Hi,
Now busking in your area! (West of the Akureyri-Zero Branco line: a bit of a tight spot!)
Though classical (esp. baroque) music played an enormous role in shaping my early musical tastes -including the fact that I am to this day suspicious of amplified concerts since 90% of soundcheck people need their ears checked- I increasingly came to listen to world music and mostly play Irish, Scottish and French trad stuff on flutes and pipes.
My favourite instrument has to be the fiddle though and since it ceased intimidating me a couple of years ago, I started to practice. With my current rate of progress I hope to become decent enough at it before deathbed time (It is not easy to bow lying on one's back, is it?)
-Anything else you should know?-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, yes... I HATE hornpipes!
People who shun the ceili dancing scene tend to blame it on the giant accordonion which seems to have found its niche there. But what could this death-dealing machine achieve without its favourite ammunition: a heavy load of baneful hornpipes? Unfortunately, the hornpipe has leaked and spread from the dance hall uncontrollably and many a promising, appetising trad. session is now irremediably drownded in 'HP' sauce, while many an otherwise brilliant CD track is ruined by the insertion of a corny cornphíopa!
There are, to be true, very tuneful and beautiful hornpipes: the more noticeable for their exceptional quality! (Most A-mixolydian hornpipes are in that category but unfortunately they are few and far between).
Surely, there is no shortage of unappealing jigs or reels either, but the oh so square, predictable hornpipe is essentially evil! (Is this how it got its 'horn'?) The majority of hornpipes are boring to a cringe, the rest sound, often cringingly, silly: Is this last 'quality' a redeeming feature? Certain sessions could do with a pinch of silliness, but is playing hornpipes a helpful recourse? Launch into a hornpipe set on your next 1st of April gig and see how many people fail to get the joke!
Well, if you insist I must share a H'pipe with you,
please select from the following (a short but exhaustive list!);
-The Blackbird(No1996), Cahir's Kitchen, Caisleán an Óir, The Fat Cat (as played by Tommy Peoples!), Her Golden Hair Hanging Down Her Back, The Humours Of Ballyconnell, Garrett Barry's, Johnny Cope, Duncan Johnstone, The Humours Of Tullycrine, Landslide Village, The Liverpool (saved by Cathal Hayden & Seamus ODowd's beautiful interpretation), The Londonderry HP, The Man From Barnagrove, The Meeting Place, Moon Over Friday Harbor, Poll Ha' Penny, The Re-haired Boy, The Rights of Man, The Shan Van Vocht, (Sully's No. 37 ), Walsh's
+ some borderline cases like Cronin's, Higgin's or the odd set-dance type like The Blackbird and the marching ones like Behind The Ditch In Páirc Anna, Frost And Snow, George Rowley's, the Pride of Petravore, The Wren's(6570)...
While we're on the subject, here's a list of good reels, flings, etc that can be played as hornpipes (but why anyone would want to ruin a perfectly good reel this way is beyond all understanding!)
The Birds In The Tree, George White's Favorite, The Green Gates, the Killarney Wonder,
And just in case you don't know what I'm on about, here's a hornpipe with aggravating features to finish (literally!):
Spellan's Inspiration (The cheek in that name!) http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/8260
This one will pay for them all: Death to all Hornpipes!!
-On a different note; ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm interested in mouth-music, lilting, canntaireachd, port-a-beul, you name it. Basically "tongue in feet" stuff! Songs to dance to, sung dances as well as nonsense rhymes and mnemonic drum patterns & mnemonic tune names (the type that mimic the rhythm of the first few beats);
If you have any reference specific or general on the subject, drop us a line!
I also have a fully referenced list of such lilts and ditties for anyone interested (work in progress).
And that too: a list of playworthy hornpipes that is getting longer by the week: I'm checking them out one by one, you know; I don't like to hate anything, really!
See you around :-)
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ABC basics reminder:
http://abcnotation.com/
& http://www.lesession.co.uk/abc/abc_notation.htm & http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/ABC-FAQ.html
Order; X: 1/ T: /M: (4/4) /L: 1/8 /R: (reel) / K: (Gmaj)/
mid-tune changes: [K ] see...
'paragraph(??): !, mid-bar repeats: [ :|, to keep two lines together: \
chord: [nN], chords (guitar): "before the note", see: http://abcplus.sourceforge.net.
flat: _n, natural: =n, sharp: ^n
dotted {(2 in compound time}: n3/n3/ (cf4344) , 'pointy-semi': n>n (rather than n3/2n), 'semi': n/, snap: n<n, slur: n-n {after the note regardless of what follows} , triplets: (3 or (3SnnnS (not needed?), Other Divisions: cf1113.
'bowing': (nN), grace n: {n}, twirlie: ~n, 'hold': Hn, vA uA: paradoxically to the tip and from the tip.
triplets? (cfNo10): *B3
rest: z
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/21694
ABCMus2.0 uses the symbol J (uppercase) to indicate a slide up to a note (doesnot sound but appears notated)
Score and sound test: http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html
Transpose: http://www.8ung.at/abctransposer/
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Éist le fuaim na habhann agus gheobhfaidh tú breac
Tunes in birlibirdie's tunebook: 18
| An Dro Pitaouer | reel | December 17th 2009 |
| The Slow Train | jig | December 11th 2009 |
| The West Clare Railway | reel | December 10th 2009 |
| Les Doigts De Carmen | reel | November 10th 2009 |
| Sixteen Come Next Sunday | slide | August 1st 2009 |
| Morag Ramsey | May 12th 2009 |
| Snow-covered Mountains | November 26th 2004 |
| Seisiún Ceoil Bhéal Feirste | Various Artists | December 17th 2009 |
| On The Leitrim Mountainside | Rosie Stewart | December 16th 2009 |
| On Kielder Side | Kathryn Tickell | August 4th 2009 |
| Café Du Bon Coin | Tri Yann | June 23rd 2009 |
| Loosely Connected | Niamh Parsons | March 30th 2009 |
| Reel ID Help!! | June 5th 2008 |
| Recordings | March 16th 2010 | |
| Tunes | March 16th 2010 | |
| Tunes | March 16th 2010 | |
| Tunes | March 16th 2010 | |
| Tunes | ...hear Her Majesty's royal consort at: | January 26th 2010 |
| Name | Type | Key |
|---|---|---|
| The Rosses Highlands | hornpipe | Gmajor |
| Tony Rowe's | jig | Dmajor |
| Beggar Thomas Pomerleau's March | polka | Gmajor |
| The Ale Is Dear | reel | Bminor |
| The Dimmers | reel | Gmajor |
| Dans Fisel | reel | Bminor |
| Kalabakan | reel | Dmajor |
| Frank Roche's | strathspey | Gmajor |
| A.A. Cameron's | strathspey | Edorian |
| Miss Sarah Drummond Of Perth | strathspey | Amixolydian |
| Con McGinley's | strathspey | Gmajor |
| The Keel Row | strathspey | Gmajor |
| Lady Madelina Sinclair | strathspey | Gmajor |
| Lady Madelina Sinclair's Birthday | strathspey | Gmajor |
| Lady Madelina Sinclair | strathspey | Gmajor |
| Lord Moira's Welcome To Scotland | strathspey | Gmajor |
| Jean Carignan | strathspey | Gmajor |
| Berwick Billy | three-two | Gmajor |