I've finally figured out how to deal with the Concertina Reel when it comes up at our session. I play it like an old-timey hoedown, drones all over the place, sliding into notes, shuffle bowings, etc. Anything to make it sound like something from the Grand Ol' Opry.
The only other tune that gets under my skin is the Atholl Highlanders. I've always been lucky enough to have a full pint to swill when that tune comes up, and can pace the gulping to last just as long as the tune.
Oh, wait, sorry, the topic was "Tunes that do nothing for you". Ger the Rigger doesn't do *nothing* for me; it sends me into fits of blind rage. The Frost is All Over, on the other hand, does absolutely nothing for me. It comes up in a session, meh, whatever, I'll play it, but I won't actively seek it out. Which is how I feel about a lot of those skippy little D major jigs, come to think of it.
'The Wise Maid'.....apart from the fact that it's an awkward sod of a reel to play in the B/C format, it also conjures up pictures of all those strange people overacting for the camera while listening to Cooley playing it on UTube. Worst than that is 'The Soldier's Joy'.....not for me it isn't. Hated the tune for over fifty years.
Unfortunately, I don't wish to comment on this topic or "the other one"..the next thread.
It's something which has cropped up so often in the forum over the years...I've been guilty of starting such threads myself... but basically it's a list of tunes you don't like V those you do.
I do realise there's a lot of newcomers here and that's fair enough. It's natural that they should maybe tend to cover the same ground again.
However, I feel most of all the important topics have already been discussed here and this is probably a reason why I and many other old timers don't tend to contribute as much.
I don't know how we get around this but there's loads of really good information and knowledge here already. Perhaps, we should encourage newcomers and visitors to seek this out first... ?
llig - you are not a priest by any chance? I feel so guilty now. Go and do not sin again and may the phrases of the wise maid intertwine with your soul. Thank you that was lovely.
John, that's one of the most patronising bits of sh*te I've ever read. You are saying, "how dare you ask us, we know everything and our knowledge is publicly available. How dare you speak to us in person."
Sorry, it's late in the night. I realised as soon as I pressed the "send button" that I probably said the wrong thing.
Of course, Joseph has every right to ask such a question as I and many others have done in the past. I think my issue was more with the "nature of the system" here whereby just about every topic has been covered but it's not necessarily apparent to a newcomer or visitor.
There are two types of hackneyed tunes, those that are merely overplayed, and those that are fundamentally crap. It's up to the individual to sort which is which. And that goes to the very heart of the appreciation of it.
Try the hackneyed tunes, try them at a different pace, try them in a different key, try them anyhow how you want. But be very very careful before you dismiss them.
Before you dismiss any hackneyed tune, listen to Matt Molloy play Drowsie Maggie.
Wish everyone here was as gracious as you, Johannes, when they make a bit of a mistake
I'm listening to John Doyle's 'Wayward Son'. He's a good singer, but what's amazing is how he can make simple basic guitar strumming into something fresh and interesting to listen to.
"But the one I really don't like, that does nothing for me, is Morrison's."
I'd have to agree. For some reason I find several jigs in minor keys just don't have the same happy sound as most major jigs. They sound OK, I just don't really enjoy playing them as much as other tunes.
God - there is too many to mention, but the lists starts at St Annes and ends with The kesh, theres is a million in between, but we havent got all day.
John Ryan's Polka was played so often at the local session that I got tired of it. So I played John Ryan's in minor keys (d minor, g minor, and a minor) as a surprise for the other musicians. The bodhran player jokingly dubbed my minor key version of this polka as John Ryan's evil twin brother.
Have to say that the tunes that you don't like are sometimes down to how they sound on your instrument. I knew a fiddle player who would have happily had "the Old Road to Garry" reel stricken from the musical record completely. But I love it. But maybe that's a flute/whistle thing.
And definitely you cannot write off tunes that you've played a lot. There's much-played tunes and there are some bad tunes. Not the same thing. I've learned a lot of new tunes over the years, but I still play the first reel I ever learnt - the Teetotaller -and it's a good tune if you do it right.
Im gonna get slated for this but i genuinely despise The Gold Ring. That monotonous tune sends me straight to the toilet every time, even if i dont need to go. BORING.
Some of the later tunes mentioned, eg Pinch of Snuff, Gold Ring, even TFFH actually do quite a lot for me but I often find them quite frustrating in a session.
