Month: June 2020

Old Adam was a Poacher

Here is Old Adam was a Poacher, a tune collected from William Andrews of Devon by Sabine Baring Gould in 1892. The B part is very similar to versions of the jig Hunt the Squirrel as listed here https://www.folktunefinder.com/tunes/198732 however I’ve not been able to find out if this version of the tune is also from the South West of England. Chris Bartram speculates that the tune may have French origins, explaining the dual mode – it seems plausible but it’s almost important to remember that it’s speculation and not fact! Here’s the slower and faster versions:

Here are the dots:

And here are PDFs of the tune and the chords:

adam-was-a-poacher-2Download
adam-poacher-chords-4Download

Lastly, here’s a version on the song by the fabulous Blowzabella:

Staffordshire Hornpipe

Here is the tune from Monday 8th June, the glorious Staffordshire Hornpipe notated from John Locke in 1909 by Cecil Sharp. Here is the slower and faster versions to listen to:

 

Here’s the walk through:

 

Here is a video looking at some basic ornamentation and variation:

 

And finally a video on bowing as there are specific issues for fiddle players in hornpipe tunes!

 

Lastly, here are the dots, with a PDF available here:

staffordshire-hornpipe-x2

Jack’s Alive

This week we learned a tune called Jack’s Alive, a tune from the 18th century that’s in the English, Scottish and American traditions.  This is an English version, but it’s worth looking up others, I recommend folktunefinder.com and https://tunearch.org/ as fairly reliable sources of tunes and, critically, of background information.

Video 1 is a slower and faster play through for you to listen to:

 

We then have a walk through:

 

Here are some ideas about about ornamentation:

 

And a few more about little variations for the tune:

 

Finally here are the dots, with a PDF available here:

Jack's Alive

 

The chord chart with the second chord sequence is available here– these show how you can get stuck in a G -D – G – D pattern if you only stick to the obvious chords, but suggest a route out of this!