Key signature: Amajor
Submitted on May 18th 2001 by Jeremy.
This tune has been added to 268 tunebooks.
Also known as Clumsy Lover, The Clumsy Lover, The Sloppy Kisser (by Aoife Murphy).
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: Clumsy Lover, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Amaj
|:ceef ecBA|dfff =gfed|ceef ecBA|dBBA B2d2|
ceef ecBA|dfff =gfed|ceec dAGA|BAAG A4:|
|:ceea aeec|deea aeed|ceea aeec|dBBA B2d2|
ceea aeec|deea aeed|ceec dAGA|BAAG A4:|
|:ceec ecec|dfff =gfed|ceec ecec|dBBA B2d2|
ceec ecec|dfff =gfed|ceec dAGA|BAAG A4:|
|:caac acac|daad adad|caac acac|Bece deBe|
caac acac|daad adad|ceec dAGA|BAAG A4:|
It's not as hard as it looks. All four parts are basically just variations on a theme. See the way all the parts have the same ending? Once you've mastered that one phrase, you've got have the tune memorized.
This is a fairly silly sounding reel, and a lot of fun to play. Each part is a little bit more frenetic and more difficult than the part before. It's the dueling banjos of the trad world.
Speaking of banjos... if you're a banjo player, the last part is actually quite easy. Make an A chord by holding down the C# and A at the same time, for the first bar. For the next bar, just hold down the D and A at the same time.
As far as I know, this was composed by Neil Dickie, a Scotsman.
# Posted on June 1st 2001 by Jeremy
Pipe Tune
This tune is also hugely popular with the better highland pipe bands. keeping police & firemen busy all over the world
# Posted on July 21st 2001 by Brad Maloney
The Clumsy Lover
Apparently the tune is also referred to by session wits as "The Awkward F****er".
# Posted on March 2nd 2002 by LongNote
The Clumsy Lover
Ian McDonald fom Glenuig plays a fantastic version of this tune as a jig .The album is called "The First Harvest" which also fetures Iain McFarlane and Ross Martin.
# Posted on February 23rd 2003 by weemanwatson
Original Version
Since this tune is not that old, and Scotsman Neil Dickie is quite alive and well in Alberta, Canada, it might be noted that this is a Six-Part Highland Pipe-tune, and it is published in one of his music collections. There is a Highland embellishment which needs to be rendered as a triplet to make the tune sound like the composer's original published version. It is actually under copyright, and I suggest a glance at the book before transposing or arranging for instruments other than the Highland pipes. It is a great tune, but the greatness is not quite brought out in this version.
# Posted on August 10th 2005 by israelpiper
"The Clumsy Lover" ~ reel into a jig ~ "The Spicy Jig"
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/3828
# Posted on December 2nd 2005 by ceolachan
Neil Dickie's original
This tune is alot of fun to play on the hammered dulcimer because it jumps around so much. It is pretty awkward at first but with practice it's pretty impressive. I agree with isrealpiper about the version though. This one isn't the best and if your learning it for the first time I would suggest using Neil Dickie's original version, it's much better.
# Posted on May 31st 2006 by MartySmith
Sheet Music Question (the Clumsy lover)
Sorry if this is a silly question but I'm not much of an expert on sheet music & occasionally resort to it to learn a tune !
If you look at the sheet music for the clumsy lover posted by Jeremy on this site the # symbol indicates that the G in the second octave is sharp but each time the G is in the tune it is preceded by a natural symbol !
Can anybody explain that ?
# Posted on June 30th 2006 by Eamonn Croke
Re: Sheet Music Question (the Clumsy lover)
No g#s in pipe music - all naturals.
# Posted on June 30th 2006 by Kenny
Re: Sheet Music Question
Yeah, isn't pipe music always in Amaj or a variation of it? cos the pipes can only be played in one key. i have a bagpipe version on a website if anyone wants it.
# Posted on August 26th 2006 by highland_dancer
Re: sheet music question
Pipe music is commonly in D but there are no G#'s in highland pipe tunes, which you need to play in Amaj. More often it's closer to Amix.
# Posted on September 14th 2006 by MartySmith
A rant in Amixolydian
More to the point, this tune hasn't got any A# not 'because it is a pipe tune' but because it is NOT in Amajor: it's in A mixolydian.
Incidentally, the usual scottishpipe version of it has fully Amix. endings (more powerful to my ears thn the tepid low g# hybrid we have here.
(some pipetunes are bastardised versions of Amajor tunes but that's another story: sometimes to great effect but more often as irritating as hearing wideranging Irishtunes played 'with a kilt on' (as P.Keenan once put it (or who was it?).)
Laying out the wrong 'clef' for a non-classical mode ('You can chose any colour provided it's black' ...or major OR minor) used to be less fa mistake than a diehard habit or ignorance in many an ancient, and not so ancient, trad. tune collector (both book and writer!) (likewise, many an old tutorbook for the piano contains a 'bagpipe' piece written in... the lydian mode! Supposedly because the chanter of the SP is tuned to it (that's if you start at the bottom note which is the subtonic!)(I guess the concept of a drone or a tune with strong bottom g characteristics was hard to grasp for these mittleuropaean pianists who probably never heard the pipes in the first place!)
