Introduction to Ornamentation
Source: www.greylarsen.com
Topic: Musical Notation
Sort Desciption: Introduction to Ornamentation. Traditional Irish music is a living aural tradition, ... words and in music notation. I hope that my innovations with the ...
Content Inside: 111 Introduction to Ornamentation Traditional Irish music is a living aural tradition, one that is continually evolving. Styles and techniques of orna- mentation among Irish flute and whistle players are very diverse. It would be a mistake to think that anyone can reduce them to a uniform catalog of rules. In your exploration and study of ornamentation, and during the development of your own personal ornamentation style, it is essential that you do a great deal of listening to excellent players, in person when possible. Establish this habit early. This book will allow you to better understand what you hear and see in their playing. I find that the closer I look at the details of ornamentation in my own playing, and in the playing of people who have styles different from my own, the more I realize that there are subtle differences in many aspects of ornamentation and articulation that happily coexist within the living Irish tradition. This stylistic diversity is part of what makes Irish music so vital. Yet there is a common ground amid the diversity, and that is where one should start one’s study. A full understanding of the art of ornamentation, and the development of one’s own ornamentation style, requires years of playing and attentive listening. After about 30 such years I have formed some clear opinions on how best to think of and execute the building blocks of Irish flute and whistle ornamentation, as well as its more complex structures. In this book I take quite a bit of time and care to present all of these as clearly and comprehensively as I can, for this is an area where the available teach- ing materials have proven inadequate and where there is a great need for completeness and clarity. A BOVE A LL , AN A URAL T RADITION Traditional Irish music has always been passed along and learned by ear. It is therefore understandable that no clear consensus has emerged on how to conceptualize ornamentation techniques so that they can be clearly co ...
ornamentation