Hey, any of you folks know of some good tunes(or sets) for starting up/closing out the day? Or maybe starting up/closing out a session? What's more fun, a morning or evening session? Also, anyone know of any good themed sets? I haven't discovered any themed sets, but i'm working on my own composed of "The Red-Haired Lass", "The Dark-Haired Lass", "The Fair-Haired Lass", and "The Twirly-Haired Girl". I won't be learning the later two for a couple more months cause i'm busy with known tunes. Just a loose, playful topic. Some things i've wondered about.
Morning sessions, in my experience, are usually the continuation of very late night sessions. At that point, people are usually surprised they're still playing at all.
There are no "set" sets out there, waiting to be discovered. Put any tunes together you want. Yeah, I have friends who sometimes played tunes in thematic sets for a laugh but it is not as if those tunes are permanently glued together.
Is there a tune called "Where's the bloody coffee?" That's the only one I could start the day with.
"Where's the bloody coffee?" Haha that's funny. So what about stories? A lot of the tune titles seem like they could make a good plot. And if not those, i've heard before that a lot of individual tunes have stories that go with them.
I dunno, I prefer not to think that hard to be honest and usually put together sets on the fly, going into whatever I think I can get into from what I'm currently playing.
Cathal McConnell, on the other hand, has a wee song to that effect he calls "The Hurricane of Reels."
"Is there a tune called "Where's the bloody coffee?" "
Well, there's 'Jenny's Bawbee' which is a strathspey version of 'Polly Put the Kettle on' - you could always say "while you've got the kettle going, I'll have coffee".
Nothing like a good strathspey first thing in the morning.......
Oh ok. It was just an idea. And about the themes, i've always been ritualistic(i don't really know why...) and i like playing pieces for certain occasions, even if it is just headin' in for the day, or getting to bed. But right now i don't know enough to. i don't have any that put my in that "it's the end of the day, let's settle down" mood. If i had a piano i probably wouldn't even think about, i have tons of them for that one.
The trouble with the intellectual pursuit of themed tunes is that the titles might go together but the melodies may clash. Forget about the names, and play stuff that suits the mood. If the names suit as well, so much the better.
"...play stuff that suits the mood." i like that. What's funny, is that now, i only use names to help me memorize the melodies. I figured it would help me remember my repetoire. Now instead of trying to think of a bunch of melodies, i can think of the names, and the melodies come on their own. But sometimes it's not safe. I still get "The Silver Spear" and "The Rambling Pitchfork" mixed up cause i learned them both the same day.
The fact that you're getting a reel and a jig confused is a pretty clear demonstration that 'learning' more than one tune a day means that you're not really learning even one tune a day. The reason Aesop's fable about the tortoise and the hare is still such common cross-cultural currency after thousands of years is because it is so fundamentally, undeniably relevant to everyday life.
Try to give each tune the respect it deserves, and you will get a lot more out of it.
There's absolutely no arguing with that one Smash The Windows(but i shall try to anyway XP). But it's never "That's silver spear! Oh wait no... thats rambling pitchfork..." but it's always "No! thats not Rambling Pitchfork, thats Silver Spear! Err! Never again will i learn two tunes, that both have weapons for names, in the same day!" Its always "Silver Spear" that i get confused.
The traditional last tune of a session is The Bucks of Oranmore, because there's nothing better to come after it. Unless it's Foxhunter's, maybe! I like it when sessions start with relaxed tunes like an easy jig, to get warmed up.
Jerone, don't get so hung up in the names of the tunes, especially using that as the criteria by which you group them in sets. Tune names rarely have anything whatsoever to do with the actual musical content. Sets themed by name are ok if you're performing for an audience and want to tell them the names, or in album liner notes as a sort of joke. Otherwise, listen for the musical idea, phrases, key, etc -- the essence of the tune-- in order to create sets.
Well, i have several sets that i'm working on, and none of them have any title relevance to each other but they sure work well together. I got lucky with my Red Haired Lass/Dark Haired Lass set. But i don't so much focus on setting my tunes because of their titles, it's just a nice thought. Just curious is all.
Stat out with The Cup of Tea followed by the Jug of Punch if The Ale is Dear, and then The Humours of Whiskey and then before you know it, The Wife's a Wanton Wee Thing.
