Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Snuff Wife

jig

Key signature: Amixolydian

Submitted on September 10th 2008 by Bogman.

This tune has been added to 17 tunebooks.

Also known as Snuff Wife.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

Chloe's Passion by An Lar (An Lár)
Home Is Where The Van Is by Battlefield Band
If Anyone Can! by Leo McCann
The Big Spree by Breabach
The Blue Lamp by Jonny Hardie And Gavin Marwick
The Broken Chanter by Fred Morrison
The First Harvest by Iain MacDonald And Iain MacFarlane
Tryst by Iain MacInnes

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

X: 1
T: Snuff Wife, The
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Amix
d2c BGB|BGB BGB|d2c BGB|AAA c2A|
d2c BGB|BGB Bcd|e2d cBc|AAA c2A:|
Bcd dGd|Bcd dGd|cAc BGB|AAA c2A|
Bcd dGd|BBB Bcd|e2d cBc|1AAA c2A:|2AAA d2f||
ecA ecA|ecA e2e|fdf ece|dcd f2d|
ecA ecA|eee efg|agf gfe|dcd f2d:|
efg gfg|efg gfg|fdf ece|dcd f2d|
efg gfg|ece efg|agf gfe|1dcd f2d:|2dcd g2e||

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

This is a popular traditional highland pipe reel. Picked it up from Leo McCanns' album "If Anyone Can"

# Posted on September 10th 2008 by Bogman

G lydian in the 1st 2 parts. Interesting tune!

# Posted on September 10th 2008 by Dow

Yes Dow you're right. I didn't see that very often, I know a tune tune from Liz Carroll which seems to have its 2nd part in E lydian, with the rest (1st part and end of 2nd) in E dor. That gives something really great... but I don't have the name. I'd like to post it, but not with 'Gan Ainm' as a title.

# Posted on September 10th 2008 by protz

Thanks for fulfilling my request!

# Posted on September 10th 2008 by bdh

But I can't get the sense of this title (got a bad English)?... it seems strange to me :-/

# Posted on September 10th 2008 by protz

Snuff is like tobacco you snort protz

# Posted on September 10th 2008 by Bogman

Snuff

The snuff wife ... a powdered tobacco seller

# Posted on September 10th 2008 by spindizzy

Very interesting tune! I've rarely seen anything using the lydian mode, much less anything that sounded very good...

# Posted on September 10th 2008 by JosephofCK

A great Scottish jig...

One of the best pipe-jigs ever, and one of my favourites,popularised, I'd say, by the "Battlefield Band". The key changes really tie accompanists up in knots, in my experience.

# Posted on September 10th 2008 by Kenny

Mode

I can't see any reason to classify this as a B minor tune. There are grounds for G lydian and A mix in 1 & 2, and A mix and D maj in 3 & 4, depending on whether you hear the opening or closing passages as the modal centre.

# Posted on September 11th 2008 by Matt Seattle

Matt, the reason the tune is listed in B minor is because it has two sharps. The first two parts may be in G lydian but the last two are not. Any way you list the tune would be wrong. B minor was the best choice as it has the right amount of sharps. You can't list a tune here in two keys.

# Posted on September 11th 2008 by Bogman

Actually....

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/8744

# Posted on September 11th 2008 by Kenny

I know you can have tunes in two keys here but they have to be listed in one key here. It's G lydian to Amix. ??? There is no G lydian choice here though. Maybe it would be better listed A mix? Any opinions?

# Posted on September 11th 2008 by Bogman

Comment on Mode/Key

Hi bogman - I don't see it can be B-Min, as B is not the keynote. And even if it were, it would be the natural minor (rather than the harmonic minor), as the latter always includes accidentals.

I think that A-Mix would be a fair classification (certainly for the "A" part, although (as has already been noted) it could be argued that part of the "B" tune modulates into D-Major.

# Posted on September 11th 2008 by Mix O'Lydian