I often find that, wherever you go, they never seemed to be played the same twice. Whether it's a different setting, style, mood of the players on the night, or just "picked up wrong", the reasons can vary. However, I tend to find that the "perfectly acceptable version"(my words and opinion ) I've learned doesn't always match what's being played.
So, it's often more irritation than anything else.
Of course, someone will say "If you want to play with the big boys, you should be able to adapt". I agree and that already happens with all but the really simple (probably hackneyed) tunes. It's also part of the fun but sometimes it can be much more challenging than others.
Looks like one of the few advantages of being a beginner is not being sick of *anything* yet, even the ones people seem to be bemoaning as overplayed. And as I get better on my instrument, I discover more and more I can do with these tunes, keeping them fresh. I heard Soldiers Joy for the first time the other week - catchy little tune!
There are still tunes that just sound blah to me (Ace and Deuce of Pipering) or get on my nerves, but there's another advantage of being a beginner - I "haven't gotten around to learning that one".
Off to shetlands fiddle frenzy in 2 weeks & they hae those of us in the medium level group playing Da Auld Resting chair, which is about the most maudlin of all shetland tunes I can think of , no matter how I try, I get so bored playing this tune that I just cant put any feeling into it.
Soldiers joy, smashing wee tune, good for the fingers, as is Steven Spences tune Inga's Waltz, its like doing a great long batch of arpeggios but 8 times as fun.
Wise Maid and Concertina Reel are both great tunes, which is why they get played a lot. OK, too much, but that is a long way from saying they're no good. Kesh always gets a battering in these threads too, and though I admit it ain't A1, its plainness means you can do a lot with it - get all imaginative, like. Now I've tried and I've tried but I can't see the point of Da Slockit Light. And I'm sure that Carolan was having a serious off-day when he composed Fanny Power. And that downhill run at the end of Drowsy Maggie is the kiss of death to the tune (that plus the fact that most people round here miss loads of notes out of the A part, mainly because they think they have to play it at the speed of light).
I agree, Nicholas. The young bucks (or does) on fiddle, some of whom are worth a second glance it has to be said, tend to play a lot of A minor tunes, which can be a pain. Makes me feel all gloomy and in need of another pint of Doom. So not all bad then.
Scottish and Border pipe fast stuff that lurches continually from A Major to G Major and back. It's one of the ways to use the limited scale, sure, but I find that a little of that type of tune goes a long way.
Jimmy Allen's - I find it bland and tedious, though we in the NE can ill afford to slag our better-known tunes. If JA was as good as was made out, surely he could have left something with more of a spark. Perhaps he did - Salmon Tails Up The Water has been attributed to him, though this I imagine is beyond the reach of proof.
Nicholas, Musical Priest isn't one of my favorites because it's a bit tricky on an uilleann chanter. Jimmy Allen's is very popular with the wild west reennactment crowd in these parts. Until I read your post, I hadn't known where it was from. Is it of nineteenth century vintage? Try to think of the noise of it being played on an a broken down, honly-tonk piano. Then condemn it.
Atahualpa - I hadn't known Jimmy Allen's was big in Wild West re-enactment circles, and a honky-tonk may indeed liven it up!
Jimmy Allen lived approximately between 1740 and 1812. He grew up in the Coquet valley not far from Rothbury in Northumberland, and went on to lead a picaresque and rather villainous existence as a roaming piper. He is credited along with others as a creator of Northumbrian pipes with a range greater than the single octave they played originally; this development seems to have been round 1800, and Jimmy Allen's - going up to top a and thus exceeding the octave - may be of similar date. Unless, that is, he worked it out on the fiddle.
A lot of people from the North-East of England emigrated to the New World at one time or another. The Gold Rushes in the USA and Canada notably attracted men with a mining background.
So many of my favourites have been jumped upon that I don't know where to look.
- the musical priest goes nowhere (!) this has one of the finest set of lifts between parts of any well known reels. And it is a "single" so there isn't much time to "go nowhere"
- the battering ram, with its hypnotic percussive 1st & 3rd parts with the elusive slippery 2nd inbetween
-Jimmy Allen ? is that the reel I know as "the Tinker's Wife"? (which does have another name something like JA). Hopefully not.
