Ask the experts - Irish tin whistle
Meet St Annes sisters Roisin and Niamh Boadle, and learn how to play or Irish tin whistle in five short minutes.
Welcome to Ask the Experts, where you can learn how to do just about anything local people can demonstrate in a short film on lep.co.uk.
Experts for our third instalment, Riosin and Niamh Boadle, 19 and 13 respectively, have played the tin whistle from an early age.
Both girls play with the Preston Comhaltas (Irish Musicians Association) and took part in the recent Fleadh or Irish music festival, held in Preston.
With our dad coming from Ireland, traditional music was around us from an early age. My sister, Niamh, and I started Irish dancing when we were very young.
At 9, I picked up a tin whistle and taught myself for a while, then had lessons from the Preston branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann. I became the tutor myself after a few years, even teaching my sister. We have both learnt to play other traditional instruments, such as the bodhrn (Irish drum) and fiddle (violin).
More recently, I've moved on to the unkeyed wooden flute and Niamh has developed her guitar-playing and singing.
We've both represented Britain at All-Ireland Fleadhs in Clonmel and Letterkenny (near where my grandparents lived in Donegal). This year we're off to Tullamore, County Offaly, as Niamh has qualified for the Singing and Lilting Competitions.
She will also be taking part in the music classes held by Comhaltas during the week before the Fleadh - which is the place to learn from the experts in traditional Irish music.
Myself, I'm going for the sessions! There'll be a great gathering of musicians from Ireland, Britain, USA and beyond, playing in pubs till all hours, sharing tunes and drinking Guinness.
Traditional music is very much a living culture in Ireland with an estimated crowd of 200,000 turning out for the Fleadh weekend. Amidst all this craic, the actual competitions are a very sober and serious affair.
I enjoy Irish music because it's very informal and welcoming. Musicians tend to play for the simple joy of playing, rather than for self-promotion, but there is a lot of respect for good players.
There's always new tunes to learn and new ways of playing old tunes.
Comhaltas has spread Irish music around the world and next year, as part of my physics degree, I'm planning to study in Melbourne, Australia where I know there is a lively Irish music scene to join in with.
To watch the video, click on the gren video icon above right.
AND: Next week's 'expert', Preston Toni & Guy managing director Joanne Leigh shows how to make your hair look fabulous with little fuss!
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Email: josie.hill@lep.co.uk or Call 01772 838104
Or write to: Josie Hill, Lancashire Evening Post Ltd, Oliver's Place, Fulwood, Preston, PR2 9ZA
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Weather for Preston
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 14 C to 19 C
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