Key signature: Dmajor
Submitted on February 15th 2005 by Guidus.
This tune has been added to 16 tunebooks.
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: John MacDonald's Exercise
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmaj
|:FAA DAA|FAA d2A|FAA DAA|d2A BAA|
FAA DAA|FAA d2A|BdB DBA|BFF GEE:|
|:FAA dAA|Bdd B2A|FAA d2A|Bd=c BAA|
FAA dAA|Bdd B2A|BdB DBA|BFF GEE:|
|:ABF ABD|FAD ABF|BdB DBB|dAA BFF|
ABF ABD|FAD ABF|BdB DBA |BFF GEE:|
|:~F3 Fdd|GBB FAA|~F3 Fdd|GBB BAG|
~F3 Fdd|GBB FAA|BdB DBA|BFF GEE:|
John MacDonald's Exercise
This is the second tune of the initial set "Gie's a Drink" in Deaf Shepherd's wonderful "Ae Spark O Nature's Fire". I transposed it from Bbmaj. In the recording, it follows "Give Us a Drink of Water", a slip jig; the set then continues with reels. I'd like to make a set with these two jigs, followed by another one or two; any suggestions are welcome.
# Posted on February 15th 2005 by Guidus
Really nice tune, thanks for posting it. The original key, of course, is explained by it being played on Highland pipes (keyed in Bb). It might be nice to have a version of the tune in A Mixolydian as well - this would be a more usual transposition, as it corresponds to how the original pipe setting is laid out also. It makes it easier to get us smallpipe players playing with fiddles etc also!
# Posted on February 15th 2005 by niallanderson
Couldn't reply to Goccia's personal email to me... The key signature is correct as it stands, but the tune should start on C# (something like CEE AEE, excuse my poor ABC) to correspond with the pipe setting.
As far as tunes to add on in a set, one of my current favourites is The Panda (search on this site for a version). I think that might go rather nicely after this.
# Posted on February 15th 2005 by niallanderson
Amix version
Hello niallanderson, there you are the AMix version:
X: 1
T:John MacDonald's Exercise (AMix version)
M:6/8
L:1/8
R:jig
K:Amix
%
|:cee Aee|cee a2e|cee Aee|a2e fee|
cee Aee|cee a2e|faf Afe|fcc dBB:|
|:cee aee|faa f2e|cee a2e|fa=g fee|
cee aee|faa f2e|faf Afe|fcc dBB:|
|:efc efA|ceA efc|faf Aff|aee fcc|
efc efA|ceA efc|faf Afe |fcc dBB:|
|:~c3 caa|dff cee|~c3 caa|dff fed|
~c3 caa|dff cee|faf Afe|fcc dBB:|
Kindly transposed by abc2abc. Later, Goccia
# Posted on February 17th 2005 by Guidus
nice tune, i prefer it in bmin the deaf shepard recorded it though.
# Posted on February 17th 2005 by LaraKerr
Gordon Duncan, a great Highland piper, composed "The Panda" and other great tunes. One of my favorite tunes by Gordon is a hornpipe, "Zito the Bubbleman."
If the piper played the A mix setting on the Scottish smallpipes in D, the tune was come out an octave above the D setting posted originally if it was played on the fiddle.
If the piper played the A mix setting on the SSP in A, then the tune would come out an octave below the fiddler playing the A mix setting. If, however, the piper played the same setting on the Border or Lowland pipes (pitched in A, not Bb), the pipes and fiddle would be playing the tune in the same octave.
# Posted on February 17th 2005 by bellows boy