Of course others listed I'd agree with. Sometimes the tune cannot be associated from the source or history it has for each player. In the past I have tended to think *gawd no* when the Gold Ring came up. But I know that was because a self indulgent (and not very good) piper used to insist on playing it every week in the full knowlege that very few would join in. It was the element of "performance" that bugged me.
Other tunes are objectively, undeniably crap and yet always surprise me by cheering me up in a particular context. E.g. "the Britches Full of Stitches". It isn't a tune, who'd play it? It appears in the middle of a set whenever we play the occasional ceili, and everytime I remember how much I enjoy playing that little non-tune at a ceili dance. Partly the thought that many of the dancers will be musos thinking "I can't believe they're playing 'the Stitches'". But it lifts my spirits everytime.
Having destroyed all credibility I'll sign off with:
- harvest home (my pet hate, triplet runs fossilised into stone like a set piece of, er stoney fossily stuff)
-belfast hornpipe (similar, don't mind it so much on whistle)
(For a while now I've thought I may have a go at not directly responding to discussions, just posting links to where it's all been discussed before. I bet you could keep it up for weeks)
>(For a while now I've thought I may have a go at not directly >responding to discussions, just posting links to where it's all >been discussed before. I bet you could keep it up for >weeks
Thanks nicholas. We got a fair number of pianos from England too, by way of Cape Horn. Many were carted out to the deserts to be installed in saloons. Some are still there. The ones I've seen were pemanently retired, and had been replaced by reproductions that were given a calculated wonkyness.
Tunes that do nothing for you
Tunes that do nothing for you
I just wonder, what are some tunes that seem bland, lifeless, boring, etc. to you? What tunes really just do nothing for you?
For me, ones I can readily think of are the concertina reel, and dan the cobbler.
# Posted on July 11th 2008 by JosephofCK
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
John Leary's Slide. Learned it from the Kevin Burke videos. Can't stand it. I hate that bippity-boppity sound.
# Posted on July 11th 2008 by Marklar
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Perhaps we can subtitle this one "What tunes do you speed up because you're fed up with them?"
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/18401
# Posted on July 11th 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
I've finally figured out how to deal with the Concertina Reel when it comes up at our session. I play it like an old-timey hoedown, drones all over the place, sliding into notes, shuffle bowings, etc. Anything to make it sound like something from the Grand Ol' Opry.
The only other tune that gets under my skin is the Atholl Highlanders. I've always been lucky enough to have a full pint to swill when that tune comes up, and can pace the gulping to last just as long as the tune.
# Posted on July 11th 2008 by Will CPT
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Ick, I can see what you mean on John Leary's... It's no wonder the composer called it "If I had a wife"
# Posted on July 11th 2008 by JosephofCK
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Ger the Rigger. It's absolutely appalling. Five monkeys sitting at five fiddles for FIVE MINUTES could have come up with that sh!t.
# Posted on July 11th 2008 by Tall, Dark, and Mysterious
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Oh, wait, sorry, the topic was "Tunes that do nothing for you". Ger the Rigger doesn't do *nothing* for me; it sends me into fits of blind rage. The Frost is All Over, on the other hand, does absolutely nothing for me. It comes up in a session, meh, whatever, I'll play it, but I won't actively seek it out. Which is how I feel about a lot of those skippy little D major jigs, come to think of it.
# Posted on July 11th 2008 by Tall, Dark, and Mysterious
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Pretty much every march I've ever come across.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by SineadE
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
O'Keefe's slide. It's horrible!
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Bothrops
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Father Kelly's Reel and the Jig of Slurs.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Unseen122
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Oh, no, Unseen, Father Kelly's is my favorite! But the one I really don't like, that does nothing for me, is Morrison's.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Greg the Piano Tuner
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
'The Wise Maid'.....apart from the fact that it's an awkward sod of a reel to play in the B/C format, it also conjures up pictures of all those strange people overacting for the camera while listening to Cooley playing it on UTube. Worst than that is 'The Soldier's Joy'.....not for me it isn't. Hated the tune for over fifty years.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Free Reed
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
The Wise Maid is a classic brilliant tune. Try playing it a quarter speed. Listen to how the phrases intertwine. Re-discover it, it's lovely.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Unfortunately, I don't wish to comment on this topic or "the other one"..the next thread.
