A friend who plays the accordion is searching for tunes in the key of C. She is putting together a set list for a contra dance, and wants to add some jigs, preferebly in the key of C. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Thanks,
Stacy
Any jig in D can be dropped a tone to play in C if you want. There is a useful tool to do that on the net at: http://www.8ung.at/abctransposer/
Good luck
If you can find a copy of Frank Harding's "All Around Collection of Jigs, Reels, and Country Dances" (NY 1905) you would have lots of C tunes. That, along with Ryan's Mammoth Collection (what I grew up calling "Coles 1000 Fiddle Tunes"), was a major source for New England fiddlers' repertoires in the early 20th century.
Also, some of the Cape Breton collections ought to have some good tunes.
Donough has a good point.
I recently saw a documatary (on TG4) about concertina player Kitty Hayes and she did always (almost) play tunes in the key of c (only the middle row of C/G concertina). On the documentary she played well known jigs as saddle the pony, Willie Colemans+++ wich is more often played in other keys
I enjoy playing my concertina along the C row, too. Reeds sound much sweeter and mellow a step down from D, and where anyone got the idea to tune up to that high D is beyond my understanding. (violins at concert pitch? boxes?)
I found it relatively easy, coming from the concertina, to transpose tunes along the inside row when I got my B/C box. Play anything, really. Which tunes does she like in other keys? Some may be trickier to transpose than others, she might have to get creative. Also I found that when you take the chromatic feel out of the tune by going along the row, some tunes can be downright exhausting and/or annoying to play. Atholl Highlanders is a good example of that. It's fun on some instruments and tendon-aching drudgery on others. But if she's playing for dancers then it won't be *too* fast, less of an ache that way.
Theres a beautiful Paddy Fahey jig in C. There was also a nice one submitted a few days ago, Tra na mBan ('The Women's Beach'?), composed by Liz Kane.
But, as Donough says, any tune can be transposed into C. On a B/C box, I imagine this would present little problem. On piano accordion, it's the most straightforward key. On fiddle, mandolin etc. (sorry for going off topic), most D tunes transposed down a tone fall quite easily under the fingers (although, on banjo and other longer-scale instruments, there may be some awkward stretches). I also love to hear how it changes the character of the tune. I urge all string players to learn to transpose spontaneously - the rewards are enourmous.
Anglo players shouldn't forget that there are a host of tunes written in F without a Bb, which run fine up the C row, but often access the lower notes below Low C.
Good to practise and I also like the sound of the lower tunings.
I've just been leaning The Robin's Nest, which is a C jig, from Johnny B. Connolly's first CD, Bridgetown. I'm not sure how close it is to what's posted here though.
And there are jigs in the key of G that can be played with just the C row. Blarney Pilgrim comes to mind right away. And other key of G jigs that can be played on the C row with just a little cheating to avoid the F# that isn't available to you. The Old Favorite, for example, can be played if you play G, G instead of G, F# in the B part--wouldn't sound good playing with others, but alone, it could work. And it is one of those nice tunes that you can pretty much keep your fingers on the same keys for the whole tune.
jigs in C
jigs in C
A friend who plays the accordion is searching for tunes in the key of C. She is putting together a set list for a contra dance, and wants to add some jigs, preferebly in the key of C. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Thanks,
Stacy
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by stacyrose
Re: jigs in C
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1065
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by Janek
Re: jigs in C
Any jig in D can be dropped a tone to play in C if you want. There is a useful tool to do that on the net at:
http://www.8ung.at/abctransposer/
Good luck
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by Donough
Re: jigs in C
If you can find a copy of Frank Harding's "All Around Collection of Jigs, Reels, and Country Dances" (NY 1905) you would have lots of C tunes. That, along with Ryan's Mammoth Collection (what I grew up calling "Coles 1000 Fiddle Tunes"), was a major source for New England fiddlers' repertoires in the early 20th century.
Also, some of the Cape Breton collections ought to have some good tunes.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by dwdeacon
Re: jigs in C
Donough has a good point.
I recently saw a documatary (on TG4) about concertina player Kitty Hayes and she did always (almost) play tunes in the key of c (only the middle row of C/G concertina). On the documentary she played well known jigs as saddle the pony, Willie Colemans+++ wich is more often played in other keys
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by TradLad
Re: jigs in C
I enjoy playing my concertina along the C row, too. Reeds sound much sweeter and mellow a step down from D, and where anyone got the idea to tune up to that high D is beyond my understanding. (violins at concert pitch? boxes?)
I found it relatively easy, coming from the concertina, to transpose tunes along the inside row when I got my B/C box. Play anything, really. Which tunes does she like in other keys? Some may be trickier to transpose than others, she might have to get creative. Also I found that when you take the chromatic feel out of the tune by going along the row, some tunes can be downright exhausting and/or annoying to play. Atholl Highlanders is a good example of that. It's fun on some instruments and tendon-aching drudgery on others. But if she's playing for dancers then it won't be *too* fast, less of an ache that way.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by gravelwalks
Re: jigs in C
I like tuning the banjo down to C when I'm playing about.
Paddy O'Brien composition "The New House" is in C and is a really nice tune.
Lambert's (or Paddy Taylor's, same tune) jig was lilted by Seamus Fay in C so you'd get away with that, though it is more commonly played in D.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by 52Paddy
Re: jigs in C
Just go to the tunes section. Select Jigs in the drop-down and select C-major in the other drop-down. Hey Presto!
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by 52Paddy
Re: jigs in C
Theres a beautiful Paddy Fahey jig in C. There was also a nice one submitted a few days ago, Tra na mBan ('The Women's Beach'?), composed by Liz Kane.
But, as Donough says, any tune can be transposed into C. On a B/C box, I imagine this would present little problem. On piano accordion, it's the most straightforward key. On fiddle, mandolin etc. (sorry for going off topic), most D tunes transposed down a tone fall quite easily under the fingers (although, on banjo and other longer-scale instruments, there may be some awkward stretches). I also love to hear how it changes the character of the tune. I urge all string players to learn to transpose spontaneously - the rewards are enourmous.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: jigs in C
Anglo players shouldn't forget that there are a host of tunes written in F without a Bb, which run fine up the C row, but often access the lower notes below Low C.
Good to practise and I also like the sound of the lower tunings.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by geoffwright
Re: jigs in C
I've just been leaning The Robin's Nest, which is a C jig, from Johnny B. Connolly's first CD, Bridgetown. I'm not sure how close it is to what's posted here though.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by Keith Dubinsky
Re: jigs in C
The Hole in the Hedge is a good tune normally playedi in C.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by cathycook
Re: jigs in C
And there are jigs in the key of G that can be played with just the C row. Blarney Pilgrim comes to mind right away. And other key of G jigs that can be played on the C row with just a little cheating to avoid the F# that isn't available to you. The Old Favorite, for example, can be played if you play G, G instead of G, F# in the B part--wouldn't sound good playing with others, but alone, it could work. And it is one of those nice tunes that you can pretty much keep your fingers on the same keys for the whole tune.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by AlBrown