Hornpipes

Piobairi Uilleann Inis Fa · Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:07 pm

Merrily Kiss the Quakers Wife.

I really like the swing in this one.

Neil

fancypiper · Post by **fancypiper** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:19 pm

I thought that Merrily Kiss the Quakers Wife was a slide.

I like "Fisherman's Lilt" or Fisherman's Hornpipe with lots of tight triplets/tipping.

Mike Hulme · Post by **Mike Hulme** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:25 pm

The Banks of Turf is a nice one in G, and it goes well with Alexander's or Chief O'Neill's. The Green Island is also a good one for the pipes.

PJ · Post by PJ » Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:44 pm

The two I'm currently working on are Dunphy's and Alexander's.

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:33 pm

tommykleen wrote:Did the hornpipes of old, in the hands of the old masters, have a lot more swing to them? (longer on the dotted eighth notes/shorter on the sixteenths)?

It often seems that way.

t

Depended on the player, in general I'd say musicians of past generations were more swingin', maybe as a result of playing more for dancers, or less with guitarists.

There's a great track on the Topic CD Past Masters of Irish Dance of Pat Roche's Harp and Shamrock Orchestra playing the Boys of Bluehill/Stack of Wheat, where Pat dances a step - he was a dancing teacher, influencing many including the Lord of the Dance himself. Tempo is brisk enough. To see the modern tempo at work there's a bit of a girl stepping to the Harvest Home in the Come West Along the Road Vol. 2 DVD.

I play The Sailor's Hornpipe as well, in D with lotsa crans. You can go up to the third octave D if you're inclined, some settings don't have that - it's why fiddlers play the tune in Bb, where a high Bb is no problem. I used to leave out the G# notes but they're actually quite easy to include with a bit of practice.

There are various fiddle hornpipes I'm fond of, some of them fiendishly tricky. Chief O'Neill's is a classic tune but I always scowl when players of lesser instruments throw in that awful F natural in the second part.

billh · Post by **billh** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:47 pm

There's dancers, and then there's dancers. if ya know what I mean.

Dancers dancing sets, together, communally, tend to like 'em fast. Often too fast IMO (even now that I'm nearly able to play at that speed!).

On the other hand, solo competition step dancers, who perhaps confusingly to the novice, dance set dances (in contrast to the set dancers who dance sets), like 'em very slow and tend to be very formulaic about exactly what setting of what tune played with which turn in bar 14 etc. etc., partly because of the elaborate steps that they have worked out, and partly because the accordion player on the dance tape which is always used for practice, plays it that way

So, "dancers" may want it very slow, or very fast, or - if they are of a certain age and living in Clare - just right

, depending on what sort of dancing you mean.

With the exception of the competition step-dance thing, I think most people tend to play hornpipes too fast. That doesn't mean they shouldn't have a bit of lift of course!

Bill

tompipes · Post by **tompipes** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:12 am

There's dancers, and then there's dancers. if ya know what I mean.

Indeed, manufactured Feis dancers......

Did the hornpipes of old, in the hands of the old masters, have a lot more swing to them?

Tom and Kevin are right, and Bill too.

Hornpipe playing is about 'swing' and bounce.

This business about playing hornpipes at 1st gear bpm is as manufactured as the term 'Celtic music'......

rubbish.

Laban and Uilliam help me......

Tommy

tommykleen · Post by **tommykleen** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:18 am

tompipes wrote:
Hornpipe playing is about 'swing' and bounce.
Tommy

I seldom here it these days. 'Cept in Old Timey players. Hmm.

tk

tompipes · Post by **tompipes** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:02 pm

I seldom here it these days. 'Cept in Old Timey players. Hmm.

Indeed.

http://www.archive.org/details/LeoRowso ... oneysuckle

http://www.archive.org/details/LeoRowso ... eKillifane

Tommy

PJ · Post by PJ » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:35 pm

tompipes wrote:Laban and Uilliam help me......

One of these two gents (you decide who it was) PM'ed me the following:

I remember when I started playing hornpipes my mother said that I was playing far too slow .She was an all Ireland Champion Dancer as a young girl and knew what she was aboot.Anyways ye will find that the tempo is 180 for Hornpipes and 224 for reels.(Breathnach Ceol Rince 1)So ye can see that it is quite close to the speed of the reel.
Another thing ifn ye look at O'Neils ,by far the majority of Hornpipes are not dotted(over 100)So the presumption that all hornpipes are is quite wrang.

tommykleen · Post by **tommykleen** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 1:15 pm

PJ wrote:

One of these two gents (you decide who it was) PM'ed me the following:

I remember when I started playing hornpipes my mother said that I was playing far too slow .She was an all Ireland Champion Dancer as a young girl and knew what she was aboot.Anyways ye will find that the tempo is 180 for Hornpipes and 224 for reels.(Breathnach Ceol Rince 1)So ye can see that it is quite close to the speed of the reel.
Another thing ifn ye look at O'Neils ,by far the majority of Hornpipes are not dotted(over 100)So the presumption that all hornpipes are is quite wrang.

Ah, you just can't mistake that Dutch vernacular!

t