Comments

ABC's?????

ABC's?????

Hey,
Could someone please explain to me what this means?
(I don't know how to read ABC's)

|:G3 GAB| A3 ABd|edd gdd|edB dBA|
GAG GAB|ABA ABd|edd gdd|BAF G3:|
B2B d2d|ege dBA|B2B dBG|ABA AGA|
BAB d^cd|ege dBd|gfg aga| bgg g3:|

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by reaghan

Re: ABC's?????

That's one of the most well-known Irish jigs.

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by slainte

Re: ABC's?????

Hey reaghan

ABC notation is explained really well here.
http://www.lesession.co.uk/abc/abc_notation.htm#intro

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by joesmith

Re: ABC's?????

OWKA the Kesh

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by benhall.1

Re: ABC's?????

The leader of the Kesh was named Owka.

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by joesmith

Re: ABC's?????

Going up ~ middle C D E F G A B c d e f g a b c' d' ~ etc. and if you want the basement and lower levels below middle C B, A, G, ~

Middle C you say, what the hell is that and what is middle about it? Well, you know the dots, standard notation. Well, between the treble clef, the usual thing with us, and the bass clef, right square in the middle between the two is Middle C, or the line below the standard 5-line staff, the treble one...

Laitch has given you an excellent link, but don't believe everything he says... ;-)

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by ceolachan

Re: ABC's?????

A question of time ~ 6/8 jig time standard lengths, as for the example given above:

G = quaver = 1/8th note
G2 = crotchet = 1/4 note (=2/8)
G3 = dotted crotchet / 1/4 note (=3/8)

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by ceolachan

"The Kesh Jig"

Also known as The Castle, Kerrigan's, Kesh, The Kesh Mountain, The Kincora, Salty Dog.
Key signature: G Major
Submitted on May 25th 2001 by Jeremy.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/55

K: Gmaj
|: G3 GAB | A3 ABd | edd gdd | edB dBA |
GAG GAB | ABA ABd | edd gdd | BAF G3 :|
|: B2 B d2 d | ege dBA | B2 B dBG | ABA AGA |
BAB d^cd | ege dBd | gfg aga | bgg g3 :|

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by ceolachan

Re: ABC's?????

Accidentals happen before the note they modify ~
Sharp #, in this case ^c (c#)
Natural is the equal sign or =
Flat is flat, not b but this _

This and the rest you'll find at the end of Laitch's link... Folks are very helpful here if you've any other questions about ABC, or want a tune sorted out... It is a great form of notation that predates the computer and is handy, as you can write out several tunes on a beer coaster. And if you only need a bar or two of memory, the numbers grow...

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by ceolachan

Re: ABC's?????

You can get a lot of beer coasters per bar too.

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by joesmith

Re: ABC's?????

and many cant sight read abc format either(including me), I use it to arrange tunes though. Its brilliant for typing out tunes from a soundbyte or your head.

# Posted on January 5th 2007 by Joze

Re: ABC's?????

Middle C: slap-bang in the middle of the singing range of the human voice - a good bass singer can go 2 octaves below that C, and a good soprano or treble can go 2 octaves (or more) above it.

Middle C is also in the middle of the standard piano keyboard. Which reminds me of a story about a young child who started having piano lessons from a piano teacher. After a few months of lessons the child was put in for her Grade 1 piano exam, and in due course the teacher took her to the examiner's studio for the test. The little girl played through the pieces she had learned and also a couple of scales. The examiner then stopped her and called in the teacher.

"I'm very sorry, Miss Taylor," he said, "but I can't possibly give little Twyla a pass mark. She seems to know her pieces confidently enough but the notes she plays are all wrong, and her scales, frankly, are a mess."

Miss Taylor was surprised, then went over to the studio piano and looked at it.

"Ah," she said, "I see the problem. The lock's in the wrong place."

"The lock's in the wrong place ...?"

"Yes. I always tell my pupils to find middle C by counting 1 note up from the keyboard lid lock. On this piano the lock is 2 notes down from middle C."

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by lazyhound

Re: ABC's?????

(In a singing voice), " I AM C, MIDDLE C, LEFT HAND, RIGHT HAND, MIDDLE C. Played with alternate right hand,left hand thumbs . . my very first piano lesson.

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by Justintime

Re: ABC's?????

Just had an autistic thought . . correct me if i'm wrong, but is the piano just about the only instrument that you use your thumbs in order to play it ?

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by Justintime

Re: ABC's?????

sitar, fiddle, guitar (wrapped round chords as well as just to grip and, of course the plectrum) accordions and concertinas, counterpoise against the weight of the fingers for wind instruments, holding drumsticks correctly, trombone slides (I think), hurdy gurdy ... hmmm ...

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by benhall.1

Re: ABC's?????

I think I like this ~ :-) ~ stuck in the middle again!!!

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by ceolachan

Re: ABC's?????

Alright benhall.1 ~ now what about the feet? Or is that verging on pedorhythm again?

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by ceolachan

Re: ABC's?????

Isn't that podorhythm? I though pedorhythm was forcing your children to play the bodhrán.

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by MTGuru

Re: ABC's?????

Not a lot of instruments played with the feet ...

... although, of course, that's the only appropriate way to play the viola! :-)

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by benhall.1

Re: ABC's?????

... or the bodhran, come to that ...

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by benhall.1

Re: ABC's?????

... or shakey eggs, most banjos, almost all the world's mandolins, bouzoukis, definitely guitars (at least in sessions), nasty screechy G tin whistles, all of those awful electronic tuners that never seem to work (judging by the results) ...

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by benhall.1

Re: ABC's?????

Why are you ripping on mandolins?

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by crazy_fingerz

Re: ABC's?????

Much easier to learn the tune than all this. Looks incredibly scientific. How can you have a half note? Do you only half play it or what? Would that mean you were playing half a tune?

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by bodhran bliss

Re: ABC's?????

hey G tin whistles sound really cool at 3 am with a drum.

ok does anyone know how to write ties and slurs with navigator?

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by Joze

Re: ABC's?????

Yes, Joze, I need to know how to do that as well. I've put the brackets in, but the slurs don't come out ... answers PLEA-EA-EA-EA-SE ...

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by benhall.1

Re: ABC's?????

ok now you are pulling my chain, I found the answer eventually by looking through what I had - the hyphen is the navigator alternative to the bracket. so pl-ea-ea-ea-se is the answer.

# Posted on January 8th 2007 by Joze

Re: ABC's?????

Now if you want an African sound for your whistle playing, shove the head into one cheek, at an angle of about 45 degrees, but not completely blocking the windway of course ~ then test it until you get a really raspy sound ~ and that's it, your in Africa and have just irritated the hell out of a nest of spitting cobras...

# Posted on January 8th 2007 by ceolachan

Re: ABC's?????

Yes, Joze, but the hyphen doesn't work for all slurs. I can't remember which ones now, but there are some that just won't work - I think sometimes if you put an ornament in between, for instance ... Then again, you don't seem to be able to slur over several notes at once, which you should be able to do with brackets. Hmmm ...

# Posted on January 8th 2007 by benhall.1

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