Key signature: Eminor
Submitted on October 7th 2004 by ceolachan.
This tune has been added to 21 tunebooks.
Also known as The Clans March, The Clans, Doon The Brae, Down The Brae, Down The Braes, Down The Brea, The Old Crossroads March, Rocks Of Brae, The Rocks Of Brae, Síos An Gleann.
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: Old Crossroads, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: barndance
K: Emin
|: B, |
E>^D EF G>F GA | B2 e2 dB- BA | G>F GB AF DE | F2 E2 DB,- B,G |
E>^D EF G>F GA | B2 e2 dB- BA | G>F GB AF DE | FG/F/ ED E3 :|
|: A |
Be-ee e2 de | f2 e2 dB-B2 | A3 B d3 e | dB G/A/B/c/ d2 BA |
Be-ee e2 de | fg/f/ ef/e/ dB- BA | G>F GB AF DE | F2 E>E E3 :|
Another March, however - - -
The couple dances danced to marches are very similar in style to those danced to barndances and the phrasing of some marches, like this one, 'The Pikeman's' and 'The Centenary' slot into a 4/4 time signature better than 2/4... Slotting it away in reels or hornpipes just didn't seem the right place for this, so it has been placed under that smaller collection 'barndances', also out of respect for that similarity of use and accompanying dances.
I'd promised to notate one of those dances and will do that here sometime this week, all things allowing. Hopefully you'll then understand better the reasoning above...
# Posted on October 7th 2004 by ceolachan
The Heel & Toe (Polka) / The Military Two-Step
8 bars in 4/4, 16 in 2/4
There are variants...The directions below are for the tune as notated here, 4/4.
Music: polkas or marches
Speed: anywhere from approximately 100 to 120 beats per minute.
Hold: waltz/ballroom hold - or 'barrel-hold', the 'advance' can be danced 'open', but even the whole of Bars 1-4 can be danced 'open'...
BAR 1:
- couples, man on her left, she on his right, and facing the line of direction (LOD=ACW, Anti-Clockwise) around the dance area, weight on inside feet, man's Right/woman's Left.
COUNTS:
# 1 - place the heel forward - outside foot, Man's Left/Woman's Right.
# 2 - cross over and place ball (toe) of that foot inside of the foot taking weight - still the outside foot doing the moving.
# 3 - step forward in the LOD - (Man's Left still/Woman's Right)
# 4 - step forward again (Man's R/Woman's L)
NOTE: counts 3 & 4 are 'brush-steps', catching your heel on the floor as your foot moves forward to make the step, 'heel-step', 'heel-step'...
BAR 2:
COUNTS:
# 1 - 4 - 2 X 3s (heel-123) and the couple turning halfway round Clockwise (CW) to face back the way you'd come. (M-LheelLRL, RheelRLR/W-RheelRLR, LheelLRL)
BARS 3 & 4:
- REPEAT ALL THAT back to place, ending up facing LOD
NOTE: Bar 2 can also be done as a complete turn, once around, and dancing bars 3 & 4 exactly as before, continuing in the LOD/ACW.
BARS 5 - 8:
- couples turning CW travel in the LOD/ACW with 8 X 3s (heel-123)
NOTE: as with other such dances, the last bar in this case, the dancers can choose to do a 'double'/pivot step (M-L,R,L,R/W-R,L,R,L), ideally turning as a couple twice round CW while continuing to move around the dance area in the LOD/ACW. But hey, if you only get once around, good on yuh, you've points for trying.
# Posted on October 7th 2004 by ceolachan
Forgot to mention something or sources, a number of folks, in the main this one was danced and collected in Fermanagh and Donegal.
# Posted on October 7th 2004 by ceolachan
- with 'accounts' in Armagh too...
# Posted on October 7th 2004 by ceolachan
& my screw-up with the ABCs, now corrected, as one example, from (B B) to B-B...