"I really want to know how it's possible to confuse the Silver Spear with the Rambling Pitchfork." I sometimes suffer a mental derailment somewhere between remembering that today I was going to work on a named jig and half way through the A part when I realise "hang on a minute, this is a polka"
"I really want to know how it's possible to confuse the Silver Spear with the Rambling Pitchfork"
I suppose I can see how you might not be sure which name goes with which tune, but yeah, it would be impossible to hear the tunes and not know they are different.
Goes to show how little a tune name has to do with the actual tune.
David, that's not what i meant XP Basically, it's not in my memory that "Silver Spear" is the reel, and "Rambling Pitchfork" is the jig. Like i said, i tried learning them the same day, and all i could go by was track #'s on a cd. I love how ya'll are acting like you've never made a mistake on a name before. Haha, Ooook.
Ahh ok, my mistake. And that comment was sortof a joke. There's a lot of reasons why i get them confused. Like how it took weeks before i could remember what Silver Spear even sounded like. I still don't know why it took so long to memorize. And how i tried to put both of them into my memory in the same day.
I actually have "Silver Spear" and "Connaughtman's Rambles" crossed up in my head. I'll think of one, and it brings the other to mind, and I often hear one and get the name of the other in my head. I don't think I've ever played the jig when I was thinking of the reel, though.
I absolutely do start into the Maid Behind the Bar when I mean Silver Spear, though - I do that often, and not too proud to admit it, either. Also, Star of Munster and Bank of Ireland are still fifty/fifty odds on a bad day, and Merry Blacksmith gets mixed up with the other one that sounds just like it, only totally different. This is fine, it just means I have to figure out what's going to come after what I'm actually playing, not what comes after what I meant to play. And then, of course, I play something completely different anyway.
Haha, nice one at the end there Jon. But the wierdest case i had, was when i started mixing up B parts.(thank goodness it hasnt happened since) I was at a practice, and when we switched from "The Humours of Glendart" to "The Burnt Old Man", i kept accidently playing the B part for "The Humours of Glendart". That was strange. My teacher said it would happen a lot when i learned more tunes.
He's right, it will. You'll get hold of it. Usually I just shrug and go through whichever B part I've started, and then get back to the original tune. If you're playing with others, make sure you let them know you're in control. With luck, they'll back off a little when you get to the end of the wrong B part, to see which way you'll turn. You'll have to pick which tune you're playing and play it strong. This is a case where being confident is more important than being right - it doesn't matter which tune you play, really, but it matters that everyone knows which one you're playing.
Well, i just realized that now i'm good enough on fiddle to start composing my own tunes. 3 points for experience! So if push comes to shove, i'll just write my own riser and sleeper. The Texas Sky is inspiring enough to get a tune or two outof it And i'm so inspired by music itself, i may write my own night reel. I know what i'm looking for, so if i can't find it i'll create it myself.
So i woke up this morning, felt like playing "The Foxhunters' Reel". I felt like i was doing a bugle call or something. Definitely a good wake up tune, it's so loud and exiting the way I've learned it, especially the A part, and it closes out so simply and smoothly, it leaves you refreshed and soothed at the E part. Definitely an awesome morning tune...(well, if you need to get your butt out of bed lol)
Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
Hey, any of you folks know of some good tunes(or sets) for starting up/closing out the day? Or maybe starting up/closing out a session? What's more fun, a morning or evening session? Also, anyone know of any good themed sets? I haven't discovered any themed sets, but i'm working on my own composed of "The Red-Haired Lass", "The Dark-Haired Lass", "The Fair-Haired Lass", and "The Twirly-Haired Girl". I won't be learning the later two for a couple more months cause i'm busy with known tunes. Just a loose, playful topic. Some things i've wondered about.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fiddlelearner
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
Morning sessions, in my experience, are usually the continuation of very late night sessions. At that point, people are usually surprised they're still playing at all.
There are no "set" sets out there, waiting to be discovered. Put any tunes together you want. Yeah, I have friends who sometimes played tunes in thematic sets for a laugh but it is not as if those tunes are permanently glued together.
Is there a tune called "Where's the bloody coffee?" That's the only one I could start the day with.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
"Where's the bloody coffee?" Haha that's funny. So what about stories? A lot of the tune titles seem like they could make a good plot. And if not those, i've heard before that a lot of individual tunes have stories that go with them.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fiddlelearner
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
I dunno, I prefer not to think that hard to be honest and usually put together sets on the fly, going into whatever I think I can get into from what I'm currently playing.
