Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Smash The Windows

jig

Key signature: Dmajor

Submitted on May 25th 2001 by Jeremy.

This tune has been added to 346 tunebooks.

Also known as Roaring Jelly, Smash The Window.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

A Few Tunes by John Skelton
A North Country Barn Dance by The Morpeth Ranters
All Ages by Green Tea
Along Blackwater's Banks by Sliabh Notes
Around The World For Sport by The Doon Céilí Band
BBC Recordings by Richard O'Mealy
Classics Of Irish Piping Volume 2 by William Andrews And Liam Walsh
Dance Music Of Ireland: Volume 7 by Matt Cunningham
Eleven by Troy MacGillivray
Emerald Castles by Richard Searles
Flute For The Feis by John Doonan
Golden Vanity by Modesty Forbids
Harvest Home by Filska
Irish Music In London Pubs by Various Artists
Irish Piano Magic by J.J. Sheridan
Irish Women Musicians Of America by Cherish The Ladies
Jefferson And Liberty by The Itinerant Band
Jody's Heaven by Jody's Heaven
Lifting Out The Stove by Vince Collins
Mick Mulcahy And Friends by Mick Mulcahy
Natural Progression by Sam Proctor
Passing Time by Mary And Jim Coogan
Proper Job: Melodeon Playing From Dartmoor by Bob Cann
Raining UP by Mairead Nesbitt
Southwind by Glenn Morgan
Step Into The Beat: Modern Irish Dance Music by Ellery Klein And Ryan Lacey
Step This Way by David Lindquist
Strict Tempo: Scottish Country Dance Music From The 1950's, Volume 1 by Adam Rennie And His Scottish Country Dance Quartet
Sugrú by Eilish O'Connor
The Best Of Irish Piping by Seamus Ennis
The Corner House by The Irish Tradition
The Final Fling Part One by NE66
The Piper Calls The Tune by Joe Finn
The Pretty Blue Seagull by Frank Claudy, Paul De Grae, Patrick O'Dea, Anne And Joe Skelton
The Return From Fingal by Seamus Ennis
Three's Company by Martin Meehan
Traditional Fiddle Music Of Cape Breton Volume 1: Mabou Coal Mines by Various Artists

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

X: 1
T: Smash The Windows
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmaj
|:DED F2A|d2f edA|G2B F2A|E2F GFE|
DED F2A|d2f edA|Bgf edc|1d3 dAF:|2d3 efg||
a2f d2e|f2g agf|g2e =cBc|e2f gfe|
a2f d2e|f2g agf|egf edc|d3 efg|
a2f d2e|f2g agf|g2e =c2d|e2f gfe|
fed gfe|agf bag|egf edc|d3 dAF|

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

This one is pretty straightforward right up until the very end, where it gets a bit tricky with that ascending phrase up to B.

Smash The Windows is a single jig, which means it has more of the feel of a slide, although it isn't in 12/8.

Now, I've shown the second part here with some C naturals. That's the way I like to play the tune and I like the way it takes on a more modal feel. But I think the tune is normally played with regular C sharps.

# Posted on June 2nd 2001 by Jeremy

Smash the (Microsoft) Windows

To make your Windows computer play "Smash the Windows" when it crashes, see this thread: http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display.php/648
Thanks to ZinaLee!

By the way, this is a fun tune, regardless of the name. I learned it with C sharps -- it's a very perky, happy little major-key jig that way. I'll have to try it with C naturals. Also, I learned it with the B part essentially the same both times through -- corresponding to the second time through as shown here.

Sarah

# Posted on June 21st 2002 by x

Tunes to play with "Smash the Windows"

Well the title says it all, What are your favourite tunes to play with "Smash the Windows" (I like the tune, but it sounds a bit bald on it's own!

# Posted on January 31st 2003 by Dafydd Monks

Re: Tunes to play with

Off the top of my head (album is at home), I have a recording with this set:

Smash the Windows
Coleraine
Haste to the Wedding

Album is for hammer dulcimer (Bill Spence). This was the recording that made me immediately want to learn Smash the Windows. Coleraine is a minor key tune which works well in between the other two.

# Posted on January 31st 2003 by Zhenya

Re: Tunes to play with

How about Bash the Linux and Destroy the Macintosh?
My, I'm a funny guy. Ahahaha!

# Posted on January 31st 2003 by no longer exists

Re: Tunes to play with

Not forgetting Linux and various Mainframe operateing systems I hope, Ha Ha. Right now I would agree with smash the windows becas I have spent 2 Hours Repairing damage done by a worm virus :-)

# Posted on January 31st 2003 by Dafydd Monks

Re: Tunes to play with

This isn't ITM related, but it seemed vaguely on-subject for the odd direction this post has taken, and anyway, it's hilarious: Recently one of my friends, a computer wizard, paid me a visit. As we were talking I mentioned that I had recently installed Windows on my PC, I told him how happy I was with this operating system and showed him the Windows CD. Too my astonishment and distress he threw it into my micro-wave oven and turned it on. I was upset because the CD had become precious to me, but he said: 'Do not worry, it is unharmed.' After a few minutes he took the CD out, gave it to me and said: 'Take a close look at it.' To my surprise the CD was quite cold and it seemed to have become thicker and heavier than before. At first I could not see anything, but on the inner edge of the central hole I saw an inscription, in lines finer than anything I have ever seen before. The inscription shone piercingly bright, and yet remote, as if out of a great depth:

4F6E65204F5320746F2072756C65207468656D20616C6C2C204F6E65204F5320746F
2066696E64207468656D2C0D0A4F6E65204F5320746F206272696E67207468656D20
616C6C20616E6420696E20746865206461726B6E6573732062696E64207468656D

'I cannot read the fiery letters,' I said.
'No,' he said, 'but I can. The letters are Hex, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Microsoft, which I shall not utter here. But in common English this is what it says:'
One OS to rule them all, One OS to find them,
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

# Posted on January 31st 2003 by sparrow

Re: Tunes to play with

Hilarious? It's true isn't it?

