Hello forum

As you may have deduced, I'm still in Northern Ireland

Tonight, I went to play in a traditional Ulster flute band.

If you look across most of the UK, you'll find that the popularity of the clarinet over the flute is about 50:50, give or take a bit.

Not in Ulster.

Oh no.

In Ulster, the flute is seriously big news. Many, many more people play the flute than the clarinet, and there are loads and loads of flute bands across the length and breadth of the province.

These flute bands march, and also compete (in much the same way as brass bands do), playing set pieces and suchlike. And they take their fluting very seriously!

Anyway, I turned up at the Castlegore Flute Band with Andy-piano-flute and her lovely family, tuned up (found that I had to pull out a country mile!!!!), and set to work on the set piece, which was by Flotow.

It had a lot of double tonguing. And I mean a lot...

So what do you do. That's right. Double tonguing practice. In sections. Of about two people. That blows the cobwebs out...

The conductor does work you hard!!!!

So once I'd mastered the double tonguing bit, and playing the slower sections without turning the colour of the sky on a sunny day, it was onto the marches.

Lots of marches. One after the other. Very fast. And occasionally with music of the 'guess the blobs' variety. Adrenaline level = off the scale

But I and the apf crew negotiated said marches OK.

If you're a flautist of an OK-ish standard and you get the chance to experience an Ulster flute band, do take the chance, it was so much fun, and I would like to thank the guys and girls in the Castlegore Flute Band for making me feel so welcome tonight.

Hope they have me back next summer...

Glad you enjoyed your first NI flute band experience Barry. I used to play in one a very looooooooong time ago!

Sounds great fun BArry, Glad you enjoyed yourself.
Bev.

Sounds fantastic.

And yes - our local windband seems to like to give the flutes those damn "guess the blobs" games where they're all at least 4 lines above the stave!!

Hi Barry! Good to hear you're having fun.

Interesting to read the above sentence - I had a look at the Edexcel report on this year's music A-level and noted that for the A2 recital 9% of candidates chose flute and 5% chose clarinet. I'd assumed this was an accurate reflection of young people reaching grade 7 or above, so took it that flute was quite a bit more popular than clarinet these days. Not necessarily the case, but it's hard to get any numbers on who learns what.

Here's another reason to ask the ABRSM for a breakdown of grades by instrument - I'd love to know how many learn each instrument and where people drop out of the grades.

Sounds like you had fun Barry!

Are we to look forward to a marching band style forum event

It was fab!

Taken by surprise every time the drums started up for each march, but I guess I'd get used to that...

Yes Barry, noticed a little hop off your seat everytime they started, very glad to have you with us for an evening, and if you ever want to experience playing on the road with a flute band you only have to ask

Hey!! He's our Barry!! Hands off!!

Maybe you could come to a forum event and give a demonstration. The only marching band I've ever seen live is an American style one and I can't remember if they had instruments or not.

Count me in for next yr Barry it sounds great. If you really want to do some marching though, our TA band is desperate for flautists! You get paid for it and its in London!

Thank you!!!!!

Who remembers this old thread?...

Well, next month, I'm going back!

Hope they treat me gently...

I hope they don't

Perhaps next year, we should all invade the flute band and you can find out what it's like...

I'm not sure, you've made it sound quite scary

It's great and the conductor (CastlegoreAFB, who posted on the thread just above) is very, very good, and thoroughly lovely

OK...it's tomorrow...and my double tonguing can best be described as. 'pants', with a capital 'P'...

You'll be fine.

Hope you have a lovely time.

Have fun

You know you'll love it!

Have a great time!

Have fun, and good luck!

Thanks everyone!

I've seen the music now. It contains triple tonguing!...

Barry, all I can say is good luck!

Use my technique.... sit next to someone who can do it.

Thanks for the advice : think it might've worked!

Again, a thoroughly enjoyable session. Played a load of marches, and a selection of John Williams pieces. Nasty John Williams for putting all that triple tonguing in!

Didn't jump at the drums this year...

Thanks to CastlegoreAFB, all the members of the band and to Andy-piano-flute and family : it was great. Roll on August '10!

Sounds like you had a great time! Glad you enjoyed it and lived to tell the tale

Sounds like excellent advice!

And I'm really good at it... ask Barry.
The problem is it doesn't work in lessons...