17 replies to this topic

[RAc]

https://soundcloud.c...gonian-galopede

 

This is a fun little experiment. As I learnt the traditional Galopede, the idea crept into my mind that the animal being ridden might have a different perception of the riding experience than the rider. So I modulated the tune from G major to G minor and recorded both versions interspersed. A little bit like duelling banjos, I guess. First time through is the rider's perspective, second time the ridee's and third time mixed.

 

There's much more one can do with this (for example, add a fourth round in which the intervals between Major and minor get even shorter). Any volunteers? ;-)

 

As usual, thanks for listening!

 

[Paul_Hardy]

https://soundcloud.c...gonian-galopede
... the animal being ridden ...

Well played. I like the concept, but I've never associated Galopede/Gallopede with riding an animal.

I've always assumed it was the tune to one of those dances where a couple gallop down the middle of a longways set. Indeed, Trad Tune Archive says
"The title of the tune is really a generic term for a type of once extremely popular early 19th century country dance, the 'galop', also spelled
gallopede, galopade or gallopade, which features a simple rhythm and a hop or change of step at the end of each phrase.
At one point in the dance couples 'galop' up or down the center of the lines."

That in no way invalidates your experiment!

Returning to Major/Minor variants, we've played a minor key Speed the Plough sometimes.
And then there are well known tunes like Princess Royal (Morris version) which is these days major but was originally a minor key O'Carolan tune.

[JimLucas]

Returning to Major/Minor variants, we've played a minor key Speed the Plough sometimes.
And then there are well known tunes like Princess Royal (Morris version) which is these days major but was originally a minor key O'Carolan tune.

Most of the Morris versions of Princess Royal are major, but the Bampton version is minor.

 

Meanwhile, changing between major and minor -- or other "modes" -- is a game I often play.  It's especially easy on an English concertina, since it only requires a slight sideways shift of the finger between the inner and outer columns of buttons for certain notes of the scale.

[Little John]

"... easy on an English concertina since it only requires a slight sideways shift of the finger between the inner and outer columns of buttons for certain notes of the scale."

 

This is true of the Crane system duet too.

[RAc]

 

https://soundcloud.c...gonian-galopede
... the animal being ridden ...

Well played. I like the concept, but I've never associated Galopede/Gallopede with riding an animal

 

 

I've always assumed it was the tune to one of those dances where a couple gallop down the middle of a longways set. Indeed, Trad Tune Archive says
"The title of the tune is really a generic term for a type of once extremely popular early 19th century country dance, the 'galop', also spelled
gallopede, galopade or gallopade, which features a simple rhythm and a hop or change of step at the end of each phrase.
At one point in the dance couples 'galop' up or down the center of the lines."

That in no way invalidates your experiment!

Returning to Major/Minor variants, we've played a minor key Speed the Plough sometimes.
And then there are well known tunes like Princess Royal (Morris version) which is these days major but was originally a minor key O'Carolan tune.

 

Thanks so much for the Input, Paul, very much appreciated. I stand convicted off bs-ing and must apologize to all the dancers for this lapse. Maybe I can get my head out of the sling by re-interpreting the modal change (maybe along the lines of - well, the major part represents one half of the dancers - say the females - and the other the more reluctant ones, just to feed stereotypes). But no, I goofed this one up big time so I have to live4 with it...

 

Again, thanks for the kind words and the correction. And of course, Jim and John are right on the spot - the Crane layout (as apparently on the EC) make this kind of thing rather straightforward, at least in terms of fingering. It takes the brain some time to un-knot the minor from the major thirds and to ensure the "right" one is played each time, though.

[JimLucas]

...easy on an English concertina, since it only requires a slight sideways shift of the finger between the inner and outer columns of buttons for certain notes of the scale.

This is true of the Crane system duet too.

To some extent, though not as extensively or consistently as on the English.

 

On the English, the shifts between inner and outer columns are the same in every octave.  Or in those keys where the needed shift involves switching between the ends (e.g., shifting between C# major and C# minor), such a sequence is also consistent from octave to octave.

 

But on the Crane, D#=Eb is next to the D in the first octave but next to the E in the second octave, and similarly with G#=Ab.  So in switching between, e.g., E major and E minor, the lowest D# is next its corresponding D, but the next higher one is next to its other musical neighbor, an E.  (Its corresponding D, being in the middle column, is not adjacent to either outer column.)  Similarly for the G#.

[gcoover]

Lovely arrangement! I especially like the very last section which discombobulates between the two.

 

The Slipper Hornpipe is often played in a minor key (but I suspect it's because the Miles Krassen publication of O'Neill's failed to show any sharps).

 

I remember many years ago playing a deliberately minor-key medley on EC consisting of the Morbid Rant, the Last Rites of Man, and my favorite - The Better Dead Than Red-Haired Boy. 

 

 

 

Gary

[RAc]

Lovely arrangement! I especially like the very last section which discombobulates between the two.

 

The Slipper Hornpipe is often played in a minor key (but I suspect it's because the Miles Krassen publication of O'Neill's failed to show any sharps).

 

I remember many years ago playing a deliberately minor-key medley on EC consisting of the Morbid Rant, the Last Rites of Man, and my favorite - The Better Dead Than Red-Haired Boy. 

