Sorry!

I'm so failing you people!

But between finding a job, a place to live and all the things that it takes to do it, I really don't have time!

Still, today I played for a bit, trying to learn "Swallowtail Jig", I guess i'm just not ready yet for it. I've been without playing for a while, and so I guess I'll try something simpler to get the hang of it again.

Cheers to you, and until my next post...when it comes! :S

Life's changing

Hello!

With my life in a turmoil in the next month, I'll keep trying to post something now and then! I'm moving out and between finding a job, still working at the current one and find a place to live, and pack everything it's really hard to have time to whistle! Still I do it for a couple of minutes...

For today here it goes:

"The Irish Pub" by The High Kings

Enjoy! (I really got to run now!)

Cheers!

Post-weekend

Hello!

Today I had some news that are going to change my life starting in a month from now. I'll abandon my job and get a new one (still don't know where but that's another story).

One thing is for sure, I'll keep whistling, and if I am good enough at it I even have a couple of invitations to participate in some bands concerts already!

Let's see what the future holds, for now I am smiling. That's a good start don't you say?

Cheers!

Weekend

Hello fellow musicians and alike,

how was your day? Mine was just another one at work, and with barely time to whistle. I blew a couple of notes just to get the feeling while packing my Clarke D in my backpack.

This weekend I'll be out, and I don't intent to use the internet, so more news to come later on Sunday. I am expecting to have some news, that's for sure!

Wish you all a nice weekend, and a nice Friday too in your way there :P

Cheers good folks!

Video

Hello fellow whistlers!

I'm really out of time today, so the best I could do was a quick video of me playing Scarborough Fair in my Domnahl na Gruen Low D Whistle.

It's really far from flawless, I ran out of breath, you can hear squeaks, and it's rather plain with no ornamentation. But I played it with the heart, that has to count for something!

Here it is:

Bye bye for now, I'm in a hurry!

Cheers!

Damn videos

Hi all! How was your weekend?

Around here it's cold, rainy and windy...a perfect day to be at home, next to the fireplace!

So today I practised for about an hour and in the end, confident of my capacities tried to make a "Road to Lisdoonvarna" video...it was hell let loose!

I was playing it well enough, but as soon as I turn the camera on...really, it's squeaks, wrong notes, you name it! I had to quit. Maybe next time!

Hope you all have a nice week!

Cheers!

Road to Lisdoonvarna

Hello everyone!

So today I had a bit of time to play with my new (and old) Whistles.

First conclusion: I used to be a bad player, but now I'm really really bad at it! The whole time without whistling can really be heard.

And so...I tried to play Road to Lisdoonvarna, which I never really learned the last part of the tune anyway. I don't know why, but I just didn't.

I got some music sheet from the net, started following it and though "this is wrong, I don't remember it like this" and magic happened! The tune came to my mind (might as well as say fingers), and I could play it by heart. I learned the last part of the tune and now it is complete.

The only if in the story is that all those squeaks that shouldn't be there, now are again, and so I only have one choice: practise.

Anyway, I played until I ran out of breath (that's untrained too, and let me tell you that you can feel it!) which means I played for about an hour or so.

Even with the disappointment of being almost "back to the beginning", I enjoyed playing and in the end I guess that's the most important thing! Having fun and feel good after a tiring day at work.

Oh, you might have noticed that the banner changed, well probably that isn't the final one, but I'll keep tweaking the blog here and there when I have a bit of free time (and I'm not whistling)

That's all for now,

Cheers!

F-e-a-d-ó-g

Hellooooooo!

They are here! My Feadógs!!! I forgot about the time they took to get here, and fell instantly in love!

Love the more mellow sound of the brass one, but also the more refined sound of the nickel one. Unfortunately I don't have much time to play today, I just played parts of Road to Lisdoonvarna and Concerning Hobbits, but tomorow I really want to make it count and practise for about an hour or so with them. My fingers are still a bit stiff from the stop, but I'll try to regain my (little) knowledge to be able to play more tunes.

I'm thinking in:

- Road to Lisdoonvarna

- Swallowtail Jig

- Lord Mayo

- Scarborough Fair

- Gift of a Thistle

- The Irish Washerwoman

- Irish Drinking Song

not necessarily by this order.

And for the end of today's post, my newborn:

Cheers!

New blog, no new Feadog

Hello you all!

Today I have bad news and good news.

Starting with the bad ones: I'm not too happy with feadog.ie, I bought a couple of Whistles on the 27th of January and they still didn't arrive. That makes it 10 working days, which I think is much more than enough for a couple of Whistles to come from Ireland to Portugal.

First it took around 3 or 4 days for the order to be processed, and now it says it has been shipped...I'll wait until tomorrow for them to arrive before I contact them.

Now the good news, I'm going to make some visual modifications to the blog, nothing fancy, just a couple of things here and there.

Hope that I still have readers after all these blackouts. Not so sure if I deserve them!

Go on now, it's time for your daily practise, I might be doing the same in a couple of minutes.

Cheers!

DerElligh and a couple of Feadogs

Hello Whistlers!

While roaming around the C&F forum I found DerElligh, which was presented by Stefan (the Whistler off course!)

It's a German band with 5 members, they play Irish Folk and you definitely should check them out! Their site is www.derelligh.de and it's full of videos from their performances and info about the band. The only thing I have to say is that the site is only in German, maybe an English translation might be coming, surely the english speaking fans would apreciate.

As for more news, I'm waiting for my 2 Feadogs to arrive, one Brass D and one Nickel D. I still amaze myself that
one can get 2 instruments (not the best in the world for sure, but fully playable and with a nice sound) for less than 20€.
You know...I came from electric bass, just a set of strings would cost me more than that!!!

And that's all for now people of the Whistle!

Cheers!

10 days later...

Hi there everyone!

Here I am again, with nothing too new to say!

These last days I got a small cold, same as saying that no whistling around :(

I tried the Low D, but the amount of breath together with my goey nose...just doesn't work!

I've been checking on Ryan Duns videos again, to see where I am at, but lacking the time (and breath) to do it. Some days I just wish I could have a couple of weeks in the middle of nowhere, alone in a hut, with my whistles and no schedules whatsoever.

Hope someone still reads this...

Cheers!

Day 1...again!

Yes, today I'm officially going back to the Whistle!

I'll retake some online lessons, and check out some simple tunes until I can figure out where I am at right now!

I hope to be able to post some videos of me playing in a couple of weeks, but that's something that depends on my skill :P (I can always make people laugh by "pretending" I'm playing bad) Hehehehe

I'm thrilled to get back to it, I missed the little bastard!

Cheers to you, and have a nice whistling weekend!

Side note: the visitor counter crashed, I guess it was about 600 unique visitors (IP's) but not really sure, so I'm still unsure as to put another counter or just forget about it. If you want to bother just give your opinion ;)

3 months later...

Helloooooo people of the Whistle!

I'm trully sorry for my absence, life's a mess and for the last 3 months I hardly touched the Whistle (except for one or two incursions :P )

I really hope to get back to it until the end of January, and start learning (almost) everything again.

Cheers to you good people,