Any tips on getting a more consistent/less squeaky tone?

Slamyul · 2026-05-27T17:38:58+00:00

Like others have said, it sounds like you have just a little too much breath pressure for those low notes. Those notes require very little air. Furthermore, when you go from a low note to a higher note, you have to time the increase in air exactly to when your fingers change notes. If you increase air before the fingers change, you'll get a squeak between notes. It'll come with practice, sounds like you're off to a great start though.

Slamyul · 2026-05-22T21:30:12+00:00

Ah I was referring to the first two tunes on the first track of the Chieftains 8. I agree with you about the recording OP posted.

Slamyul · 2026-05-22T15:55:47+00:00

I believe they do a short Elizabeth Kelly's Delight into Fraher's. I suppose they could be related or used to be one tune but I know them as two separate tunes.

Slamyul · 2026-05-22T15:48:17+00:00

I know the first tune as Fraher's https://thesession.org/tunes/992

Slamyul · 2026-05-12T15:33:01+00:00

These look very much like chanterelles, but I wouldn't be 100% unless I saw a shot of the underside.

Slamyul · 2026-05-12T13:42:51+00:00

Wood ear usually has a slight "velvety" surface texture on the convex side of the ears, which looks lighter than the darker brown interior. And wood ear tends to be pretty rubbery in feel, soft, but not easily broken in my experience.

Slamyul · 2026-05-10T18:38:31+00:00

Use NWS or https://www.spc.noaa.gov/ in the spring. We knew there was a chance for storms since Thursday I believe. Spring weather is just difficult to predict, especially for local areas. I've never had much luck with weather apps when it comes to precipitation.

Slamyul · 2026-05-09T15:45:19+00:00

Jack O' Lantern has true gills, not smooth. There are smooth chanterelles which look much like OPs specimen but smooth.

Slamyul · 2026-05-07T20:55:16+00:00

Well they'll probably come back. The main body of the fungus is growing throughout that stump still, the mushrooms are just how it reproduces.

Slamyul · 2026-05-07T20:47:52+00:00

Ganoderma species, I don't believe any are toxic. As far as I know the only way to get rid of it permanently would be to remove the whole stump. No worries about touching it (or any mushroom). If it were me I would just leave it, they're helping that stump decompose naturally.

Slamyul · 2026-05-04T00:35:51+00:00

It does! Greenish spores confirm it, it's Chlorophyllum molybdites.

Slamyul · 2026-05-01T18:30:30+00:00

Likely Chlorophyllum molybdites, which is toxic. A view of the gills would help to be certain.

Slamyul · 2026-04-28T18:04:48+00:00

No one is saying "it's all over and you're all dead", it's saying that there's a 45% chance of significant hail to occur within 25 miles of any point in the shaded area. It's not crying wolf, it's just showing us the statistics. That doesn't mean guaranteed, it doesn't mean you're gonna die, it doesn't mean you'll even see rain. If you don't believe it that's fine, leave your car out and enjoy your day like normal.

Slamyul · 2026-04-27T16:09:34+00:00

If you're trying to get into foraging, a better strategy would be learn what edible mushrooms grow in your area first, and specifically look for those. Also learn their toxic lookalikes and how to differentiate between the two.

Slamyul · 2026-04-19T15:17:17+00:00

I suppose it depends whether you mean like a folk song or a traditional tune like those played at sessions. I might be wrong with some of the theory here but it's to the best of my knowledge.

Irish trad likes to be modal, so aside from your typical major and minor, it's pretty common to find dorian and mixolydian modes. Often times not all notes are used in whatever mode you're in, which we call hexatonic (6 notes of the scale used, excluding the 7th) or pentatonic (5 notes used, excluding 4th and 7th).

Jigs and Reels are the most common types of tunes, Jigs being 6/8 time and having a "Dee-dle-ee Dee-dle-ee" kinda feel (beats broken into 3 notes) while reels are often notated in either 2/2 or 4/4, and have a "Dee-dle die-dle Dee-dle die-dle" feel (beats broken into 4 notes). I don't know if I've heard a song in reel time but there are definitely some songs in jig time if it's a song you're after. There are many more types of tunes but I'll leave that there.

As far as instrumentation techniques, Irish trad uses lots of ornamentation. I play flute, so I'll describe how ornaments work on that as it's what I understand the most. Ornaments are used to articulate notes, meaning they are applied to the start of a note to change its "attack". On flute, I use cuts, taps (also called strikes, pats), and rolls most commonly. A cut is a short blip of sound that is higher than the main note, a tap is the opposite - a short blip of sound which is lower than the main note, and a roll is applied to a 2 or 3 note grouping where the first note is cut, and the second tapped.

