Here is the video and dots for Ladies Pleasure, a tune from the Fieldtown Morris tradition and one that changes meter from 6/8 to 2/4. The ‘2’ over the patterns in bar three (and elsewhere) indicate a duplet, so instead of each main beat dividing into three quavers as it would normally in 6/8, it divides into two quavers.
Here is the video:
Here are the dots – the structure would normally be ABCBCB.
Here is the development of Uncle Bernard’s, transposing the tune down a minor third to the relative minor of E minor. Since the tune starts and finishes on the tonic (G in G major or E in E minor) and moves mostly in small intervals, we were able to move it down without making very many changes – we only tweaked bar 30 (middle of the B section), bringing the melody down to an E rather than sticking on the G. In the video below I have included the version notated and then a version without the adjustment.
This new version can be played as a complete tune in its own right, or added to the end of the major version as C and/or D sections.
Here is a PDF:
Here are the videos and dots from Monday’s class – a remake/recycling of a Playford tune called Jamaica, that has been christened Remaica (thanks to Bob for that little bit of punning gold!). The idea of re-imagining a tune is something we’re going to look into over the next few weeks. This version is in D Dorian mode – the original can be found at the bottom of the post for comparison!
Here are the dots:
Here is a PDF of Remaica, and another of the original tune Jamaica:
And finally, a video of the original tune, Jamaica, in its original tuning of F major.
Something a little different this week – an extremely old hymn from Orkney in the Lydian mode. This mode is similar to a major scale but has a raised 4th, it’s quite an unusual mode but very beautiful! We tried harmonising with minim F-G patterns in the first half and minim C-D in the second half, as demonstrated in the second video (you could actually play C-D all the way through). We added single cuts in between repeated notes and turns in places where the melody descended by one or two steps.
Here are the dots, with a PDF beneath:
Here is a video for a plain version and one with ornamentation, and a video of the tune and harmony together:
Here are the dots and videos for Uncle Bernard’s, an English polka.
Here is the basic arrangement that we put together, as a PDF:
Here is a video of the parts – the sound quality isn’t great, but you get the idea!
Here is the tune from the last week of term (with one week owed and to be made up by me this coming term), The Wind that Shakes the Barley. This is a fantastic Irish reel and follows on well from The Witch in the Glen. Here is a video with a slow and faster version:
Here are the dots, with some suggested bowing/phrasing patterns.
Here is a PDF:
Here is the rest of our March tune, The Witch of the Glen. We’ll cover the last section on March 14th. Here are the dots with a PDF and a video. The bowing/phrasing are just a suggestion but they indicate the groove that we’ll be using on Monday. We’ll also talk about ornamentation, applying the ornament variation that we looked at last week and trying out a few other options too.
Here is a PDF:
And a video with a slower and faster version:
Here is the first section of our new tune The Witch of the Glen, aka The Green Fields of Rossbeigh. This video goes through the first two phrases with ornamentation ideas:
Here are the dots so far! No PDF yet, I’ll put that up when we’re further through the tune, along with a chord chart. Again, I strongly recommend as always that you work from recordings rather than dots.
Here is the B section of last week’s tune Gille-Callum, with further ideas on how to practise these rhythms:
Here’s a video of the B section and some practise methods:
Here a video of the whole tune played slowly:
Finally a PDF of the whole tune and chords:
and as a little extra, here’s the E5 chord for the ukulele players!
Finally, I’ve done a simplified version of the tune here, essentially removing a few (but not all of) of the trickier rhythms, for anyone who would like it:
Here is the A part of Monday 17th’s tune, Gille-Callum, aka Gillie Callum, The Cutty Spoon or The Lad Malcolm amongst other names. It’s a Scottish strathspey that dates back to the mid-1700s, a strathspey being a slow dance in 4/4, with the tune named for the dance form and normally containing characteristic Scottish ‘snap’rhythms. This is quite a challenging tune type, so give yourself time to get used to the rhythms and the techniques for producing them.
Here are the dots, with a notation of how we divided the rhythm in order to learn it:
Here is a demo of the A section with a suggestion of how to practise this rhythm:
Here is a video for the fiddle players on how to achieve the Scottish ‘snap’ rhythms, with some bow exercises to help:
PDF of the chords (a PDF of the full tune will follow when we’ve learned the whole thing):
New Ealing Sessions 