Key signature: Dmajor
Submitted on February 2nd 2007 by JACKB.
This tune has been added to 13 tunebooks.
Also known as Larach Alasdair, Larach Alastair's March.
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: Larach Alastair
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmaj
|: ABA a2e | f2d ecA | ABA a2e | g2e dBG |
ABA a2e | f2d efg | agf g2e | d2g dBG :|
|: A2e c2e | A2f ecA | A2e c2e | B2g dBG |
A2e c2e | d2e B2g | agf g2e | d2g dBG |
A2e c2e | A2f ecA | A2e c2e | B2g dBG |
A3 c2A | d2e g2e | agf g2e | d2g dBG ||
Larach Alastair
I got this lovely jig from the brilliant Scottish fiddle player Cathy Fraser who lives in South Australia.
# Posted on February 2nd 2007 by JACKB
Key
Lovely tune, very fresh and lively. The key is Amix.
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by Reelin´ man
A Mixolydian
Yes ~ it resolves on 'A'... It also doesn't feel like a jig...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
"Larach Alastair" ~ to jig or not to jig?
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: strathspey (?)
K: A Mixolydian
|: (3AAA a>e f>d (3ecA | (3AAA a>e g>e (3dBG |
(3AAA a>e f>de>g | (3agf g>e d>g (3dBG :|
|: A>ec>e A>f (3ecA | A<ec>e B<g (3dBG |
[1 A>ec>e d>eB>g | a<fg<e d>g (3dBG :|
[2 A2 c>A d>eg>e | (3agf g>e d>g (3dBG ||
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
Oh yeah, and to end ~ || A4 ||| ;-/
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
Sounds more like it might be a single jig to me.
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by Phantom Button
Yeah, but not quite, the usual single jig two measure phrase being something like:
| N2 N N2 N | N2 N NNN |
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
But ~ | NNN N2 N | N2 N NNN | ~ ?
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
It wouldn't be the first time a 'swung' tune was turned into a jig...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
In notation...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
Jig
It sounds like a jig to me, the second part goes into a single jig.
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by JACKB
It don't to me, sorry...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
But you're right, the second part does have that single jig look to it...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
Don't mind me Jack, I'm just in a wind-up mood today. I actually love single jigs, like good granola, they have lots of fibre, good for the musical digestion. This is a fun tune to play and I was having fun trying to see what I could squeeze from it. It did give me a strathspey / highland feel though, so I thought I'd nudge it that way and see what happened. It wasn't completely without success, 'Button' came along for the ride...
Now for an irritating smiley, which one though?
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
What makes for this 'feel' is the two measure phrases, in your notation that would be akin to seeing it as 12/8, but what I did instead, to emphasize that structure, was to put it into 4/4 and remove every other bar line and then convert N2 N to N>N, as given above... It would take a bit more doctoring to make it really swing as a strathspey / highland, but not a lot...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
K: A Mixolydian
|: (3AAA a>e f>de>A | (3AAA a>e g<ed>G |
(3AAA a>e f>d (3efg | (3agf g>e d<gd>G :|
|: A>ec>e A>f (3ecA | A<ec>e B<gd>G |
[1 (3AAA c>e (3ddd B>g | a<fg<e d>gd>G :|
[2 A2 (3cBA d>eg>e | (3agf g>e d<gd<G ||
Maybe I'm screwing around with it a little here, but I think it still remains A Mixolydian...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
Hamish Moore recorded it as a jig.
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by slainte
Strathspey
Ceolachan I just tried your Strathspey and you're spot on it works almost the same. Well picked up. (Worked out)
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by JACKB
Don't encourage him.
Hyuk hyuk hyuk
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by Phantom Button
What does Hamish know, eh?
I like the "Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk!" ~ do you really laugh like that? It would be worth dropping in to SF just to experience that and make a recording...
I know, I know guys, don't encourage him...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
Seriously though, ha! ~ I like the tune however you take it... It's fun... For a bit more 'fright' ~ I've also been playing it as a march...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
Larach Alasdair (JIG)
Hamish Moore cites "Ross's Pipe Music" published in 1885 as the source.
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by slainte
That was before bifocals and hearing aids ~ and we all know pipers have a problem with their hearing...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
I'm assuming, maybe wrongly, that this is Willy Ross, or William, late 19th Century, who was piper to the Queen, in this case Queen Victoria, and whose collection, numbering 6, is a prized possession of Highland bagpipers? The problem I see is that, at least in those 6, I don't think this one is listed? Curious that ~ but I'd like to know more...
# Posted on February 3rd 2007 by ceolachan
Jig or not
Since the NNN N2 N2 NNN pattern in the first part is only a slight variant of the single jig N2 N2 N2 NNN and the latter often shines through in the second part, this tune rather is a jig to me. Playing it on the mandolin I also feel that there is a smooth flow to it, which I´d rather associate with a jig. I am not really an expert on the origins of ITM or STM, so I would like to know whether this tune can be called Traditional Scottish.
# Posted on February 4th 2007 by Reelin´ man
Yup! That's the case so far...
# Posted on February 4th 2007 by ceolachan
Can you speak up, I missed that.
# Posted on February 4th 2007 by JACKB
Stop it with the feather Jack, that tickles...
# Posted on February 4th 2007 by ceolachan
Would this not make a nice 6/8 pipe march?
Not sure about 'c's strathspey/highland idea though
# Posted on February 4th 2007 by Dow
Yes, it goes nicely in march mode...
# Posted on February 5th 2007 by ceolachan
"Larach Alastair's March"
R: march (~ a first attempt to marchify this…)
K: A Dorian
|: A>BA a2 e | f2 d e>cA | Ac/B/A aee | g2e d>BG |
A>BA ae/e/e | fd/d/d ed/e/f | g>af g2 e | dBg dBG :|
|: AE/E/E cE/E/E | AEf ecA | Ae/e/e ce/e/e | BGg d>BG |
[1 Ae/e/e ce/e/e | de/e/e BGg | a>gf g2 e | dBg dBG :|
[2 EA/A/A cA/A/A | dA/A/A cge | a>gf g2e | dBg dBG ||
Finish ~ || A3 a. z2 ||
# Posted on February 5th 2007 by ceolachan
Larach Alastair
This is a lovely tune. I was also introduced to it by Catherine Fraser. It isn't in either Amaj or Amin - it's called the bagpipe scale on the fiddle.
# Posted on December 17th 2007 by violingal4eva
this tune sounds like a close relative of callaich a dudhain (the old wife of the mill dust)
http://thepub.forumandco.com/classic-tunes-requests-f19/old-wife-jig-t611.htm
# Posted on September 9th 2008 by kings taxes