Sessions and the type of tunes you enjoy...

eskin · Post by **eskin** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 7:34 pm

Here's a hornpipe I play on anglo concertina with one of the fiddlers in our session, but I don't have a name for it, was wondering if anyone knew its name and source.

http://members.cox.net/eskin4/whats_this_tune.mp3

Please excuse the rough recording, I accidentally hit save in my audio editor, forgetting that the compression was set to 48 kbit mono, and I lost high quality version, but it gets the general idea across well enough.

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:26 pm

TonyHiggins wrote:I'd like to hear how you play the tune in real life (or was that it? )

Oh, hmmm, yeah, that's it, it was just a "test" of course, nothing serious!

Hmmm no really this is pretty much what I'd play, maybe a little more polished in a session, I'm kind of lazy and did not polish it, but that's an excuse for wussies, is it?

I'd really feel like an alien if I played a slide and no one around me would have heard a slide in their life. Where the heck are you playing at, planet Mars? Hehe! But yeah I know a few slides that would pretty much have the same result, boring stuff for many.

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:30 pm

eskin wrote:Here's a hornpipe I play on anglo concertina with one of the fiddlers in our session, but I don't have a name for it, was wondering if anyone knew its name and source.

http://members.cox.net/eskin4/whats_this_tune.mp3

Please excuse the rough recording, I accidentally hit save in my audio editor, forgetting that the compression was set to 48 kbit mono, and I lost high quality version, but it gets the general idea across well enough.

I never heard that one before, but it sounds nice to me. It's a hornpipe allright. I think hornpipes are under rated.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 5:35 am

I chose "like it and would noodle" but I'd also ask the name afterwards, try to find music for it online and learn it.

So, what IS the name of the tune, and where could I find it?

I love to play with tempo of tunes-- although you call it a set dance, played a bit faster it would make a great hornpipe.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 4:27 pm

brewerpaul wrote:I chose "like it and would noodle" but I'd also ask the name afterwards, try to find music for it online and learn it.

So, what IS the name of the tune, and where could I find it?

I love to play with tempo of tunes-- although you call it a set dance, played a bit faster it would make a great hornpipe.

The set (or "long") dances are notable in that most of them are asymmetrical, particularly in the B section. The only exception that comes to mind for now is Hurry the Jug, and that one sounds asymmetrical even though it's really not. Some are comparatively short, and others comparatively long; set dances can be either in duple or triple meters, i.e. like hornpipes, or waltzes (or slow jigs). The Job of Journeywork sounds hornpipey, and The Orange Rogue sounds waltzey. Some abandon the 8-measure format altogether for all sections.

Azalin's example sounds familiar somehow. I've got a CD with the 38 accepted-for-competition tunes on it; maybe I'll find it there. I play a handful of set dances, myself. There are a number of set dances that have fallen into disuse for modern competition, including a 3-part version of The Ace and Deuce of Pipering played in Amix, and the set dance version of Sean O Duibhir a' Ghleanna (both really good tunes, IMO) that are still kept alive by musicians despite the fact that you won't see them danced at competition so far as I know. I'm always curious if there's someone out there who still has the steps to the "abandoned" tunes and dances them.

If Azalin's set dance is among The Holy 38, then I'll report back with its name. Or if not, not.

It's true some people just don't care for the set dances. I certainly have my favorites and my unfavorites among them. I know one fellow who'll look at his watch and seriously consider leaving the session if someone starts in on some set dances. Personally, I think that's a bit over-the-top, but, whatever. I mean, it's not like that's all there'll be for the rest of the session thereafter.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:42 pm

Aha: Azalin's set dance is The Blue-Eyed Rascal, part of the "official list".

eskin · Post by **eskin** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:57 pm

Cool, thanks for tracking down the name, I'll have to learn it.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:47 am

Here 'tis...

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/3541

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 5:33 am

I enjoyed the tune, and in a session would probably start noodling quietly to try to pick it up and show interest, but the excessively clonky button noise did put me off this particular recording.

I think recording yourself occasionally is a great way to check your progress. I've been playing melodeon for 20 months now, and this weekend recorded a few tracks for my mother. The tunes I play regularly were fine, and if I made a mistake I could recover with aplomb and pretend it was deliberate, but the ones I've been working on more recently and thought I could muddle through, oh dear.

Back to practise, practise, practise, for me.

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:03 am

Thanks for the name! Now I feel better knowing that this tune is on an "official list"

Yeah Martin, the buttons can be distracting for sure, I think if I'd recorded further away from the machine it would have been a little bit better.

I.D.10-t · Post by **I.D.10-t** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:24 am

Nanohedron wrote:I mean, it's not like that's all there'll be for the rest of the session thereafter.

It makes me wonder what a well rounded play list would include. The best D.J.s at dances that I have been to did not limit themselves to one style and were able to control the crowd with their music.

JS · Post by JS » Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:54 am

Nice tune. It has taken a while, but more and more I enjoy the more relaxed and (only apparently, I think) straight-forward ones where the success depends on the musical interest the player creates. Thanks for offering it.

jbarter · Post by **jbarter** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:34 am

Our session will play just about anything.

Wallace & Gromit Theme
Buddy Holly Set
I've got a loverly bunch of coconuts

You name it, we'll give it a go. (but if my bro-in-law plays that bloody Birdy Dance one more time......

)

feadogin · Post by **feadogin** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:38 am

The Blue-Eyed Rascal, what a great name. In a session, I would enjoy listening to the tune as a break from the reels, but it's probably not the type of tune I would learn myself. I guess I have to choose the "What the heck, we're playing reels" option or the talking to your neighbor option.

BTW, where is my child support check?

J.

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:51 am

TonyHiggins wrote:I recently started regularly attending a local session. It's not all to my liking: there are a lot of Cape Breton tunes started by a couple of fiddlers and I suspect, something from the Ozarks. Tony

Tony - Ozarks tunes are interesting. Here's a nice little CD that showcases the heritage of Ozark fiddling very well: http://www.mdcnatureshop.com/mdc.cgi/03-0100.html

The fiddler, Michael Fraser, plays locally...sometimes dropping in at our session. He plays standard ITM wondefully, but there is a different feel to the hill tunes he plays since they're a mix of Irish, Scottish, and Appalachian styles with a bit of individuality that just feels like the Ozarks themselves (if you've been there, you'll understand). I like the liner notes on this CD since they tell where some of the tunes come from, their history in Missouri, etc.

Being only 2 hours from the Ozarks, we have the rare drop in with a more Ozarky sound and tune list...

Eric

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Sessions and the type of tunes you enjoy...

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