It's something which has cropped up so often in the forum over the years...I've been guilty of starting such threads myself... but basically it's a list of tunes you don't like V those you do.
I do realise there's a lot of newcomers here and that's fair enough. It's natural that they should maybe tend to cover the same ground again.
However, I feel most of all the important topics have already been discussed here and this is probably a reason why I and many other old timers don't tend to contribute as much.
I don't know how we get around this but there's loads of really good information and knowledge here already. Perhaps, we should encourage newcomers and visitors to seek this out first... ?
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Johannes J
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
llig - you are not a priest by any chance? I feel so guilty now. Go and do not sin again and may the phrases of the wise maid intertwine with your soul. Thank you that was lovely.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Free Reed
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
John, that's one of the most patronising bits of sh*te I've ever read. You are saying, "how dare you ask us, we know everything and our knowledge is publicly available. How dare you speak to us in person."
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
You ever had a teacher that did that?
"Why you little...I've taught the same stuff to the previous three years of classes, I'm not doing it again, go pound sand."
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Sorry, it's late in the night. I realised as soon as I pressed the "send button" that I probably said the wrong thing.
Of course, Joseph has every right to ask such a question as I and many others have done in the past. I think my issue was more with the "nature of the system" here whereby just about every topic has been covered but it's not necessarily apparent to a newcomer or visitor.
Please forgive me, Joseph.
Here's a similar thread I started
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/3531/comments
where I mention some of my "non favourites".
However, on a general level, tunes like Tam Linn, Tongadale etc tend to fall into this category. All of these very repetitive pieces...
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Johannes J
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
There are two types of hackneyed tunes, those that are merely overplayed, and those that are fundamentally crap. It's up to the individual to sort which is which. And that goes to the very heart of the appreciation of it.
Try the hackneyed tunes, try them at a different pace, try them in a different key, try them anyhow how you want. But be very very careful before you dismiss them.
Before you dismiss any hackneyed tune, listen to Matt Molloy play Drowsie Maggie.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Wish everyone here was as gracious as you, Johannes, when they make a bit of a mistake
I'm listening to John Doyle's 'Wayward Son'. He's a good singer, but what's amazing is how he can make simple basic guitar strumming into something fresh and interesting to listen to.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by wolfbird
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
"But the one I really don't like, that does nothing for me, is Morrison's."
I'd have to agree. For some reason I find several jigs in minor keys just don't have the same happy sound as most major jigs. They sound OK, I just don't really enjoy playing them as much as other tunes.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by CleverName
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
God - there is too many to mention, but the lists starts at St Annes and ends with The kesh, theres is a million in between, but we havent got all day.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by bb
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
I'm gonna have to go with the Concertina Reel.
and....
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
by The Righteous Brothers
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Ray Mariani
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
John Ryan's Polka was played so often at the local session that I got tired of it. So I played John Ryan's in minor keys (d minor, g minor, and a minor) as a surprise for the other musicians. The bodhran player jokingly dubbed my minor key version of this polka as John Ryan's evil twin brother.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by fauxcelt
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Also, there used to be mandolin player who showed up occasionally who would play Soldier's Joy in minor keys.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by fauxcelt
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Have to say that the tunes that you don't like are sometimes down to how they sound on your instrument. I knew a fiddle player who would have happily had "the Old Road to Garry" reel stricken from the musical record completely. But I love it. But maybe that's a flute/whistle thing.
And definitely you cannot write off tunes that you've played a lot. There's much-played tunes and there are some bad tunes. Not the same thing. I've learned a lot of new tunes over the years, but I still play the first reel I ever learnt - the Teetotaller -and it's a good tune if you do it right.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by oxcart
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
I'm a big fan of changing keys myself. I love taking a simple tune in G and bring it to F and A. Or from D to C.
The Rose in the Heather, Behind the Haystack and Miss Monaghan all work lovely in C.
John McHugh's, Mason's Apron and Cregg's Pipes are nice in F.
That's just a start.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by PaddyCmusic
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Im gonna get slated for this but i genuinely despise The Gold Ring. That monotonous tune sends me straight to the toilet every time, even if i dont need to go. BORING.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Newty
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Can't get on with The Pinch of Snuff. It just goes on and on and on.....
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by mehere
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Can't get on with Music for a Found Harmonium. It just goes on and on and on.....
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Henk Bos
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Ah, the next day. Feeling better now.
