11.09.05
Posted in Flute Lessons Reviews at 6:00 am by Administrator
Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle with CD (Audio)
Author: Grey Larsen
Click Here for more information
Superb, Incredibly ComprehensiveAs a classically trained flute and recorder player, I’ve dabbled with irish music and the odd ‘penny’ whistle. But somehow it never quite sounded right. Now I know why! This book is outstanding, and should have been called ‘The Complete Comprehensive Guide’. It covers all aspects of practicing and playing irish music on the flute and whistle, as well as a history of the music and comprehensive notes and transcriptions of tunes from the masters like Matt Molloy.
The section on ornamentation (the ‘twiddly bits’) covers 160 pages and is frankly astonishing. Every possible type of musical embellishment is detailed with examples, careful description and exercises, all accompanied by demonstrations on the accompanying CD. The CDs are a good example of the thought and attention to detail - some tracks contain a metronome to help you maintain the ‘pulse’. This has been recorded on one stero channel whilst the flute plays in the other so you can adjust the balance between the two as you wish when practicing!
I paid £35 for this book in a London folk music shop and it was worth every penny. I have hardly put down my whistle since buying it. I can not recommend it highly enough for anyone serious about playing irish flute of whistle music.
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Posted in Flute Lessons Reviews at 6:00 am by Administrator
Simple Flutes: A Guide to Flute Making and Playing, or How to Make and Play a Flute of Bamboo, Wood, Clay, Metal, PVC Plastic, or Anything Else
Author: Mark Shepard
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Simply Great!Summary: Practical, informative and fun!
If, like me you have ever felt an urge to play the flute, but never never felt you could justify spending several hundred pounds on a ‘real’ one; this is the book for you!
The Authur provides all the information necessary for you to make your own flutes from cheap and readily available materials.
The book also contains invaluable information and help on the techniques required to blow your first note, and the fingerings you need to be able to play a scale.
Detailed instructions are provided to make the ‘plumbers Pipe’, which is very simply constructed from plastic tubing, which is readily available from any D.I.Y. store. I made my First ‘Plumbers Pipe’ in less than two hours, and played my first notes within minutes of finishing It!
In conclusion: the book is well laid out, easily understood and the authors freindly, lighthearted style makes reading it a pleasure.
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Posted in Flute Lessons Reviews at 6:00 am by Administrator
The Flute Book: A Complete Guide for Students and Performers
Author: Nancy Toff
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Thoroughly interesting and helpful book for flutistsAs a competent musician but a newcomer to the flute world, I was shocked to find the amount of snobbery and mystique that surrounds the flute, both of which discourage the new flutist. This book avoids this completely. Every bit of advice offered by the book is useful and helpful with exactly the right balance between musical, historical, technical and mechanical content. The book takes you from choosing a flute, how the flute is made, how it works, how to hold it, how to blow it, how to practice, right through to details like how to give recitals. There are few diagrams but I found this no disadvantage because the text is clear and unambiguous. An excellent book for people like myself who are already musicians and who want to get up to speed quickly on a new instrument. I also thoroughly recommend the book to beginners and intermediary players, and advanced players may well find the book very interesting as well. Probably not suitable for children due to the number of words, but this should not deter adults because the book is well written and is a quick and easy read. Even as a softback it is excellent value. Since the content is good, I would have preferred to have bought a hardback version (if available).
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