The Session: Tunes - The Prince's Feather (reel)

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

If by the same way, someone could tell me the name of that... If there is one fact I'm sure, it's that the key is surely not the good one.

# Posted on August 17th 2006 by protz

(However, I'm sure about the version, the way for transposing it is free).

# Posted on August 17th 2006 by protz

This mish-mash has the clumsiness of a composition that shows little connection to the tradition or consideration for the dance most dance music carries, whatever key you might take it in. I'll be curious to see if it ever gains a name, origin or confession, but It is too far out in la-la land for me... Maybe this one is better off remaining nameless? ;-)

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

Pardon Monsieur Zede ~ WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? WHY?

Apologies, you may be innocent, but you caught me at an impatient point where I was chasing up that other 'gan ainm' you'd contributed just before this one, along with several other gan ainms I'd intended to find a names for, usually something that rings as familiar, "I know that tune, what is its name?". I suspect this mild obsession, if sometimes neglectted ;-) , might have something to do with the frustrations I regularly feel as a 'dyslexic', a category I only recently fell under.

The real reason for my '<' (snap) above was not your two 'gan ainms' in a row, never. Nor was it the obvious clumsy naivity of this composition, neither being something that would test my patience and consideration. We've had some questionable contributions made here in the past where either the name of the tune or the composer or both were left 'gan ainm', but where there was the feel of someone pulling a quick one, slipping in a self-composed 'gem' or 'turd' without bothering to name it or take credit for it. Sometimes, later, they'd confess up. Maybe it's kids, having a bit of fun. If there is a title, well, that usually is flag enough that it is a composition ~ by someone... It also tends to be obvious in the structure of the tune. It 'clunks' along and makes some silly changes for 'effect', to be 'cute', things that tend to disrupt the flow and that stick out glaringly as being 'artificial'. Either way, name or not, there is a glaring lack of respect or understanding for the traditions their attempting to plop it into.

These whims of fancy remind me of the musicians and other folks I've had to babysit on their drug 'trips'. They get so caught up in their own self importance and their imagined heightened creativity under the influence. Hell, they find the cure for all kinds of ills, create great music and great poetry. I've even given them the opportunity to exercise this passion and obsession. After the rush and adrenalin high the results have always come out clumsy, but mostly we get a good laugh. Sometimes the person doing the creating will swear it wasn't them, or it wasn't what they remembered. If a cure for anything, it didn't make sense. If poetry, it was gobbledegoop or Kubla Khanish ("In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure dome decree ~"). If music, well, it was just plain weird ~ it's own tradition outside of anything else that may have been intended... The sad thing is that some folks are that self-obsessed and convinced of their own genius without the influence of drugs. Now those 'are' the scary ones... :-/

Hey, I don't have anything at all against oddities and distortions, "monstruosités nouveux bizarre". I believe you have to exercise your whims and challenge the established once in awhile. You have to test the water, practice, and gain confidence before you swim. Sadly some have all the confidence without having gained that understanding time and experience bring. Most folks who eventually produce reasonable new tunes, tunes that dance or touch the nerves and emotions, will admit their early efforts were cack. For some, even though certain of their early efforts were alright, now refuse to play even their better efforts, and show a certain embarrassment when reminded of them. I support the use of the juice, meaning the creative variety, whatever your level of understanding. I showed my impatience here because this reminded me of something I don't support ~ someone dropping in their own work under the guise of 'gan ainm', as if that gave it some validation.
This is also another submission being made without any useful information, starting with the lack of a name, but that could have been made up for with something in the comments of use ~ such as WHERE you got it, WHO you got it from, WHY you think it should be submitted here ~ do you like it? ~ hate it? ~ feel indifferent about it? Is it a favourite you are desperate to get a name for? WHERE is it played? Is it just you who know it, or is it popular amongst a group of friends or at a session. As you've no history for it, make that personal, WHAT is your history with it? If you like it, show that passion ~ WHY???

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

P.S. ~ if you are unsure of the key and version, please, hold off until you have some sense of what it should be, or ask before you submit. There are loads of folks here ready and willing to help... Hell, if someone gave you this, ask them. If you picked it off of a recording ~ chase that up. Have some consideration for the rest of us, please... Get it as right as you can before submission...

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

This has potential to be a decent tune, but not with those part endings.

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by Dow

This is The Prince's Feather, by Maurice Lennon! I learned it in E major but maybe F is correct I don't know. It's on a Karen Tweed album as well as one of Stockton's Wing's.

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by patrick cavanagh

"The Prince's Feather" ~ by Maurice Lennon

Thanks Patrick, good on you, a gentleman. Zede is unsure of the key he's put it in, so you could be right, it may have been E Major in origin. I'll see if I can find it somewhere for a listen, maybe that will make me kinder and more patient? ;-)

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

And the reason this transcription looks like a pile of.. looks odd, is that everything is shifted over a half-measure or something. As it's written here, the last note of each part should actually be the first note of the next part. (sounds like a line from the Sanity Clause bit by the Marx Bros.) You'll see what I mean if you listen to the MIDI and ignore the fact that's it's missing the beginning. Better yet, listen to one of the recordings if you can. Or come by my session and I'll play it for you (in E though).