Some of the later tunes mentioned, eg Pinch of Snuff, Gold Ring, even TFFH actually do quite a lot for me but I often find them quite frustrating in a session.
I often find that, wherever you go, they never seemed to be played the same twice. Whether it's a different setting, style, mood of the players on the night, or just "picked up wrong", the reasons can vary. However, I tend to find that the "perfectly acceptable version"(my words and opinion
) I've learned doesn't always match what's being played.
So, it's often more irritation than anything else.
Of course, someone will say "If you want to play with the big boys, you should be able to adapt". I agree and that already happens with all but the really simple (probably hackneyed) tunes. It's also part of the fun but sometimes it can be much more challenging than others.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Johannes J
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
I think O'Keefe's slide is a lovely tune that is often played in an unflattering manner.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by reenactor
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Looks like one of the few advantages of being a beginner is not being sick of *anything* yet, even the ones people seem to be bemoaning as overplayed. And as I get better on my instrument, I discover more and more I can do with these tunes, keeping them fresh. I heard Soldiers Joy for the first time the other week - catchy little tune!
There are still tunes that just sound blah to me (Ace and Deuce of Pipering) or get on my nerves, but there's another advantage of being a beginner - I "haven't gotten around to learning that one".
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by fliedermaus
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Off to shetlands fiddle frenzy in 2 weeks & they hae those of us in the medium level group playing Da Auld Resting chair, which is about the most maudlin of all shetland tunes I can think of , no matter how I try, I get so bored playing this tune that I just cant put any feeling into it.
Soldiers joy, smashing wee tune, good for the fingers, as is Steven Spences tune Inga's Waltz, its like doing a great long batch of arpeggios but 8 times as fun.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Wabbit
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Wise Maid and Concertina Reel are both great tunes, which is why they get played a lot. OK, too much, but that is a long way from saying they're no good. Kesh always gets a battering in these threads too, and though I admit it ain't A1, its plainness means you can do a lot with it - get all imaginative, like. Now I've tried and I've tried but I can't see the point of Da Slockit Light. And I'm sure that Carolan was having a serious off-day when he composed Fanny Power. And that downhill run at the end of Drowsy Maggie is the kiss of death to the tune (that plus the fact that most people round here miss loads of notes out of the A part, mainly because they think they have to play it at the speed of light).
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Steve Shaw
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Da Auld Resting Chair lends itself to a nice bit of harmonising though. Nowt wrong with a bit of sentimental old slush every now and then!
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Steve Shaw
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
I can't stand all those tunes I"m not able to play... what a whole bunch of sh*te they are...
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by de Selby
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
I Don't Want Her, You Can Have Her, She's Too Fat For Me.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Bob the Whistler
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
The Merry Old Woman, The Humours of Lisheen, The Volunteer. Bleh.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by Tasia
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
A Minor tunes if there are at all too many.
An average session thrashing out major tunes can sound rousing; an average session thrashing out A Minor tunes can just sound dreary.
(Funny, E Minor doesn't get me down in quite the same way - maybe there are slightly fewer old chestnuts in that key...)
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by nicholas
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
The Musical Priest - a tune that flails and thrashes about and goes nowhere and is not fit to live.
# Posted on July 12th 2008 by nicholas
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
I agree, Nicholas. The young bucks (or does) on fiddle, some of whom are worth a second glance it has to be said, tend to play a lot of A minor tunes, which can be a pain. Makes me feel all gloomy and in need of another pint of Doom. So not all bad then.
# Posted on July 13th 2008 by Steve Shaw
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
I'm with bb - St Annes. Heard it and disliked it long before I ever got interested in trad and now it does even more nothing for me.
But then I like A min tunes. And B min ones.
# Posted on July 13th 2008 by Tish
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Caddam Woods, Lemonville Jig, Hogmanay Jig, and all of those Nellie-the-Elephant two-steps that ignorant people think are Northumbrian!
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by chrisormston
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Battering Ram, Morrison's, Sweeps Hornpipe and Madame Maxwell
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by rorywillie
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Rakes of Mallow
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by zippydw
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Scottish and Border pipe fast stuff that lurches continually from A Major to G Major and back. It's one of the ways to use the limited scale, sure, but I find that a little of that type of tune goes a long way.
