Crans
Crans are tough, yet impressive ornamentation, reserved for lower notes, mostly D on the D tin whistle.
They should be played instead of a low D roll, which is pretty difficult to do
Crans are a loan from the uilleann piping tradition, and basically consist of a series or wave of cuts. The wave analogy is probably the best way to remember it. The longer the series, the more impressive the cran, but in practical terms, it's difficult to achieve anything more than about three cuts on a cran.
The simplest D cran sequence is: D (F) D (E) D. This is where you'd cut to F using the lower middle finger, then back to D, and then cut to E using the lower index finger, then drop it back to end up on D.
The next D cran sequence would be D (G) D (F) D (E) D. In practical terms, this is where you'd cut to G using the lower index finger, then back to D, then cut to F using the lower middle finger, then back to D, and then cut to E using the lower index finger, then drop it back to end up on D.
The golden rule of crans is if you can't do it as quick as a reel, use a shorter sequence. You can practice them as much as you like, but if they're to sound natural in a tune, they need to be as quick and smooth as a reel. Hence, the best thing is to do is to learn the shortest sequence first, perfect it, then work up.
The next D cran sequence would be D (A) D (G) D (F) D (E) D. In practical terms, this is where you'd cut to A using the upper ring finger, then back to D, then cut to G using the lower index finger, then back to D, then cut to F using the lower middle finger, then back to D, and then cut to E using the lower index finger, then drop it back to end up on D.
A variant of the above would be to cut out the F cut, which can be difficult to achieve naturally. It's probably an easier, if less pure cran than the second D cran sequence.
Again, remember the golden rule of crans.
If you're feeling like you've got it down, you could theoretically add B and C cuts to it by adding in cuts with the top middle finger and top index finger. But there's very few players who could achieve this and make it sound natural and as quick as a reel at the same time.
They should be played instead of a low D roll, which is pretty difficult to do
Crans are a loan from the uilleann piping tradition, and basically consist of a series or wave of cuts. The wave analogy is probably the best way to remember it. The longer the series, the more impressive the cran, but in practical terms, it's difficult to achieve anything more than about three cuts on a cran.
The simplest D cran sequence is: D (F) D (E) D. This is where you'd cut to F using the lower middle finger, then back to D, and then cut to E using the lower index finger, then drop it back to end up on D.
The next D cran sequence would be D (G) D (F) D (E) D. In practical terms, this is where you'd cut to G using the lower index finger, then back to D, then cut to F using the lower middle finger, then back to D, and then cut to E using the lower index finger, then drop it back to end up on D.
The golden rule of crans is if you can't do it as quick as a reel, use a shorter sequence. You can practice them as much as you like, but if they're to sound natural in a tune, they need to be as quick and smooth as a reel. Hence, the best thing is to do is to learn the shortest sequence first, perfect it, then work up.
The next D cran sequence would be D (A) D (G) D (F) D (E) D. In practical terms, this is where you'd cut to A using the upper ring finger, then back to D, then cut to G using the lower index finger, then back to D, then cut to F using the lower middle finger, then back to D, and then cut to E using the lower index finger, then drop it back to end up on D.
A variant of the above would be to cut out the F cut, which can be difficult to achieve naturally. It's probably an easier, if less pure cran than the second D cran sequence.
Again, remember the golden rule of crans.
If you're feeling like you've got it down, you could theoretically add B and C cuts to it by adding in cuts with the top middle finger and top index finger. But there's very few players who could achieve this and make it sound natural and as quick as a reel at the same time.