Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Old Black Guard

hornpipe

Key signature: Dmajor

Submitted on February 14th 2003 by lazyhound.

This tune has been added to 13 tunebooks.

Also known as The Black Guard Schottische, The Old Blackguard, The Old Blaggard.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

Irish Accordion Masters by Joe Derrane And Jerry O'Brien
Traditional Music From Ireland by Seamus Creagh And Aidan Coffey

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

X: 1
T: Old Black Guard, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: hornpipe
K: Dmaj
|:(3ABc|d2F2 A2BA|G2C2 E3D|CDEF GABc|(3dfe (3dcB A2 (3ABc|
d2F2 A2BA|G2C2 E2ef|gfed cAcd|1 eddc d2:|2 eddc d2AF||
|:DEFA dced|c2B2 G3B|c2B2 G3A|B2A2 F3E|
DEFA dced|c2B2 G2ef|gfed cAcd|1 eddc d2AF:|2 eddc d4||

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

I was taught this hornpipe (barndance?) yesterday by Jill Elliott of the Hibernia Centre in Bristol, and I've transcribed it from a tape of her teaching performance. This hornpipe goes well with the Glenbeigh Hornpipe, which should follow it. I have posted the version of the Glenbeigh that Jill uses and teaches as a comment on the Glenbeigh file http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/670.

Bars 2-4 of The Old Black Guard can be played with chords as follows: c2B2 [B3G3]B|c2B2 [B3G3]A|B2A2 [A3F3]E|.

# Posted on February 14th 2003 by lazyhound

Bars 2-4 of the B part, I should have said!

# Posted on February 14th 2003 by lazyhound

I can almost hear the brushes on the snare drums....

# Posted on February 14th 2003 by Will CPT

At the lesson we discussed whether it's a hornpipe or a barndance, and it's one of those tunes (like the Glenbeigh hornpipe) which could be slotted into either category. My tutor decided on balance that hornpipe was more appropriate.

# Posted on February 14th 2003 by lazyhound

Hornpipe vs barndance

I would say it's more of a barndance. Hornpipes get played with the same slow swingy rhythms, but I think the difference is when a tune has a lot of two quater notes followed by a dotted quater note in it (like this tune). It's a fine, dicey line and it only matters to the truely anal-retentive types. It's a good tune & it doesn't matter whether someone calls it a hornpipe or a barndance.

# Posted on February 14th 2003 by Mad Baloney

Brad
thanks for your useful distinction between hornpipe and barndance, I'll keep it in mind for future reference.

# Posted on February 14th 2003 by lazyhound

Pooka, I doubt if there was needle in Will's posting. I reckon the tune or its name had a resonance for him.

# Posted on February 15th 2003 by lazyhound

Touchy feely touchy

mr pooka,what's with your snare drum needle??
i've just read this thread and i took another meaning from Will's remark.i don't think you can infer anything from that line for sure either way.
so there...
i'll get your coat just right after i've found mine...

# Posted on February 15th 2003 by biggus dave

Barndance!

Definitely!

# Posted on February 23rd 2003 by LongNote

Our local pipe band has a good corps of drummers, and one of them once or twice brought a snare drum to our Irish session. The sticks were a bit over the top, but when he brought out the brushes for a set of stately hornpipes, I was transported back to seeing the Black Watch as a child leaning over the ramparts. The most moving moment was when the pipes all went silent but one, and he was accompanied by a lone drummer with brushes on a snare. It still raises the hair on my neck.

Nevertheless, I still like to tease our local snare drummer, given the opportunity.

# Posted on February 23rd 2003 by Will CPT

BARNDANCE! - so I'm anal retentive?

It would be nice to see this barndance/schottische under that heading just so tunes like this could have a rightful recognition as being that little bit different from the huge store of hornpipes in the world, and so they could also outnumber the other odd things collecting under what has become a bit of a dustbin heading, like the mixed meter Balkan stuff collected there.

# Posted on July 29th 2004 by ceolachan

# Posted on September 11th 2004 by ceolachan

This can also be paired up as first of a set of barndances, followed by 'The Nova Scotia Barndance':

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/3561

As played by 'The Irish All Stars' (early 1950s Boston) -
Joe Derrane & Jerry O'Brien, accordions
George Derrane, banjo
Hermeline German, piano

# Posted on September 28th 2004 by ceolachan