Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Beaumont Rag

reel

Key signature: Fmajor

Submitted on October 6th 2005 by dorktoo.

This tune has been added to 32 tunebooks.

Also known as The Beaumont Rag.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

No Boundaries by Natalie MacMaster

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Not exactly a Reel and doesn't exactly sound Irish Trad. Some comments here to explain why the tune was submitted or where it came from might at least make it more acceptable.
Is it something to do with the Dublin suburb of Beaumont by any chance?
BTW I am only doing this tune police work in the apparent absence of Dow - where are you?

# Posted on October 7th 2005 by Donough

I wonder if some people are using this site to convert abcs into sheet music. Beaumont Rag is a common tune in American fiddling circles, and popular among bluegrassers. I've never heard it at an Irish session, even in West Virginia....

# Posted on October 7th 2005 by Miss Lonelyhearts

The tune was added to one tunebook - probably same person! Thanks Will, for your enlightenment on the Beaumont origin. I hope you're not right about people using this site for conversion purposes. There's a perfectly good resource for that on the web at Concertina site.
Where are you Jeremy - Tunes/Discussions have been deleted for less

# Posted on October 7th 2005 by Donough

I'ts a 'rag', played sometimes for dance in America, but this notation is just damned weird. The 'maths' are wrong...

# Posted on October 7th 2005 by ceolachan

To be fair, I have been at an Irish session where a visiting American group imposed it on us. It's fun, but I wouldn't choose to believe or follow this transcript...

# Posted on October 7th 2005 by ceolachan

Alright, I've figured it out, but I still think this is a strange way to notate this. I was just reading the sheet and some of the barring isn't clear as it shows here. Bars 4, 5 & 6, for instance, would have made more sense to me, personally speaking, if they'd been notated so:

~ | dcAc- cdcA | cdeg- gege | agec- cdcA | ~

Hey, I'm easily confused... ;-)

# Posted on October 7th 2005 by ceolachan

Beaumont

I e-mailed the requester and steered them to Fiddlers Fakebook, since it didn't really seem to me this was the right site. I don't usually do that if I know a tune I'm not going to post, but a couple of folks apparently new to the site lately haven't figured out there's a search function, either, so I just sat down and did about 4 e-mails. One responded asking how to find a tune that was already here, and I suspect got it straightened out and may become a regular. I know other members have done the same for others - but I guess there's been something in the air lately, huh. Even tho i'm not much of a "purist" this still seems to me like the wrong site for this tune.

cj

# Posted on October 7th 2005 by cj

Texas swing, popularized by Bob Wills.

# Posted on October 8th 2005 by dmarie

"The Beaumont Rag"

A different take on it ~

"The Phillips Collection of Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, Volume 2"

1. Rags, Blues, Listening Pieces, Two Steps, Western Swing, Schottisches, etc...

Page 18: Beaumont Rag

"The repeated portion of section 2 is played either two or three times. Similarly, the first 4 measures of section 3 are sometimes not repeated. When these phrases are omitted, both sections contain 12 measures instead of 16. A fourth part is often added that uses double shuffle bowing."

Mind you, this is a 'different' version, which is in the key of 'F' and starts so:

f2 g2 a2 ||
bab(e ga)gf | efe(d cd)eg | aga(e fg)fc | dc=Bd c2 Ac |
cde(f g^f)ge | age(d cd)cE | FGAc- c(dc)A | dcA(d cd)cA | ~

I'm inclined to agree that these don't quite fit here, and just grabbing another bar out of this tune, how's this'n?:

| f'c'd'f'- f'(e' d'2) :|

When those bluegrassers showed up at that previously mentioned sesh, well, when they played this the rest of us sat back, put our instruments down and listened while we drank. The did get a lot of applause and folks asked for more, in varied states of slur. I have vague memories as to how it concluded. The last thing I remember is going for a p*ss with a few others, making faces as we watered the wall, and then heading out and down the street through the easy exit provided there.

# Posted on October 8th 2005 by ceolachan

I really don't like those pearl buttoned cowboy shirts...or the snakeskin boots...

# Posted on October 8th 2005 by ceolachan

Damn, honesty, I have to be ~ all that said previously, I love rags and I like 'The Beaumont Rag', in some of its guises...

# Posted on October 8th 2005 by ceolachan

Beaumont Rag

I've heard that this was written by a "Texas Swing" fiddler, probably in the 1940'S. We play it in "c". Fun tune on harmonica.

# Posted on October 12th 2005 by Rdcross

Stop Dawgin the Tune

Natalie Macalistar performs this on her life album of last year. It is a traditional tune that was set to a Rag phrasing in the States. Once you here Natalie play it, well, you will never go back to objecting to tunes that don't sound familiar until you've heard a Macalistar or her brother Macissac (yeh, there brother and sister, play them the Cape Breton way.

# Posted on January 16th 2006 by texross

Texross, I can only assume you mean Natalie McMaster (Ashley MacIssac is not her brother).

The tune is fine, but not typical Irish session fodder, and not really appropriate for this site, especially if the submitter used the site just to convert abcs to sheet music.

# Posted on January 16th 2006 by Miss Lonelyhearts

Beaumont Rag at Lerwick session

Here's a clip of this tune being played by some mates back home in the boating club. I'm quite fond of this tune, myself.

# Posted on April 23rd 2007 by Swift

Beaumont Rag at Lerwick session

Oops, didn't even post the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Jpn82dxtk

There ya go - note the back of Debbie Scott's head on the left, and Brian Nicholson of Hom Bru behind her...peerie Maggie can't half swing it on the fiddle eh?

# Posted on May 25th 2007 by Swift

Did you say boat? I was starting to feel seasick... And that scary face filling the screen for a spell.. Best to just listen maybe and not look? Great fun!

# Posted on May 25th 2007 by ceolachan