Saturday, April 16, 2011

MUSIC 101: Introduction to the Tabor Pipe

WEEK 1

Activities:
  • With great excitement I received my new Tabor Pipe last week. I immediately unpacked it and gave one of the three pipes a quick blow. So wonderful to have it in my possession. I ordered three, because my friend Henrik (who is already a whistle blower) will be helping me learn the pipe and I figured I'd give him one in thanks.
  • I also transposed "twinkle twinkle little star" to the music sheets I created for my learning, this was a great help to get used to the holing as I learn to read music. I hope soon I will no longer need the sheet with the holing indicated and I can just read the music.
  • I spent a fair bit of time learning the piece and I can now play it from memory. I really enjoyed sitting on the beach a few days back and spend a good hour playing the tune.


Recording:
At the end of the week I recorded "twinkle twinkle little star"; yes, I've got a long way to go to be considered a master of the instrument. Consider this the base line to my ability to play the whistle... a recording of where I started.




Reflection:
I learned much this week; about music, about being a whistle blower and about my simple recording studio. My main lessons were;
  1. No matter how hard you try, your instrument has to be in the correct key for the song to sound right.
  2. Overblowing as a way to have all the notes from a three hole pipe is going to be part of the challenge.
  3. Need to remember / study music notation sooner than later.
  4. Writing out the sheet music is also a good learning activity.
  5. Spending time working with the music studio will pay huge dividends, and I'm best to start with audacity as my recording software and move to ableton when I I want more full music studio features. This is mostly due to the learning curve of ableton.
If your an adult learner who has ever aspired to learn a musical instrument; be bold, begin it now. If you don't believe you have the talent I suggest you read; Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin.

Cumulative commitment: 10.5 hours
  • 3 hours playing
  • 1 hour reading
  • 0.5 hour transcribing to sheet music