In search of the notes

[sponge]

Hi all,

this is a continuation of a previous slow air identification with some help we have nailed it down to O'dowds number nine or O'dowds favourite, the only place I can get the notes is the session.org neither tunes sounds like
seamus egans version on the the reunion album or the live clip below from good old youtube, the song is one of four on the album.

track 14 - O'Dowd's/Beauty Spot/Jessie Over the Bridge/Hughie's Cap :

so my quest is does anyone have the notes to the song being played on the youtube clip below, give it 44 seconds and you'll hear the very talented Seamus Egan playing it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9X5HLc0d6o

cheers sponge

[clark]

I don't know what this is called either and don't have the notes written down anywhere, but it is slow enough to just play along. I learned it in about 30 min of repeating and I don't consider myself very good at ear learning. Nice piece.

Clark

[hydromel89]

Hi all,

track 14 - O'Dowd's/Beauty Spot/Jessie Over the Bridge/Hughie's Cap :

so my quest is does anyone have the notes to the song being played on the youtube clip below, give it 44 seconds and you'll hear the very talented Seamus Egan playing it

You should try this link http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/229. I haven't try the notes yet...

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Pascal.

[Guinness]

No that's not it.

I agree, just learn it by ear. It's a pretty tune.

[hydromel89]

No that's not it.

I agree, just learn it by ear. It's a pretty tune.

Damn, you're right! I have blindly trusted music sheets from thesession.org so far... I'll pay more attention next time!

So euh... Sponge.... why don't you, euh... try to play it by ear?

Pascal.

[Guinness]

Although I frequent www.thesession.org all the time, it's unfortunately riddled with errors. Oh well, I guess that's how new tunes get invented.

[Cathy Wilde]

Although I frequent www.thesession.org all the time, it's unfortunately riddled with errors.

Amen. While everyone's well-meaning, some are not necessarily gifted transcribers/notaters.

Personally, when going that route I like to get several versions via JC's Tunefinder. There are some very faithful and reliable transcriptions floating around, and Tunefinder is a better resource, I think for finding them (the session versions show up there, too, and that way you can compare).

It's also a nice way to get alternate settings.

http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/tunefind

[Cathy Wilde]

BTW, that certainly isn't the Dowd's No. 9 I know.

Are you sure it's not something they made up themselves? It has that quality ....

[johnkerr]

BTW, that certainly isn't the Dowd's No. 9 I know.

Are you sure it's not something they made up themselves? It has that quality ....

Dowd's Favorite and Dowd's #9 are two totally different tunes.

The big question, though, is whatever happened to Dowd's #1 through Dowd's #8? If I ever get rich, I'm gonna commission Liz Carroll to write me eight tunes and call them Dowd's #1 through Dowd's #8 - right after I get done buying up every existing copy of Grey Larsen's book and starting a huge bonfire, that is.

(Uh, in case you were wondering ... thassuh joke there, son.)

[MTGuru]

Caramba, what confusion!

First, these two album sets are identical:

Solas - Words That Remain - Track 11
Solas - Reunion - Track 14

The entire set is given the set name "The Beauty Spot", but the set consists of 4 separate reels, as follows (and the thesession versions are close to what Solas plays):

O'Dowd's:
(see below)

The Beauty Spot:
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1270

Jessie Over the Bridge:
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/3968

Hughie's Cap:
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/2850

Perhaps some of the confusion is that the first tune, O'Dowd's, is not in fact an air but a reel played as a slow reel. The YouTube video is an extended version of this first tune.

Here's my ABC transcription of the tune:

X:1
T:O'Dowd's
R:Reel
S:Solas: Words That Remain - Track 11
M:C|
K: D
DEFA GFE2|DEFA dBAG|GAED GDBd|AGGA GFE2|
DEFA GFE2|DEFA dzAG|GAED GDBd|AGGA GFE2:|
f2ed g4-|gfed edBd|f2d2 gfed|ceag fed2|
a2gf gffg|f3e/d/ edBA|GzAG GADF|A2AF GFE2:|

When played at speed, this tune clearly seems related to the more familiar Dowd's Number 9. But I'm unable to locate any references to or transcriptions of this setting. Maybe it's one of the famous lost Dowd'ses. Maybe it's Seamus's reinterpretation as a slow reel. Maybe it's something else entirely.

Hope that helps ...

[chas]

Here's my transcription, certainly not exact; looks pretty similar to the Guru's:

X:301
T:O'Dowd's #9
R:Reel
D:From Seamus Egan/Solas
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:D major
DEFA GFE2 | DEFA dBAG | GAED GDBd | AGGA GFE2 |
DEFA GFE2 | DEFA dBAG | GAED GDBd | AGGA GFE2 :||
f2ed fg3|gfed edBd | f2d2 gfed | ceag fed2|
a2gf gffg | f3e edBA | G2 AG GADF | A3 F GFE2 :||

I think Seamus plays this pretty much as he feels -- on the live DVD, it's much faster than on the album, and the tune bears some semblance to what's on the album, but certainly isn't the same. I've seen him play it twice, both times on flute rather than whistle.

PS -- in re the absence of some numbers in the Dowd catalog: there are more Second Streets in the US than First Streets.

[jemtheflute]

there are more Second Streets in the US than First Streets.

Probably quite logical - you have to keep coming back for seconds, and if you don't get it second time around.......

[Guinness]

Thanks guys! I was having trouble with a couple of notes.

[TheSpoonMan]

n re the absence of some numbers in the Dowd catalog: there are more Second Streets in the US than First Streets.

Could that be because of the two seconds, and no first, streets in DC?

And even besides that... can't there bea second N/W, and a second E/S, but only one First E/W or N/S? It makes sesne if you think about it.

[MTGuru]

there are more Second Streets in the US than First Streets.

Is that so? I'd guess because First Streets are more likely to be renamed, in honor of someone or something?