Bodhrán CD
Rom
Tutorial - Frank Torpey
One CD ROM - no accompanying written material
Purchased from from Mad For Trad €39 (£27 /
$47.50 approx)
Published 2001
MFT007 Mad For Trad Ltd
No catalogue reference but my version has a backward barcode
(?)
Images courtesy MadForTrad
This
review assumes that players are right-handed - left handed players should
reverse any references.
The package
A single CD-ROM presented in a clear jewel
case.
The back cover of the case gives the chapter details plus some details on Frank
Torpey and Mad for Trad. The liner notes consist of technical specs and
instructions, the inside of the liner is blank. The CD is professionally on-body
printed in 3 colours. A neat professional package.
Lesson delivery method
This CD-ROM tutorial is HTML based, i.e. it is constructed like a website,
the CD automatically opens to the introduction page and subsequent pages lead
off that. The tutorial is broken into beginners and advanced sections which in
turn are broken down into bite size component parts. Each pattern is illustrated
with an MPEG1 video.
Using the Tutorial
The second line of the written introduction reads "If you don't read music you can learn how to in the ‘Reading Music’
section" - those words are enough to strike fear into the hearts of budding
bodhráni everywhere. Several years ago before I learned to read even such simple
scores I would have avoided anything which required any kind of reading skills.
Being a little braver and better skilled now, I do have to say that it is not
necessary to read music
to learn from this tutorial, however an ability to do so will greatly enhance
your learning experience and the speed of your progress.
The tutorial takes the form of a structured path through the basic
introduction to the bodhrán starting with basic jig and reel patterns. The Kerry
style is the only one employed in this tutorial.
Starting with playing simple quarter notes, each pattern or variation
is discussed and displayed in musical notation.
There is a 'view video' button beside each pattern which will open a
new webpage containing a quick
time
movie (Still frame left) where Frank demonstrates the pattern being played. As
you move through the sections you will see a small inset window showing Frank's
left hand movements. Being able to see both hands in sync is an excellent
learning feature. At the end of each page past the basic introduction Frank
demonstrates the patterns on that page while accompanied by his sister Marie on
fiddle.
The CD is split into 4 sections
-
About
- Beginner
- Introduction to Jigs
- Introduction to Reels
- Reels
with ornamentation, including introduction to triplets & use of the left
hand (4 pages)
- Jigs
with ornamentation Including triplets and left hand instruction (2 pages)
- Advanced
- Advanced Reels 1(5 pages) - motor rhythms, triplets, tone shifting,
rolls
- Advanced Jigs 1 - Syncopation
- Advanced Jigs 2 (3 pages) accents, tone bending and
ornamentation
- Advanced reels 2 (3 pages) accents, tone bending and
ornamentation
- Tutor - Section on Frank Torpey - A selection of 1-2
minute video clips taken from an interview with Frank. The titles are perhaps a
little 'contrived' and I'd probably have preferred to have watched the whole
interview.
- Getting
Started
- Memories of Learning
- Did it
come naturally?
- Early
influences
- Most
important
- Playing
Career
- 1 piece
of advice
- Common
Mistakes
- Performance - Excellent 3 minute solo by Frank
So,
what did I think?
As a
tutorial, this covers all the bases to get you started and well-down the road to
competence although more advanced players may find it not going far enough. I
find Frank's style of (narrative) tutorial to be very accessible, certainly his
introduction to holding the drum and preparing to play will be very useful for
beginning players and there are also useful wee thoughts in the introductory
sections for those of us with a year or two of playing under our
belts.
Coming
from the University College in Cork, the 'Mad For Trad' series was always going
to have an element of formal written notation, I understand that it's impossible
to avoid, however my experience of most beginner players of any instrument is
that they will rarely have experience of reading notation, finding it a scary
barrier rather than an assistance.
If
learning from notation, the act of viewing the score as well as hearing the
pattern to me is a must. At first I found not being able to see the score and
the video at the same time a mild irritation, but I knew what was going on so it
wasn't too much of a pain. As I progressed toward (for me) more advanced
patterns I found this separation very frustrating. AFAIK it is fairly
straightforward to embed Quicktime
movies in a webpage and that would make a big difference for me and I'm sure
others, even an MP3 available to play the pattern as the reader follows the
score would be most useful. Perhaps if the patterns could be reproduced on the
blank inner liner. This is offered as constructive feedback to what I view as my
main difficulty with the resource
While
Frank prescribes rhythms for you to follow in the tutorial I would take these
really as good examples and practise demonstrating the myriad voices of the
instrument. I have come away from using the tutorial with many ideas and several
clear areas of my playing that I see as needing attention. For me the CD
achieved its desired aim.
Value
for money
In my
opinion the Cd represents just Ok value for money but is pushing the threshold
for me given that there are only 26 HTML pages, there is no supplementary
documentation and it has the the video-on-a-separate-page annoying thing. I
can't help compare this product to other recently reviewed media (non-bodhrán, book-based 6 cds) and
its either telling me that this is expensive or the other is cheap. Whilst I
understand about the technological differences between the media and the costs
of production etc I feel that the proper value to me as a consumer would be less
than the price paid. Of course if you compare this to a series of personal
lessons then it is very cheap.
Am I
glad I bought it?
Yes!
Would
I recommend it?
Yes if
you are a beginning or progressing player. If you are already an accomplished
player you may find some useful tips tricks and ideas but I suspect its
usefulness could be limited for you.
I'm
obviously a progressing player then :)
Nice one
Frank!
Reviewed by Paul Marshall (December 2003)
About Frank Torpey (Copied from the CD )
Frank
Torpey began his studies in the Music Department at University College Cork as a
banjo
player. He subsequently, on hearing Mel Mercier, became interested in
developments in bodhrán playing and chose the bodhrán as his first instrument.
In 1991 Frank was a founding member of the highly successful traditional music
group Nomos and he co-produced their two acclaimed albums for Grapevine
Records.
Frank's
innovative bodhrán style has gained him widespread recognition throughout the
traditional music
world.
He has played with Riverdance, Michéal Ó Súilleabháin, Luka Bloom and the
Brendan Power Band. He has recorded with Alan Stivell and Mel Mercier, with
Donal Lunny and Michéal Ó Súilleabháin on their 'River of Sound' composition for
the T.V. series and CD, and on the T.V. series Sult. Frank co-produced the debut
album by Cork band North Cregg (Best Newcomers of the Year, 2000: Irish Music
Magazine).
Frank became the Bodhrán
tutor at U.C.C. in 1992 and has since taught on the Masters Degree in
Traditional Music Performance at the University of Limerick, and at the Summer
School 'Blas', also held on that campus. Frank has taught bodhrán across the
United States, in Australia, Germany, Austria, France, Scotland, and England.
Trackback(0)
 |