# Posted on October 10th 2004 by ceolachan
Note on dance - - - 'Heel & Toe'
As in most cases, certain things are by choice. You can choose to do the whole dance without the 'heel catch'/brush step, or 'smooth', in other words you can just walk those steps...
# Posted on October 10th 2004 by ceolachan
Looking at my notes again, there wasn't a county I had the pleasure of visiting where this dance wasn't in the collective memory. In many cases a particular tune or set of tunes were closely associated with it, such as the polka 'The Girl I Left Behind Me'...
# Posted on October 10th 2004 by ceolachan
Barn dance???
I don't think the tune "Down the Braes" is a barn dance, as it has been listed on this website. The rhythm and the feel of this tune doesn't fit with any other true barn dances.
Not everything that is not a reel, a hornpipe or a jig is a barn dance, and not every tune has to be "something".
# Posted on December 17th 2004 by Beheader
Re: Barn dance???
Read the comments attached with the tune. It explains the answer to your question.
# Posted on December 17th 2004 by Jason G
Barn Dance???
I still don't see why to call it a Barn dance when it ISN'T, this just leads to confusion.
A March, in any case.
# Posted on December 17th 2004 by Beheader
Because march isn't an option when submitting tunes. There is not necessarily a set time signature for all marches, so Jeremy didn't give it as an option. Same way he didn't include the option for slow airs. If you have a look around, you'll see that every slow air is listed as something else. Do a search through the discussions and you'll come up with several discussions concerning this issue.
# Posted on December 17th 2004 by Jason G
Marchin' Thru Georgia ~
The couple dances that accompanied marches were akin, kissin' cousins, to those also called barndances/Germans/Schottisches, so really, since there isn't a specific area for 'marches', this is a reasonable category for them. As well, the top up that often followed the usual five figures of the 'sets of quadrilles' or 'sets' or 'quadrilles' or 'square sets', nowadays often a fling/hornpipe/barndance, in that ephemeral 'past', could also be a march. So there are some few associations to warrant marches being placed here when there is no category for 'march'.
# Posted on May 13th 2005 by ceolachan
"The Old Crossroads" / "Down the Braes"
K: Amin
|: e |
A>^G AB c>B cd | e2 a2 ge- ed | c>B ce dB GA | Bc/B/ AB/A/ GE- EG |
A>^G AB c>B cd | e2 a2 ge- ed | c>B ce d>B GA | B2 A>^G A2 :|
|: (3Bcd |
ea z^g a2 =ga | bc/b/ ab/a/ ge- e2 | d3 e g3 a | ge c/d/e/^f/ ga/g/ ed |
ea- ab a2 g>a | b2 a2 ge- ed | c>B ce dB GA | B2 A^G A2 :|
# Posted on July 22nd 2005 by ceolachan
Related to The Humours of Tullycine? http://thesession.org/tunes/display.php/980
# Posted on July 22nd 2005 by slainte
Good man, you beat me to it slainte... I had made a note to link to it and then got distracted...
# Posted on July 22nd 2005 by ceolachan
"Ophelia's Ghost" ~ reel ~ another relative
Submitted on December 6th 2005 by Brendan.
http://thesession.org/tunes/display.php/5280
# Posted on May 17th 2006 by ceolachan
Making a set of it, and I've heard this trio together in many places ~
"O'Donnell Abú" / "O'Dhomnaill Abú"
Key signature: D & G Major
Submitted on June 4th 2007 by ceolachan.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/7309
"The Old Crossroads" / "Doon the Brae" / "The Rocks of Brae"
"The Meeting Of The Waters"
Key signature: D, A & G Major
Submitted on July 6th 2005 by FiddleMeThis.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/4679
# Posted on June 5th 2007 by ceolachan
Problems with the midi ~
For some reason slurs (-) aren't being played by the midi as intended ~
dB- BA = d B2 A
DB,- B,G = D B,2 G
Be- ee = B e2 e
# Posted on June 6th 2007 by ceolachan
This tune is underrated! It pairs nicely with Dunmore Lassies.
# Posted on March 28th 2008 by Whiddler