Key signature: Cmajor
Submitted on December 20th 2008 by Barry Pearce.
This tune has been added to 10 tunebooks.
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: Fir Bolg
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Cmaj
(D | E2) EE ^G2 A2 | B3 B BB(AB) | (Bc)AB cedc | B3 B (Bc)(BA) |
E2 EE ^G2 A2 | B3 B BBAG | F3 F FAGF |[1 E3 E (EF)(ED) |2 (E2 D2 E2) z2 ||
.e2 .B2 .B2 .e2 | d2 (cB A4) | AcBA .G.A.F.G | E2 E2 E4 |
.e2 .B2 .B2 .e2 | d2 (cB A4) | (A^A)=AG (FG)(FG) |[1 E2 E2 E4 |2 E2 E2 E3 ||
Notes
First up...The main header shows Emix - But this isnt the correct key so ive provided a key-change at the start to E phrygian which is what it really is.
Back to the key in a mo but more importantly this was written by Dee Armstrong of the Irish band Kila (http://www.kila.ie) and appears on the Gambler's Ballet album.
So back to the key - it took ages to figure out - this has been a hard transcription as it doesnt fit into the scales I'm used to - it sounds exoctic and this took me on various trips around the web learning about E mix b6 or a.k.a the Hindu scale as well as Aeolian Dominants...I even started wondering about microtones...but its not. After much too-ing and fro-ing I finally got the transcription sorted and it presented itself to me as a straight E Phrygian - a standard mode on a standard C Major scale. KISS eh?
If you like your music 'irish pure-trad' stay away from anything in Phyrgian modes!
Unfortunately ABC notation (at least 1.6) doesnt really include performance directions. If you want to make this tune sound 'authentic' its needs judicious of glissando throughout the tune. It is the glissando that adds much of the feel to the piece.
The places to add the gliss are already marked up as slurs - D-E in the anacrusis into bar 1. Bar 2 actually should be an appoggiatura - a glissando from A to B covering a crochet out of the B's 1.5. Bar 3 B-C. Bar 6 B should be described as played in Bar 2. Bar 9 EDE gliss the lot - enjoy it! Bar 16 A-A#.
Additionally the only gliss not marked with a slur is on bar 8 where the D should then be slurred into the E of bar 1 in the same way the anacrusis was.
Particularly accent the Es in bars 10 and 14.
The tune is played fast at around 206 bpm.
Enjoy!
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by Barry Pearce
The Title
According to Wikipedia: In far antiquity the Fir Bolg were the rulers of Ireland (at the time called Ériu) immediately before the arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who many interpret as the Gaelic gods.
Aha - for me that just explained the name of another band as well!
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by Barry Pearce
Aha I see the details have been changed to reflect C-major as the main sig. So ignore my very first paragraph!
Be warned though... C maj it isnt - its E Phrygian.
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by Barry Pearce