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by patrick cavanagh

Thanx Mr Cavanagh

Now the mystery is pierced.

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by protz

Malcolm Reavell - who I've mentioned several times before -transcribed this for me some years ago. He has it in "E".

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by Kenny

For my sins ~ mea culpa!

Kenny, Patrick, can you give folks another transcription, please? I came to it first when it was only ABC's, no midi or sheet, which was a strange read, thanks for adding the clarity. I was in a stubborn mood, not really Zede's fault, but too many folks over time submitting incomplete or unsure tunes ~ including self comps without a name or admitted ownership.

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

"The Prince's Feather" ~ the set

I've just been listening to a recording on the set and this tune and it is lovely. We need to work on getting it on site here in a decent state...

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

"The Prince's Feather" ~ misterzede's way with necessary correction

I haven't changed your notes misterzede, just corrected the barring. Next time, please, ask for help, or chase up your source or sources, and give a bit more time and consideration to adding some content in the comments. It's really a lovely tune, though your take does differ from the recording I've been enjoying. Anyway, here it is making more sense:

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

"The Prince's Feather" ~ misterzede's E

No all we need is Kenny's & Patrick's take on it, and if I transcribe this recording and it proves a significant difference from their contributions... (I live in hope. ;-) )

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

"The Prince's Feather" ~ some context

* ~ Aside from the Prince of Wales feather, or feathers, three as his emblem, it is

* ~ an English title for one of the flowers and plants of the Amaranthus family ~ the seeds, called 'keerie, can be ground for flour, including mixing it with other flours, and they can be used in a gruel, as a porridge. It appears in folks gardens and is considered beautiful, growing to two or three feet in height with a bright red bloom. It was included in the plants used as a herbal medicine by native Americans, including the Cherokee.

* ~ a patchwork quilt pattern...

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

"O Pioneers!", 1913, "Willa Cather's first great novel".

Chapter 4 ~ "All afternoon the sitting-room was full of quiet and sunlight. Emil was making rabbit traps in the kitchen shed. The hens were clucking and scratching brown holes in the flower beds, and the wind was teasing the prince's feather by the door."

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

"Pat of Silver Bush", 1933 ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery, 1874 - 1942

"The garden was afoam with starry white cosmos backed by the stately phalanx of the Prince's Feather."

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

"Why were amaranths forbidden?" ~ Chelsie Vandaveer ~ January 11, 2005

http://www.killerplants.com/plants-that-changed-history/20050111.asp

"Amaranth seeds were sent back to Europe, but not as colorful crops. They grew in flower gardens under such names as the prince's feather and flower gentle."

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

"Literature and Life: Spanish Prisoners of War" ~ William Dean Howells

III ~ "They are plucked from where nature bade them grow in the wild places, or their own wayward wills led them astray. A singularly fascinating chapter is that called "Escaped from Gardens," in which some of these pretty runagates are catalogued. I supposed in my liberal ignorance that the Bouncing Bet was the only one of these, but I have learned that the Pansy and the Sweet Violet love to gad, and that the Caraway, the Snapdragon, the Prince's Feather, the Summer Savory, the Star of Bethlehem, the Day-Lily, and the Tiger-Lily, and even the sluggish Stone Crop are of the vagrant, fragrant company. ~ "

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

Cho Se-hu˘i ~ "The Möbius Strip"

http://www.sogang.ac.kr/~anthony/klt/98fall/chosehui.htm

If Cho Se-hu˘i (b. 1942) had written nothing else besides his linked-story novel Nanjangi ki ssoaollin chagu˘n kong (A Tiny Ball Launched by a Dwarf), he would remain one of modern Korea's most important writers.

"The Möbius Strip" ~ by Cho Se-hu˘i

"The mathematics teacher entered the classroom. The students noticed that he hadn't brought the textbook. They trusted this teacher. In this school he was the only teacher to have won the students' trust.

"Gentlemen, he began. This has been a challenging year for you. You're really put your heart into your studies, all of you. And so, for this last class I'd like to talk about something that's not related to the college entrance exam. I've looked through some books and I've found something I'd like to share with you. Let me start by putting it to you in the form of a question: Two boys have just finished cleaning a chimney. One of them comes down from the chimney with his face black as night. The other comes down without a trace of soot. Now, gentlemen, which of the boys do you suppose will wash his face?

The students looked up at their teacher standing on the podium at the head of the classroom. None of them was quick to answer.

After a momentary silence one of the students rose.
-The one with the dirty face.
-I'm afraid not, said the teacher.
-Why not? asked another student.

