Steve Wyrick wrote:
This is interesting. I'm classically trained but pretty much
self-taught in
Irish & Scottish fiddling. I've always played this ornament up-down-up
but
recently have been making an effort to learn the reverse, for pretty
much
the same reasons you listed above. I didn't realize the CB fiddlers
played
this ornament down-up-down, but now I understand why I was having
trouble
with certain tunes I've encountered! I'm curious though, does anyone
know
WHY the CB players play the birl this way, and not the reverse?
Tradition,
or is there some technical reason?
It is more "natural" to play a down bow on the beat and the birl is
always on the beat if you consider reels are in 4/4; if you think of
them as in 2/4 they are on the beat or follow two eight notes which
again results in a down bow to begin the birl if the measure began with
a down bow. Many tunes begin and end with a birl. Most people have
difficulty with executing the birl and having acquired the skill to do
it down-up-down don't feel a great need to learn it the other way. They
simply slur two notes when necessary to "right the bow" to get a down
motion for the birl. I can understand your difficulty in playing
up-down-up birls all or most of the time because I suspect that many
composers were down-up-down only players and therefor composed tunes
which catered to that method of execution and were unaware of the
difficulty of doing it the other way.
I hope this is helpful.
Alexander
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