South African tin whistle

 

 It was a Thursday evening while cleaning up the dishes that I  recently heard a recording on  KBCS 91.3 here in New York City.  I was  listening to the tin whistle present itself like I have never heard before.  It was Spokes Mashiyane, tin whistle player from South Africa playing a tune called, Kwela Kong.  Have a listen for yourself here:

  It is  street music, called Kwela. This word, Kwela is taken from the Zulu language, meaning to "get up."  So, you would "get up" to dance in the local bars, or "shebeens," which were similar to the American speakeasies during the prohibition era.  The origins of this style comes from "township music," a genre of music created by musicians residing in government housing during the Apartheid in South Africa during the 1950's.
     Kwela music has an instrumental leader: the tin whistle.  This was of real interest to me.  I never came across whistle music, except in Ireland, Scotland, and the  Celtic regions of Spain and France.  Apparently, whistles of all kinds were traditionally played in the northern areas of South Africa. The whistles were also economical and easy to travel with, but more importantly, they served as a strong solo instrument (and gee, isn't that the truth).  These traditional melodies thus translated into this Kwela style, with it's footwork heavy in American jazz swing forms supported by a three chord progression: C-F-C-G7.

    


(This clip above shows Willard Cele from the 1951 movie, The Magic Garden.)   

Polkas are great and user friendly

Today I leave you with a simple tune called, Britches Full of Stitches.  I challenge you note readers to skip the notes today and just listen, or " hum along" to the tune several times before picking up the whistle.  As with honing any skill, I promise that it does get easier to learn these tunes by ear.  You just need to dive in and start.

dancing in Donegal

Mazurkas are a dance, in particular, a round dance done by four couples. This 3/4 dance form originated in the Mazovia region of Poland and arrived to Britain by the early 1800s. Now, you will hear this dance-form mostly in Donegal, where it is more commonly found being played at sessions amongst fiddle players.


 Just click here for the written version: Sonny's




Lastly, I wanted to share this video of the great Donegal fiddler, Vincent Campbell playing Sonny's  at a local session.  Lovely stuff indeed.

The Baltimore Salute Reel

Let's kick off the fall season with a reel composed by the great Josie McDermott. After one take in my walk- in closet, I think we have some finer recordings, thanks to my husband, Jarad Astin. Here are the notes: The Baltimore Salute

East of the Hebrides

Here is a tune composed by button-accordion virtuoso John Whelan, called East of the Hebrides.  This tune sounds best kept at a comfortable tempo, as it is a hornpipe. Here is the manuscript: East of the Hebrides

Bucket List #1

    Well, I have officially started my bucket list.  I love being a musician, but I equally love to sail.  That being said, I came across an event that I refuse to miss the next time Ms. Opportunity knocks her little fist on my  head. 
       Every four years, some of the world's finest racing sailors circumnavigate 39,000 nautical miles in the Volvo Ocean Race.   This June 30th, they will be ending their epic race in Galway City and I will be on board my 22' O'Day in Barnstabe, Massachusetts.  Not a shabby trade off, I admit.

      
Photo courtesy of Tanya Bokat photography

dust off those Cds

It's amazing what you find if you do alittle light housekeeping, especially while organizing that LP and CD collection. I came across an Ossian recording, "Totally Traditional Tin Whistles" featuring an array of accomplished musicians playing the heck out of this modest little instrument. I started listening to track 16 which features Fintan Vallely playing two double jigs, Sixpenny Money and Paidin O' Raftery. Ossian released this recording but I don't have the slightest idea when they did it. So here is the jig, Sixpenny Money, played slightly slower than the recording for your learning pleasure. It is a lovely whistle tune, even for those who are reluctant to smile at you when you walk into a session armored with a whistle.

Here is the manuscript:

Sixpenny Money