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A tune what I wrote: Bright Winter's Morning


Mikefule

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Nice tune. I have had a go at typing it up in ABC.

Am I correct in identifying A dorian as the mode?

 

X:804
T:Bright Winter's morning
C:Michael Wilkinson
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:ADor
|:e2A def|gfe afd|edB GAB|c2e ABc|
e2A def|gfe afd|edB GAB|cde A3:||
|:a2e g2e|ded GBd|edB ged|egB A2A|
a2e g2e|ded GBd|edB GAB|cde A3:||

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I think it's A dorian.

 

X:1
C:Michael Wilkinson
K:A dorian
T:Bright Winter's Morning
M:6/8
R:Jig
L:1/8
"Am"e2A "D"def|"G"gfe "D"afd|"Em"edB "G"GAB|"Am"c2e ABc|
"Am"e2A "D"def|"G"gfe "D"afd|"Em"edB "G"GAB|"Am"cde A3:|
"Am"a2e "Em"g2e|"G"ded GBd|"Em"edB "G"ged|"Em"egB "Am"A2A|
"Am"a2e "Em"g2e|"G"ded GBd|"Em"edB "G"GAB|"Am"cde A3:|

 

Edited by Mikefule
Changes to chords bars 2 & 6 in B music
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That's rather nice! I presume that the R:Jig line in the headers means that the groups of three beamed quavers

should be played as if written 'x>xx'? (Apart from R:Hornpipe, I'm a bit vague about what the R: field actually means...)

 

Roger

Edited by lachenal74693
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26 minutes ago, lachenal74693 said:

that the groups of three beamed quavers

should be played as if written 'x>xx'?

 

Roger, should you mean that there would be actually four values rather than three in such a group, this is not how I would play a jig.

 

The R is just in accordance to the 6/8 measure - the player would have to add emphasis on 1-3,4-6 for a proper jig IMO.

 

Best wishes - ?

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4 hours ago, Wolf Molkentin said:

Roger, should you mean that there would be actually four values rather than three in such a group, this is not how I would play a jig.

 

Eh? No, I don't think so? I hope not. S'truth - I'm not sure now...:(

 

'x>xx' is shorthand for 'x3/2x/2x' innit? Which is still 3 quavers in terms of total duration? Or have I got something badly wrong?

It certainly appears to play OK through an ABC program (EasyABC) when I do this. Of course, it sounds fine without the '>'s, I just

thought it sounded fine with 'em in too...

 

Roger

NB. It was approx 7-00am when I typed it all in, which is my excuse - I hadn't had my morning sausage, toast and marmalade - but

I have now...:)

Edited by lachenal74693
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Sorry when I got this wrong Roger - however I'm still at a loss as to your concept. I didn't understand it would include a different total duration anyway. Re the inner relations it's mostly about the emphasis and not the duration IMO (only these very slight modifications applied by f.i. pipe players which seem to be lacking chances to emphasise through attack and/or volume).

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3 hours ago, Wolf Molkentin said:

...I'm still at a loss as to your concept...

 

I honestly wouldn't distinguish what I said by any such sophisticated a term as 'concept'. I was just a bit puzzled - I

(mis-)interpreted what you said as hinting that a 6-note bar would be converted to a 7-note bar by doing what I

suggested, further confused by my slightly hazy ideas of how to play a jig. I only got asked to play a jig in cold

blood at t'Morris for the first time last week, when t'other musician (the competent one!) was actually doing the jig.

I expect to get asked to do the same tonight...

 

Good tune though!

Edited by lachenal74693
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6 hours ago, lachenal74693 said:

I only got asked to play a jig in cold blood at t'Morris for the first time last week, when t'other musician (the competent one!) was actually doing the jig.

 

 

Be careful here! In Morris dancing a "jig" refers to a solo dance, not to the time signature. It's as likely to be in 4/4 as in 6/8.

 

LJ

Edited by Little John
Changed "and" to "as" (as it should have been!)
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11 hours ago, Little John said:

Be careful here! In Morris dancing a "jig" refers to a solo dance, not to the time signature. It's as likely to be in 4/4 and in 6/8.

 

Ah that will be why I got confused! Trying to reconcile the irreconcilable. Ta! Roger.

Edited by lachenal74693
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As I wrote the tune:

 

The R: line means it's played as a jig.  To me, that means only that each bar is two triplets: it is compound duple time played in a style suitable for dancing.