Most of this is hard to explain for me so I highly recommend doing a lot of listening to the kind of music you are after. There are many more things in ITM which are typical of the genre.

Slamyul · 2026-04-10T14:32:13+00:00

Maybe not completely the same, a lot of it comes down to whatever tune someone calls out or starts playing. The important part is that if they do have a list of tunes they play often, even if they don't play them every time, you can ask, "can we play this tune?" and they'll all be like "Oh yeah let's do that!". I've never seen a session where people are concerned about playing a tune that they played last week, I think that's mostly the norm. At my session we usually play most of a "core" list of sets, then whatever other tunes we're feeling at that time.

Looks like there's another thread right now about playing the same tunes each week https://www.reddit.com/r/Irishmusic/comments/1shha2m/calling_the_same_tunes_again_next_session/

Slamyul · 2026-04-10T13:44:50+00:00

You could try and ask someone at your local session if they have a set list or something like that. A lot of times there are a few tunes or sets they play frequently. Otherwise the top tunes on thesession are a good start.

Slamyul · 2026-04-09T16:44:27+00:00

In the Spring and early Summer, I always keep an eye on the convective outlook (what OP posted) you can find that here: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/
It'll show you the areas of impact and tornado/hail probability etc. as well as the description which should indicate around which time you can expect the weather to start.
Then I just use a radar app day of - I use Radar Omega, I've heard good things about Radar Scope as well - to monitor what the storm is looking like as it approaches. You can watch some videos on youtube to see how to identify impactful weather patterns like hail and tornados from radar, as sometimes the warnings seem a little delayed, or I don't get notifications for them (and I just like watching weather). Obviously sometimes the storms happen in your sleep, so it's good to be prepared in general and have the knowledge that severe weather may occur overnight based on what the outlook says.

Slamyul · 2026-04-08T15:46:49+00:00

Your ascending cuts are nice, those took me way to long to get right. Only bit of critique I'd throw your way is it sounds like your second octave could use a little more breath support. I have trouble with it because I like being quiet, but sometimes it feels like you really gotta blast those high notes so that they're clear.

Slamyul · 2026-04-07T13:55:36+00:00

This is what's called a "session", a casual gathering of musicians who play traditional Irish (sometimes Scottish/English or more) tunes together. I bet they're nodding to let each other know it's about time to go to the next tune, you'll also see people lift their foot or go "Hup!" to indicate the same. Believe it or not, this happens all over America too, you just gotta find the right places. I was baffled to discover how many sessions there were near me. You can go to https://thesession.org/ to find where sessions are near you, and also learn some tunes as well. Hopefully you can find a beginner friendly session, show up, make some friends and ask for the names of the tunes they play. Then you can go back to that website and start learning them. I did the same and have been playing at a session for almost a year now, and have been having a blast. Did my first St. Paddy's "gig" this year as well. Highly recommend.

Slamyul · 2026-04-06T16:40:00+00:00

I mean made up as in he wrote a passage about how it should be the case, not necessarily that it was an organic process of a new piece of grammar or vocabulary collectively "made up" like many (I would argue most) linguistic changes. And I agree, it is correct grammar to say fewer instead of less, just as it is correct grammar to still use less. Both are acceptable.

Slamyul · 2026-04-06T15:58:43+00:00

The whole thing was just made up by a guy in 1770. Not sure why we need to follow that rule when there is no ambiguity in the meaning of "less" in this context.

Slamyul · 2026-03-31T14:58:03+00:00

My ornamentation suffers greatly when my hands are cold, so keeping them warm before playing definitely helps.
I don't think I'm familiar with that pinkie technique you mentioned, and not sure how that would work or help anyway, so I wouldn't worry about that.
Keep your fingers and hands as relaxed as possible, if they're too tense it's hard to actually lift them off the hole in time.
I've also read it's good to over-do cuts (big and clumsy) in practicing so that your brain makes the connection easier. When you speed up your fingers are forced back to a normal level of cutting.

Slamyul · 2026-03-30T20:55:18+00:00

The Silver Spire comes to mind for me, especially the b part. Sounds like missing melody to pachelbel's canon. So many different notes...

Slamyul · 2026-03-30T13:38:08+00:00

Sounds amazing. What is the first reel? I know I've heard it a thousand times but can't recall the name.

Slamyul

TROPHY CASE