Category: Major key tunes

This is a jaunty polka by Devonshire fiddler Fred Pidgeon (yes, I know I’ve spelled his name differently in the title, but this is now the tune and his surname are normally written respectively).  I’ve kept the chords simple to bring out the cheerful, bouncy character, though you could substitute a few Em or maybe some C chords in instead of some of the G majors – have an experiment!  Stephen suggested using a G maj7 in place of the D chords in the first two bars – I like this, but try also replacing the D chords in the fourth and seventh bars with a D6 chords to fit with the slightly dreamy feel that this creates.  We found that the harmony in the B part also fits the tune of the A part, so there are lots of possibilities!

Here are the dots (tune with chords, tune with suggested phrasing and ornaments, and harmony) with a PDF available here..

Wednesday Night is a fabulous 16 bar tune recorded as a ‘Country Dance’, and it exists in both the English and Welsh traditions (as Nôs Fercher in Welsh).  The earliest record of it I can find is in a collection by William Clark of Lincoln published in 1770, though it seems to turn up in a few different collections at around that time.  Here’s the tune, harmony, bass line and chords – I’ve not written out a separate chord chart due to the way the chords fit with the rhythm of the tune.  I’ve also added a version with suggested phrasing and ornaments.