 

 

 

Gary

Thanks Gary, very much appreciated. I'll look into the tunes you mentioned (I'm always in search of new fun tunes). Is the "Morbid Rant" the same or related to the Morpeth Rant?

 

As a side note, I really liked "to discombobulate" (I'm also constantly in search of new fun words). Never heard of it before, but it ranks fairly high on the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
 scale of words already.

[Paul_Hardy]

... As a side note, I really liked "to discombobulate" (I'm also constantly in search of new fun words). Never heard of it before, but it ranks fairly high on the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
 scale of words already.

Moving further off topic, I was delighted to see a sign saying "Recombobulation Area" in a US airport, describing the bit after security where people get their stuff together.

[JimLucas]

I remember many years ago playing a deliberately minor-key medley on EC consisting of the Morbid Rant, the Last Rites of Man, and my favorite - The Better Dead Than Red-Haired Boy.

 

Is the "Morbid Rant" the same or related to the Morpeth Rant?

I would assume that Gary's medley was simply minor-key distortions of both the names and tunes of  the Morpeth Rant, the Rights of Man, and the Red-Haired Boy.

[RAc]

Why of course. Should have figured that one out myself... already the second time in this thread I dinkeldorfed myself. Let this not become a habit...   

 

Thanks, Jim...

[Pete Dunk]

... already the second time in this thread I dinkeldorfed myself. Let this not become a habit...   

 

Dinkeldorfed, Hmm. Is that like being "hoist by your own petard" I wonder?

[RAc]

 

... already the second time in this thread I dinkeldorfed myself. Let this not become a habit...   

 

Dinkeldorfed, Hmm. Is that like being "hoist by your own petard" I wonder?

 

 

Close, but no cigar. "hoist by your own petard" (which, as far as I can tell, is an ancestor of the more sober "shooting oneself in one's one foot") implies one had a weapon in the first place, intending to use it against someone else (the classic Darwin Award scenario). For all I know, I never intended to harm anybody with my music (although naturally I can't exclude the possibility that someone's toe nails curled when listening to it - which in any case wasn't the primary intention).

 

To Dinkeldorf (v, tr) means to disclose someone as a Dinkeldorf. A Dinkeldorf is a poster child instance of a goofball. I don't know where the word comes from and who the poor person was, but I remember who I learnt it from. Apologies to everyone whose name appears to be Dinkeldorf and who most likely are discriminated against by the collective insult for no reason. Before you sue me, though, please keep in mind that my name (Ruediger) has been used several times for the same derogatory purpose (among others by no less than Mark Knopfler). It builds character to stand up to the challenge.

[Little John]

Hope this isn't too off-topic but while searching for something unrelated I came across a tune on The Session called Shave The Monkey written by Paul James: https://thesession.org/tunes/1661It may be well known but it's new to me.

 

At first sight the A music is in G major and the B music in G dorian (hence the link to this topic). However, there's no C natural in the A music but there are three C sharps, giving it a strong flavour of D major (even though it ends on a G note). The B music has neither E nor E flat making it dorian/minor indeterminate. The C# C Bb passage towards the end sets an interesting challenge for harmonisation!

 

I suspect it's open to a variety of interpretations, so would have made a good candidate for TOTM.

[Paul_Hardy]

"hoist by your own petard"

Straying further off topic, but in the interests of full education, the noun petard is French, and comes from the verb peter, meaning to fart.

It's applied to small siege bombs, and also to simple mortars, and the name presumably relates to the noise that they made as they fired.

However when they misfired, which was not uncommon, then they could wreak havoc on the people deploying them.

Back nearer to topic, when sat next to a bass concertina being played, I've wondered whether the same word could be applied to some of their noises!

Edited by Paul_Hardy, 24 January 2018 - 07:48 AM.

[JimLucas]

... the noun petard is French, and comes from the verb peter, meaning to fart

....

Back nearer to topic, when sat next to a bass concertina being played, I've wondered whether the same word could be applied to some of their noises!

Many years ago I was asked to improvise some background music for a play that was being auditioned at the local amateur theater.  There was some actual music, but there was one scene with soldiers standing around a campfire where one lifted his leg and made as if to fart.  At that point I punched out a resounding low G* on my G-bass English. 

 

* Two octaves below the low G on a violin or treble English.

Edited by JimLucas, 24 January 2018 - 12:22 PM.

[RAc]

Hope this isn't too off-topic but while searching for something unrelated I came across a tune on The Session called Shave The Monkey written by Paul James: https://thesession.org/tunes/1661It may be well known but it's new to me.

 

At first sight the A music is in G major and the B music in G dorian (hence the link to this topic). However, there's no C natural in the A music but there are three C sharps, giving it a strong flavour of D major (even though it ends on a G note). The B music has neither E nor E flat making it dorian/minor indeterminate. The C# C Bb passage towards the end sets an interesting challenge for harmonisation!

 

I suspect it's open to a variety of interpretations, so would have made a good candidate for TOTM.

 

Why, John, thanks so much for the pointer - this is fantastic! There's a video where Blowzabella combines this one with a similar jig called Boys of the Mill (https://www.youtube....h?v=AAeoRxsKQoY) - this is really something quite different! Hope to give it a go soon! 

[Little John]

You're most welcome, Ruediger! Thanks for the link. I'm glad I started working on it before hearing the original though; I'm playing it somewhat slower which I feel gives more room for the harmonies.