Maybe it's time we learn to do without the ## and bb (like Scottishpipers do altogether)
)
(They are useful as accidentals of course, but it'd be simpler to stipulate the name of the basic mode used -using, for instance, a simple code or abreviation which could say much more and more effectively: give the range, the place of the tonic in it, the allied tonality (sometimes), the number of degrees in it, the same coul be said about time signatures of course: better know you're dealing with a polka than 'something' written in 2/4 or 4/4 or whatever time signature!
One reason for not developping this practice is that it still confines the tune to a system (albeit more flexible)...)- and trad musicians want less written bull and more oral instant gratification!
This is why I must stop here and resume my tune-browsing activity! (I'd give a burst on the pipes now if it wasnt for the nasty neighbours (with kids!!!!) and the advanced time of day!
# Posted on September 29th 2006 by birlibirdie
I meant g# there
oops: I meant g# not a# of course...
# Posted on September 30th 2006 by birlibirdie
The Clumsy Lovers
If you ever get a chance to see the band Clumsy Lovers, they are a lot of fun. Their fiddle player is quite good and she is very cute too
http://www.clumsylovers.com
# Posted on December 30th 2006 by timmy!
Clumsy Lover copyrights
Okay, I did a search for this already but since there are about 50 million discussions here having to do with both Clumsy Lover and copyrights, I didn't spend too much time looking. But I know that Clumsy Lover IS under copyright, so my question is: how does one go about getting permission from Neil Dickie. I saw a comment left by israelpiper for that tune on this site that makes me wonder if it would be dangerous to transpose or re-arrange it. It is a great tune and I would love to get this recorded, but without stepping on Mr. Dickie's toes. Thanks.
# Posted on January 19th 2007 by MartySmith
Re: Clumsy Lover copyrights
You might try to reach Neil through the publisher (who might also hold the copyright)--email at:
scott.williams@ns.sympatico.ca
# Posted on January 19th 2007 by Miss Lonelyhearts
Re: Clumsy Lover copyrights
Thanks! Man you guys are fast around here. I just posted this.
# Posted on January 19th 2007 by MartySmith
Clumey Lover copyrights
Okay, I tried the email address for Scott Williams and he said that he did not publish the tune and that I would need to get ahold of Neil Dickie himself for permission. Anybody know how one might do this? I'll spend some time on the old internet looking, but that's not near as reliable as you session guys.
# Posted on January 23rd 2007 by MartySmith
Gary West, who presents the BBC Radio Scotland piping programme "Pipelines" might be able to help. You could e-mail him through the BBC Scotland website.
# Posted on January 24th 2007 by Kenny
Cool
Thanks Kenny! I'll give it a go.
# Posted on January 24th 2007 by MartySmith
Rig the Jig
I recently got the album Passing Through, by Rig the Jig. Their rendition of the jig incarnation of this tune blew me away. Stared out with bodhran establishing the rhythm and then a single whistle bouncing all over the place on the tune, joined in by guitar and others. Really cranks.
# Posted on May 8th 2007 by tedsoulos
Great sound
this really sounds class played on the button accordian!
# Posted on July 29th 2007 by aoibheann-90
Uilleann Pipe Version
X: 1
T: Clumsy Lover Reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Dmix
|:AG | FAAF BAGF | GBBG cBAG | FAAF BAGF | GE E2 GFED |
FAAF BAGF | GBBG cBAG | FAAF GE E2 | FD D2 D3A :||
|:FAAd dAFA | GBBd dBAG | FAAd dAFA | GE E2 GFED |
FAAd dAFA | GBBd dBAG | FAAF GE E2 | FD D2 D3A :||
|:FFdF FdFd | GGdG GdGd | FFdF FdFd | EdFd GdEd |
FFdF FdFd | GGdG GdGd | FAAF GE E2 | FD D2 D3A :||
# Posted on August 7th 2007 by JACKB
Contacting Neil Dickie
The best shot at contacting Neil Dickie is to do it through the SFU Pipe Band, who Neil used to play with and whose concerts he MCs. Jack Lee or Rob MacNeil should be able to put you in touch with Neil.
# Posted on August 26th 2007 by malcombpiper
2part tune
i have only heard this tune played with 2 verses the 1st and last verse
# Posted on September 17th 2007 by banjo-craze
Sorry, I'm a beginner
Hi, I'm actually a beginner. I've been tryin this tune by this sheet. It doesnt sound correct. I've been tryin it on a bagpipe. Why doesn't it sound correct? Can anyone explain? If this isn't the version of clumsy lover on the bagpipe can anyone send me the sheet music? Plz.
# Posted on August 14th 2008 by kelvin_dave94
See israelpiper's comment above. You might drop them a line by clicking on their name in red. Most folks on site here are more than willing to give a beginner help, and in this case you'd both be GHB pipers and speaking the same language...
# Posted on August 14th 2008 by ceolachan