Cathal McConnell, on the other hand, has a wee song to that effect he calls "The Hurricane of Reels."
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
"Is there a tune called "Where's the bloody coffee?" "
Well, there's 'Jenny's Bawbee' which is a strathspey version of 'Polly Put the Kettle on' - you could always say "while you've got the kettle going, I'll have coffee".
Nothing like a good strathspey first thing in the morning.......
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by Weejie
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
Oh ok. It was just an idea. And about the themes, i've always been ritualistic(i don't really know why...) and i like playing pieces for certain occasions, even if it is just headin' in for the day, or getting to bed. But right now i don't know enough to. i don't have any that put my in that "it's the end of the day, let's settle down" mood. If i had a piano i probably wouldn't even think about, i have tons of them for that one.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fiddlelearner
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
The trouble with the intellectual pursuit of themed tunes is that the titles might go together but the melodies may clash. Forget about the names, and play stuff that suits the mood. If the names suit as well, so much the better.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by gam
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
"...play stuff that suits the mood." i like that. What's funny, is that now, i only use names to help me memorize the melodies. I figured it would help me remember my repetoire. Now instead of trying to think of a bunch of melodies, i can think of the names, and the melodies come on their own. But sometimes it's not safe. I still get "The Silver Spear" and "The Rambling Pitchfork" mixed up cause i learned them both the same day.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fiddlelearner
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
The fact that you're getting a reel and a jig confused is a pretty clear demonstration that 'learning' more than one tune a day means that you're not really learning even one tune a day. The reason Aesop's fable about the tortoise and the hare is still such common cross-cultural currency after thousands of years is because it is so fundamentally, undeniably relevant to everyday life.
Try to give each tune the respect it deserves, and you will get a lot more out of it.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by Dragut Reis
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
There's absolutely no arguing with that one Smash The Windows(but i shall try to anyway XP). But it's never "That's silver spear! Oh wait no... thats rambling pitchfork..." but it's always "No! thats not Rambling Pitchfork, thats Silver Spear! Err! Never again will i learn two tunes, that both have weapons for names, in the same day!" Its always "Silver Spear" that i get confused.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fiddlelearner
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
"good tunes(or sets) for starting up/closing out the day?"
"Whiskey before breakfast" http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/602
"The Nightcap"
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/5483
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by domhnall.
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
The traditional last tune of a session is The Bucks of Oranmore, because there's nothing better to come after it. Unless it's Foxhunter's, maybe! I like it when sessions start with relaxed tunes like an easy jig, to get warmed up.
Jerone, don't get so hung up in the names of the tunes, especially using that as the criteria by which you group them in sets. Tune names rarely have anything whatsoever to do with the actual musical content. Sets themed by name are ok if you're performing for an audience and want to tell them the names, or in album liner notes as a sort of joke. Otherwise, listen for the musical idea, phrases, key, etc -- the essence of the tune-- in order to create sets.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fidkid
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
Well, i have several sets that i'm working on, and none of them have any title relevance to each other but they sure work well together. I got lucky with my Red Haired Lass/Dark Haired Lass set. But i don't so much focus on setting my tunes because of their titles, it's just a nice thought. Just curious is all.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fiddlelearner
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
' Starter's '
Kesh Jig
Humours Of Tula
' Enders '
Pinch Of Snuff
Foxhunter's Reel in A
jim,,,
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by FIDDLE4
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
What is the world coming to when pitchforks are thought of as weapons? Swords out of ploughshares, is it?
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by gam
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
I really want to know how it's possible to confuse the Silver Spear with the Rambling Pitchfork.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
Stat out with The Cup of Tea followed by the Jug of Punch if The Ale is Dear, and then The Humours of Whiskey and then before you know it, The Wife's a Wanton Wee Thing.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by Bren
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
"I really want to know how it's possible to confuse the Silver Spear with the Rambling Pitchfork." I sometimes suffer a mental derailment somewhere between remembering that today I was going to work on a named jig and half way through the A part when I realise "hang on a minute, this is a polka"
... ah, OK, I get what you mean
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by David50
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
"I really want to know how it's possible to confuse the Silver Spear with the Rambling Pitchfork"
I suppose I can see how you might not be sure which name goes with which tune, but yeah, it would be impossible to hear the tunes and not know they are different.
