Buesseler]

Thank you SO much, Susan, but I wasn't really thinking about quitting playing

If it's not being too much of a ham, maybe I'll try one more take; slower and with more expression....maybe.

[Weagle]

Sounded good to me. Made my evening.

Weagle

[Mike Buesseler]

Sounded good to me. Made my evening.

WOW! That is a HECK of a compliment! (I don't get many like that.) Thank you very much.

I do love that tune, and I'm working on a more expressive version, slowed down a little with Audacity (FREE!).

[Barbara Shultz]

I've got this tune in a flute tune book. Here's the notation for something very similar to how I play it:

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/19

The sessions.org is a great source for tunes!

Barb

[Mike Buesseler]

That version is very close to the recorded version I'm currently working on, Barb. I get to love this tune more and more the more I work on it. I've found several quite slow recordings that are just beautiful. I love a tune that sounds great either fast or slow.

Interestingly, though, I haven't heard much traditional Irish ornamentation in any of the versions. I wonder why that is? Something about this one (and certain other tunes) that discourages them, or what?

[whistler]

It's got good, solid rhythm, a nice easy pace and all the notes are clear.

If it's hard criticism you want, well, it's hard to find much. But, if anything, the accents on the downbeats seem a touch heavy to me, and the notes that follow (notes 2 & 3 in each group of 3) occasionally sound a fraction rushed. By easing up a little on the downbeat and taking your time over the other notes, you should be able to develop a lighter, more relaxed and 'bouncy' feel. Although your pace is good, you might like to try slowing it down a bit for practice purposes.

Other than that, as Susan H. says, keep on playing. If we ever meet, I'd love to share a tune with you.

[whistler]

"...I haven't heard much traditional Irish ornamentation in any of the versions. I wonder why that is? Something about this one (and certain other tunes) that discourages them, or what?"

There's always room for ornamentation. But sometimes it might involve changing or dropping a few notes of the tune. Looking at the version on thesession.org, it's very 'notey' - there are not many pauses, so it's not that obvious where to put ornaments. Taking the first bar as an example:

FAA dAA (as written)

could be played

(3FFF A dAA
FAA (3ddd A
F (3AAA d2A
F2A (3ded A ....etc.

They're all things that I might sometimes do with it. But don't listen to me - there are people far better qualified to advise you on such things.

[Mike Buesseler]

If we ever meet, I'd love to share a tune with you.

There's another fine compliment! This is one TOUGH place, I must say!

Seriously, thanks for the input! I never thought this exercise would motivate me as much as it has. This is such a great resource!

[whistler]

Mike - Listening to your recording again, I notice that the place where the rhythm goes slightly awry, as I described above
(

the notes that follow (notes 2 & 3 in each group of 3) occasionally sound a fraction rushed.

)
is in the 1st, 3rd and 5th bars of the B-part, where you have the stretch from F# to B on the E-string. You are probably finding that the jumps take up a little more time to execute than the tune allows, so when you hit the top Bs, you have to rush them a little to fit them in without losing time. So it might be worth just practising this passage repeatedly for a while, to get it flowing more smoothly, aiming to keep your index finger on the B for as long as possible (at least until your little finger has reached the B).

Also, you can sometimes miss out one of the Bs, giving your left hand a bit of a break, whilst also adding a bit of variation to the tune.

[danb]

I'd suggest working on a little more beat emphasis or swing. The 1 and 4 should be slightly longer than the 23 and 56 pairs. The other suggestion I'd make is to let the notes ring out a bit more and it will take on more of the smell of turf. Good playing!

[Mike Buesseler]

I'm not sure I've thanked you fine people enough for all this great input. I expected a very few replies, maybe some suggestions. It takes TIME to listen like you apparently have, and none of us has anything more valuable than time.

This has been very helpful--or at least I've gotten some insights. I'm working on every suggestion here. I'm not sure I can improve all that much, but at least I know what to work ON.

Thank you all so very much for your expertise and generosity (and compliments!).

[whistler]

...aiming to keep your index finger on the B for as long as possible...

Sorry Mike - That should have read 'aiming to keep your index finger on the F# for as long as possible'. (If you were trying to play the high B with your index, you'd be running into serious trouble.)

[Mike Buesseler]

No problem, Whistler. I got it. No hard criticism on your hard criticism.

[Mike Buesseler]

Well, I don't know if anyone is still paying attention here, or is interested in my progress. Regardless, here is what I think is an entirely different interpretation of Connaughtman's Ramble. It's much slower, should expose any timing errors, but I hope has more 'expressiveness.' Oh, I incorporated as many hammer-ons and pull-offs as I can effectively play. I wouldn't do this in a session...but this ain't no session!

Hit me again!

[Tavy]

Well, I don't know if anyone is still paying attention here, or is interested in my progress. Regardless, here is what I think is an entirely different interpretation of Connaughtman's Ramble. It's much slower, should expose any timing errors, but I hope has more 'expressiveness.' Oh, I incorporated as many hammer-ons and pull-offs as I can effectively play. I wouldn't do this in a session...but this ain't no session!

Hit me again!

It's sweet!

John.

[whistler]

Lovely, Mike. Keep doing that! It sounds much smoother, more flowing and swingy than your previous example. Playing at that sort of speed also gives you the time to give due attention to each note and explore melodic variations, ornamentation, variations in accent etc. Being able to play faster will come naturally with time, as all those things start to become second nature.

Going on the difference between those two recordings, you sound like a fast learner.

[Mike Buesseler]

Going on the difference between those two recordings, you sound like a fast learner.

Hey, let's not get carried away, Whistler! I'll be 61 in March....been playing off and on for years and years. Nothing I ever learned came what I would call fast....

Still, the great suggestions and advice I got here certainly got me working on some specific things I must have been overlooking. Very helpful, at least in giving me motivation to try something different.