# Posted on January 31st 2003 by Trevor Jennings

Smash the Windows

Francis McPeake includes this tune in his 'Pocket Tin Whistle Tutor.'

# Posted on February 9th 2005 by Pete D

Francie published a bigger version of the tutor which was actually entitled "Smash the Windows"

Or as we would have it "Smeish the Windys".

# Posted on February 9th 2005 by Conán McDonnell

Is this not usually played as a hop jig - similar to the "Off She Goes" one used ad-infinitum at dancing feiseanna?

# Posted on February 10th 2005 by Bannerman

I thought hop jigs were more 9/8ish and singles and slides were more 12/8ish?! *groan* Have I totally got that backward?

Off She Goes is quite popular for single jig comp at the feisianna, yes, at least in the States. As is this one.

# Posted on February 10th 2005 by Zina Lee

I posted a nameless slide with a bit similar first part: http://thesession.org/tunes/display.php/4024

# Posted on February 10th 2005 by slainte

Early version

# Posted on May 10th 2008 by fynnjamin

Seamus Ennis Tutor

Says this is a Double Jig... But I'm so confused on the whole single jig, double jig, slide, 6/8 or 12/8 what do I know.

# Posted on July 23rd 2008 by tin_whistler

Re: Tunes to play with

I suppose I'm a couple of years late with this comment, but my favorite set with this tune is

Smash the Windows
Saddle the Pony
Off She Goes

I like it when my tune titles tell a story...

# Posted on July 27th 2009 by jabbott

Dinna smeish them windies! For if you do, that awful ceili dancing jig will leak its poisonous sound all over toun!

# Posted on March 30th 2010 by birlibirdie

A relation ~

Jerry's Beaver Hat AKA The Yank's Return
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/319

# Posted on June 1st 2010 by birlibirdie

Tune Set

I really love the set I play this tune in. It starts out with 'Smashing the Windows', then goes into an unnamed jig (which is very similar to the first), and then changed pace with a reel, 'Mountain Road'. going from the jig into the reel sounds pretty awesome, I think. If anyone would like a recording of it, let me know... I've been meaning to get around to it anyways!

# Posted on August 18th 2011 by fifemaster

Smash the Windows C# or C natural in B part

The transcript on this site has a C natural in the B part of Smash the Windows & I've heard it played both ways (and both ways have their charms...).

I'm wondering which is more common in people's experiences & if I am kicking off the tune in a session, is there an expectation/custom of which way it will get played?

Thanks!

# Posted on May 25th 2012 by robatsu

Re: Smash the Windows C# or C natural in B part

I hear C natural at the start of the B part and C# at the end.

# Posted on May 25th 2012 by BFR

Re: Smash the Windows C# or C natural in B part

Well, as given in the sheet music (if you're a dot-reader) on this site, it's a C natural, which I never heard before, and I've been playing the tune for more years than I care to remember. However, I really like the twist that C natural gives to the tune, so I'm going to adopt it in future. As for kicking a tune off in a session, surely it's polite to follow the tune the way you play it, regardless of what others habitually do? If you like it with a C natural, I should steamroller the other players until you get your way! I would, but then I have the advantage of age, if nothing else.

# Posted on May 26th 2012 by jjfiddler

Re: Smash the Windows C# or C natural in B part

I hadn't really thought about this. I believe I've always played C#.

There are no C (of any kind) in the A section, so key or mode is not established when you come to the B section. Using the C natural makes the piece sound D mixolydian. Using C# makes it sound D major. Using C naturals first and C# at the end of the phrase (BFR's "like") makes it sound like it wanders into D mixolydian and back to D major.

Leaving aside the issue of whether that sort of description is totally correct of this kind of music, and just considering the result of the three approaches it seems to me that any one could work. I'm certain one can find many examples of all three approaches in the various tunes.

I kind of like BFRs approach. I may just try that on some folks this summer and see what kind of comments I get....

# Posted on May 26th 2012 by cboody

Re: Smash the Windows C# or C natural in B part

Thanks for all the input - I actually learned this tune years ago, with the C#, but played it with contra type folks. Seeing it published here w/the C natural made me wonder whether us contra folks were playing a bastardized version, but I guess not, it sounds like the C# is much more customary w/ITM folks as well.

That isn't to say the C natural isn't interesting - I like bfrs approach as well.

# Posted on May 26th 2012 by robatsu

Re: Smash the Windows C# or C natural in B part

Play the C nat at one point in the tune, and C sharp in another, just to mess with the heads of those who like to pidegeonhole these tunes into one mode or another! ;-)

# Posted on May 26th 2012 by AlBrown

Re: Smash the Windows C# or C natural in B part

Maybe C# for "Smash the Windows" but Cnat for "Roaring Jelly"? ;-)

# Posted on May 26th 2012 by Mix O'Lydian

Re: Smash the Windows C# or C natural in B part

Speaking as an expert on the matter, I'd say C♯, then throw in the C♮ and some jazzy chords later on ;-)

# Posted on May 26th 2012 by SmashTheWindows

Smash the Windows C# or C natural in B part

Another possibility, vastly entertaining for the pigeonholers, is to play a trick note (i.e. a note between C-nat and C#) instead of the C-nat or C#. Of course, this option isn't available to the fixed pitch instruments.

# Posted on May 26th 2012 by Trevor Jennings