The teacher explained.
-Two boys come down from the chimney, one with a clean face, one with a dirty face. The boy with the dirty face sees the boy with the clean face and decides his face is clean, too. And the boy with the clean face sees the boy with the dirty face and decides his face is dirty, too.

The students gasped in surprise. Every pair of eyes remained fixed on the teacher standing on the podium.

-Let's try it a second time: Two boys have just finished cleaning a chimney. One of them comes down from the chimney with his face black as night. The other comes down without a trace of soot. Now, gentlemen, which of the boys do you suppose will wash his face?
The very same question.

This time a student immediately rose.
-we know-it's the boy with the clean face.
The students waited expectantly for the teacher to respond.

-No, that's wrong.

-Why?

-You won't have to answer that question again, so please listen carefully. Two boys, together, cleaned the very same chimney. And so it's not possible that one of them had a clean face and the other a dirty face.

The teacher now took a piece of chalk and wrote "Möbius strip" on the chalkboard." ~

- - - - - - - - -

"They had torn down Humpback's house, the men with the sledgehammers. They had pulverized one of the walls, then stepped back and the north-facing roof had simply collapsed. That was all they had to do to his house. Humpback had been sitting where the prince's-feather grew beside the poplar tree. He had risen and merely gazed at the sky. His wife and their four children were picking the ears of corn left for seed on the cornstalks bordering their yard. Before the men with the sledgehammers moved to the next house they had silently observed the woman and children. They hadn't resisted the men, they hadn't cried. The men had found this disturbing." ~

The connection and the rest of this man's work is well worth a read... The complete content can be found by following the above link, several stories. At 12 point it is around 60 A4 pages...

I fell in love with his writing and had to share it... ;-)

# Posted on August 18th 2006 by ceolachan

Finally...

I'm happy to see that the tune suits to everybody. Sorry about the gan ainm, but sometimes it also works by the way "six for me,half a dozen for you"...the result is a nice tune with a face an a composer. And even if I'm French, I try to do the best I can with my posts, It just occurs that some tunes are too obscure and rarely heard to be known in their whole. And no, I'm not stoned!!!

# Posted on August 19th 2006 by protz

With the barlines moved it makes sense as a whole - and a nice tune it is too.

# Posted on August 19th 2006 by Dow

FWIW...

Here's how it's played around Chez Cavanagh:
X:1
T:The Prince's Feather
M:4/4
R:reel
K:E
|GABc BG~G2|BGBc BGFG|EGBe Bcec|BEGB cF~F2|
|cF~F2 c2BA|GBAF GEED|Ee~e2 eBBA|GBAF GE~E2:|
|~F2FG FB,~B,2|FGAB AGFG|E2BE cEBE|GBed cBAG|
|~F2FG FB,~B,2|FGAB AGFG|Ee~e2 eBBA|GBAF GE~E2:||
Not too different, really.
Doesn't get much airtime at the local sessions, though.

# Posted on August 19th 2006 by patrick cavanagh

Malcolm Reavell's transcription:

# Posted on August 20th 2006 by Kenny

And mine, direct from the CD. Rolls denote same-note triplets on mandolin.

X: 1
T: Prince's Feather, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Emaj
~E3c BG~G2|BGBc BGFG|EGBe Bcec|BEGB cF~F2|
cF~F2 cFBA|GBAF GEFD|Ee~e2 eBBA|1 GBAF GEED:|2 GBAF GEEG||
|:~F3G FB,~B,2|FGAB AGFG|~E2BE cEBE|GBed cBAG|
~F3G FB,~B,2|FGAB AGFG|E2~e2 eBBA|1 GBAF GEEG:|2 GBAF GEED||

# Posted on April 18th 2008 by Dow

G major would sit nicely on the flute, probably:

X: 1
T: Prince's Feather, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Gmaj
~G3e dB~B2|dBde dBAB|GBdg dege|dGBd eA~A2|
eA~A2 eAdc|BdcA BGAF|Gg~g2 gddc|1 BdcA BGGF:|2 BdcA BGGB||
|:~A3B AD~D2|ABcd cBAB|~G2dG eGdG|Bdgf edcB|
~A3B AD~D2|ABcd cBAB|G2~g2 gddc|1 BdcA BGGB:|2 BdcA BGGF||

# Posted on April 18th 2008 by Dow

And D major might be quite nice on the fiddle with those growly low A's in the 1st part:

X: 1
T: Prince's Feather, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Dmaj
D3B AF~F2|AFAB AFEF|DFAd ABdB|ADFA BE~E2|
BE~E2 BEAG|FAGE FDEC|Dd~d2 dAAG|1 FAGE FDDC:|2 FAGE FDDF||
|:~E3F EA,~A,2|EFGA GFEF|D2AD BDAD|FAdc BAGF|
~E3F EA,~A,2|EFGA GFEF|D2~d2 dAAG|1 FAGE FDDF:|2 FAGE FDDC||

# Posted on April 18th 2008 by Dow