 

In terms of ABC notation, X>YZ would mean adding 50% to the length of X and "stealing" that 50% from Y.  Therefore, the total amount of time taken is the same, but the rhythm is more heavily accented.  Instead of the % values of the notes being 100, 100, 100 (=300) they would be 150, 50, 100 (=300).

 

In terms of me playing this jig, or indeed any jig, I would not dot it so heavily or precisely, and I don't believe that most musicians would.  Emphasis comes from a combination of note length, volume, and nuances of timing.  Measuring things in terms of exactly 50% is necessary when you have a violin section in an orchestra who must necessarily play identically.  Folk is less rigid.

 

There are differences between how an English, Irish or Scottish player might naturally accent a jig, and there are differences between how a fiddler or box player might accent a jig.  There are good habits, bad habits, and local "dialects".  I tend not to be too prescriptive about nuances like this when notating a tune, relying on the musician to find what they can in the tune.

 

Last night at our post-Morris session, our fiddler played this.  It was the first time I'd heard it played by someone else, and it was a nice moment.  So far, I can only play it reliably at about 2/3 speed on Anglo as some of the fingering in the B music is quite tricky.

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2 hours ago, Mikefule said:

As I wrote the tune: etc...

 

Oh, joy, an unambiguous explanation of what's going on, and how to play it from the man who knows. Nothing like going to the source...:)

Thanks very much! Roger

Edited by lachenal74693
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On 2/14/2019 at 3:19 PM, lachenal74693 said:

 

further confused by my slightly hazy ideas of how to play a jig. I only got asked to play a jig in cold

blood at t'Morris for the first time last week, when t'other musician (the competent one!) was actually doing the jig.

I expect to get asked to do the same tonight...

 

Outside of the Morris, a jig is simply a lively dance tune in 6/8.

 

6/8 is the one that has the underlying rhythm | Didderly Didderly | didderly didderly | although sometimes a "didderly" is played either as "Daa da" or "Daaah".

 

Of course, there are more nuances than that.  The main thing is that one bar (didderly didderly) should be enough for the dancer's feet to touch the ground four times.  This may be:

(1  2  3 hop) or (1 hop 2 hop).    The traditional Irish step is in fact 1 2 3 (and) with the "and" being in mid air!

 

(In a session, it is common to play so fast that the best a dancer could do is stomp along at 2 steps per bar.)

 

In the world of Cotswold Morris, a jig is any dance for a solo dancer or pair of dancers.  The rhythm may be any of the common folk dance rhythms: 4/4, 2/4, 6/8 or even, sometimes 3/4.

 

The trick with playing for a Morris jig is to know the tune well, check how the dancer expects the slows to sound, then watch the dancer carefully as you're playing.  A good jig dancer will work with you.

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Hi Mike,

 

what about didderlee didderlee (or in fact rather dee | didder dee didder) then?

 

I‘ve got the advice once re how to play the Northumbrian jig The Fiery Clockface (our very first TOTM) once, and adapted it to fine results, as for me.

 

I personally am applying that pattern (to some extent at least) even to Irish jigs (f.i. The Irish Washerwoman), which might be debatable - as I simply love the „jumpy“ feel...

 

Do you object (re English folk music)?

 

Best wishes - ?

 

Edited by Wolf Molkentin
re-didderd
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32 minutes ago, Wolf Molkentin said:

Hi Mike,

what about didderlee didderlee (or in fact rather dee | didder dee didder) then?

I‘ve got the advice once re how to play the Northumbrian jig The Fiery Clockface (our very first TOTM) once, and adapted it to fine results, as for me.

I personally am applying that pattern (to some extent at least) even to Irish jigs (f.i. The Irish Washerwoman), which might be debatable - as I simply love the „jumpy“ feel...

Do you object (re English folk music)?

Best wishes - ?

 

I wrote, <<Of course, there are more nuances than that. >>

 

I was giving basic advice to someone who said that they had no idea how to play jigs.

 

That does not mean that I disagree your more sophisticated advice aimed at someone who already plays jigs confidently and is ready to add such nuances.

 

As for whether I object, why should I?  If it sounds right and works with whoever else is playing and whoever is dancing, then that is what matters.

 

The only thing I object to in folk music or dance is the generic fast stompy stomp approach which sacrifices the subtlety of the tune in a frenzy of speed.

 

If a triplet goes (for example) DED and you only really hear the first D, or can't be quite sure if it was DED or DC#D, then, to me, that's bad playing.

 

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