Chiff and Fipple Forums

Just learning the Maid of Mt Kisco and I had to check a few versions as the structure of 8 bars repeat, 4 bars repeat, 8 bars repeat is one Inhaven’t seen before. Any other tunes have this perculiar setting?

There are a fair number of tunes that mix 8 bar repeat and 4 bar repeat parts, and they were more common in the old days -- a lot of people today tend to double the shorter parts of many of these tunes so they are "normal".

"Maid of Mt Kisco" is the only one I know of with that particular pattern, though! And one of the few where I've never heard anyone double the short part to make it a normal length.

It could be worth to check the original version, Paddy Killoran's 1937 recording of Maid of Mt Kisko/Hunter's purse to see how he tackled it. He composed it. I have it sort of handy, will have a look later.

The simple answer probably is that making the second part into 16 bars would be too repetitive.

Just checked From Ballymote to Brooklyn, and I can confirm Killoran played it with the standard short middle section in that recording. (Web search suggests there might have been another Killoran recording of the tune I don't have access to.)

https://open.spotify.com/track/3oEdSv5u ... Q6jYdeuIWA On the 3rd time round Paddy misses the 2nd part out entirely! I notice he often does this, Coppers and Brass on an older album he play a part (I think) 3 times. Is this on purpose to copyright an arrangement?