Jimmy Allen's - I find it bland and tedious, though we in the NE can ill afford to slag our better-known tunes. If JA was as good as was made out, surely he could have left something with more of a spark. Perhaps he did - Salmon Tails Up The Water has been attributed to him, though this I imagine is beyond the reach of proof.
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by nicholas
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Nicholas, Musical Priest isn't one of my favorites because it's a bit tricky on an uilleann chanter. Jimmy Allen's is very popular with the wild west reennactment crowd in these parts. Until I read your post, I hadn't known where it was from. Is it of nineteenth century vintage? Try to think of the noise of it being played on an a broken down, honly-tonk piano. Then condemn it.
# Posted on July 14th 2008 by Atahualpa Quigley
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
I am blessed, I love them all.
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by AlBrown
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
"one of my favourites because it's a bit tricky"
It was someone with that mind set that gave us the abdominal "Mathematician", amongst many others
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Mr. llig sir, what is the abdominal "Mathematician"? [ rises to the bait ]
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Atahualpa Quigley
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
ha, yeah, spellcheck sometimes really comes out with some corkers doesn't it
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
And ha ha again. I just looked it up and I was right. Scott Skinner definitely was of the mind set that favoured the tricky:
the abominable mathematician.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1755
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Atahualpa - I hadn't known Jimmy Allen's was big in Wild West re-enactment circles, and a honky-tonk may indeed liven it up!
Jimmy Allen lived approximately between 1740 and 1812. He grew up in the Coquet valley not far from Rothbury in Northumberland, and went on to lead a picaresque and rather villainous existence as a roaming piper. He is credited along with others as a creator of Northumbrian pipes with a range greater than the single octave they played originally; this development seems to have been round 1800, and Jimmy Allen's - going up to top a and thus exceeding the octave - may be of similar date. Unless, that is, he worked it out on the fiddle.
A lot of people from the North-East of England emigrated to the New World at one time or another. The Gold Rushes in the USA and Canada notably attracted men with a mining background.
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by nicholas
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
So many of my favourites have been jumped upon that I don't know where to look.
- the musical priest goes nowhere (!) this has one of the finest set of lifts between parts of any well known reels. And it is a "single" so there isn't much time to "go nowhere"
- the battering ram, with its hypnotic percussive 1st & 3rd parts with the elusive slippery 2nd inbetween
-Jimmy Allen ? is that the reel I know as "the Tinker's Wife"? (which does have another name something like JA). Hopefully not.
Of course others listed I'd agree with. Sometimes the tune cannot be associated from the source or history it has for each player. In the past I have tended to think *gawd no* when the Gold Ring came up. But I know that was because a self indulgent (and not very good) piper used to insist on playing it every week in the full knowlege that very few would join in. It was the element of "performance" that bugged me.
Other tunes are objectively, undeniably crap and yet always surprise me by cheering me up in a particular context. E.g. "the Britches Full of Stitches". It isn't a tune, who'd play it? It appears in the middle of a set whenever we play the occasional ceili, and everytime I remember how much I enjoy playing that little non-tune at a ceili dance. Partly the thought that many of the dancers will be musos thinking "I can't believe they're playing 'the Stitches'". But it lifts my spirits everytime.
Having destroyed all credibility I'll sign off with:
- harvest home (my pet hate, triplet runs fossilised into stone like a set piece of, er stoney fossily stuff)
-belfast hornpipe (similar, don't mind it so much on whistle)
That's enough - Chris
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by ramblingpitchfork
"It's not what you play, it's how you play it."
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/8887
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by dogbox
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
That was a good discussion that, I remember it.
(For a while now I've thought I may have a go at not directly responding to discussions, just posting links to where it's all been discussed before. I bet you could keep it up for weeks)
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
>(For a while now I've thought I may have a go at not directly >responding to discussions, just posting links to where it's all >been discussed before. I bet you could keep it up for >weeks
Michael, this point was raised before, see:
http://the.session.org/discussions/display/88888888888
- Chris
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by ramblingpitchfork
Re: Tunes that do nothing for you
Thanks nicholas. We got a fair number of pianos from England too, by way of Cape Horn. Many were carted out to the deserts to be installed in saloons. Some are still there. The ones I've seen were pemanently retired, and had been replaced by reproductions that were given a calculated wonkyness.
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Atahualpa Quigley