Goes to show how little a tune name has to do with the actual tune.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fidkid
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
"Nothing like a good strathspey first thing in the morning......."
That's what I'm saying...
Oh, wait, were speaking literally?
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by Jon Kiparsky
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
David, that's not what i meant XP Basically, it's not in my memory that "Silver Spear" is the reel, and "Rambling Pitchfork" is the jig. Like i said, i tried learning them the same day, and all i could go by was track #'s on a cd. I love how ya'll are acting like you've never made a mistake on a name before. Haha, Ooook.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fiddlelearner
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
I see the post about the word associations - weaponry - playing tricks now.
But the line with the smiley was a response to TSS.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by David50
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
Ahh ok, my mistake. And that comment was sortof a joke. There's a lot of reasons why i get them confused. Like how it took weeks before i could remember what Silver Spear even sounded like. I still don't know why it took so long to memorize. And how i tried to put both of them into my memory in the same day.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fiddlelearner
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
I actually have "Silver Spear" and "Connaughtman's Rambles" crossed up in my head. I'll think of one, and it brings the other to mind, and I often hear one and get the name of the other in my head. I don't think I've ever played the jig when I was thinking of the reel, though.
I absolutely do start into the Maid Behind the Bar when I mean Silver Spear, though - I do that often, and not too proud to admit it, either. Also, Star of Munster and Bank of Ireland are still fifty/fifty odds on a bad day, and Merry Blacksmith gets mixed up with the other one that sounds just like it, only totally different. This is fine, it just means I have to figure out what's going to come after what I'm actually playing, not what comes after what I meant to play. And then, of course, I play something completely different anyway.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by Jon Kiparsky
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
Haha, nice one at the end there Jon. But the wierdest case i had, was when i started mixing up B parts.(thank goodness it hasnt happened since) I was at a practice, and when we switched from "The Humours of Glendart" to "The Burnt Old Man", i kept accidently playing the B part for "The Humours of Glendart". That was strange. My teacher said it would happen a lot when i learned more tunes.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by fiddlelearner
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
He's right, it will. You'll get hold of it. Usually I just shrug and go through whichever B part I've started, and then get back to the original tune. If you're playing with others, make sure you let them know you're in control. With luck, they'll back off a little when you get to the end of the wrong B part, to see which way you'll turn. You'll have to pick which tune you're playing and play it strong. This is a case where being confident is more important than being right - it doesn't matter which tune you play, really, but it matters that everyone knows which one you're playing.
# Posted on July 13th 2011 by Jon Kiparsky
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
There's "Get up early" for a morning tune. Perhaps "Midnight on the Water" for a late night.
Then there's the Niel Gow pair "Farewell to Whiskey" played right before midnight and "Welcome Whiskey Back Again" played right after.
# Posted on July 14th 2011 by fiddlentina
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
What would I do if the kettle boiled over?
# Posted on July 14th 2011 by camwebby
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
"Good Morning to Tour Nightcap"
# Posted on July 14th 2011 by pipewatcher
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
*To Your*
# Posted on July 14th 2011 by pipewatcher
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
It's a song, but The Parting Glass is a good one.... "Good night and joy be with you all."
# Posted on July 14th 2011 by Layne Hendrickson
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
Well, i just realized that now i'm good enough on fiddle to start composing my own tunes. 3 points for experience! So if push comes to shove, i'll just write my own riser and sleeper. The Texas Sky is inspiring enough to get a tune or two outof it
And i'm so inspired by music itself, i may write my own night reel. I know what i'm looking for, so if i can't find it i'll create it myself.
# Posted on July 14th 2011 by fiddlelearner
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/908
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/7425
both come to mind for evening tunes.
Can't think of any morning tunes, but technically risin the moon isn't related to any particular time of day or night.
# Posted on July 14th 2011 by zaivanbuijs
Re: Risin' the Moon and settin' the Sun.
So i woke up this morning, felt like playing "The Foxhunters' Reel". I felt like i was doing a bugle call or something. Definitely a good wake up tune, it's so loud and exiting the way I've learned it, especially the A part, and it closes out so simply and smoothly, it leaves you refreshed and soothed at the E part. Definitely an awesome morning tune...(well, if you need to get your butt out of bed lol)
# Posted on August 5th 2011 by fiddlelearner