Jim Besser Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 You guys want a real workout? Try Spey in Spate, in D. Fun tune, exercises every last neuron and muscle. Another year or two and I should get it up to speed. An unlikely but wonderful tune on the Anglo: Brenda Stubbert (in the frequently mentioned Portand book). Other current favorites of mine: Devlin's; Portland Fancy; Hull's Victory. So what challenging, interesting tunes are the rest of you working on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Tedrow Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 I found Carollan's Concerto a bit of a challenge as there is no place in the entire song to stop and tell a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhomylly Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Merrily Kiss the Quaker. *Every* note is played with the middle and 3rd fingers of my left hand (and I'm a righty). They get tired now, so I'm worried about what will happen when I'm up to speed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Booth Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 I was noodling the other day, and out of the box came a section of the Beethoven Violin concerto in D. It's pretty well known. There are sections there that lend themselves well to the 20-b Anglo, and they strain all my imagination, since I'm playing by ear from memory. Lots of slippage can occur. Good fun, tho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted December 17, 2003 Author Share Posted December 17, 2003 Whew. O'Carolan's Concerto; I used to play that on hammered dulcimer, and it was a killer. Better get out the Anglo and give it a try and see if it's any easier. I'm particularly interested in hearing about tunes that provide good exercise to the left hand , last few fingers. "Evit Gabriel" is one. This is where I need lots of practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Two tunes taking up a lot of my time right now: Ironlegs and the amazing Fete du Village, an English tune from the William Mittel collection that calls for some hairy fingering to get the B music flowing smoothly. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted December 17, 2003 Author Share Posted December 17, 2003 This the right tune? http://www.leeds.ac.uk/music/Info/RRTuneBk...e/000005e0.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Yep, that's him alright. I enjoy watching fiddle players in sessions with this tune - the body language shows they really love it, and the unnamed tune from the Mittel collection that is usually put with it. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted December 18, 2003 Author Share Posted December 18, 2003 >Yep, that's him alright. I enjoy watching fiddle players in sessions with this tune - >the body language shows they really love it, and the unnamed tune from the >Mittel collection that is usually put with it. Like the tune a lot; thanks. Will bring it to the next session; don't think it's been played around here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lester Bailey Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Chris Love the Fete Du Village the unnamed tune from the Mittel collection that is usually put with it. Short of asking what is the name of the unnamed tune, do you have the ABCs or some such?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Short of asking what is the name of the unnamed tune, do you have the ABCs or some such?? Well it was Jim Besser that came up with the ABC for Fete du Village (thanks, mate), I only learned both tunes in sessions, the set is a regular in the Radway. I'll do some research, but it'll have to be next week, 'cos in a few hours we're off up north for a long weekend. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Brown Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 I'm particularly interested in hearing about tunes that provide good exercise to the left hand , last few fingers. "Evit Gabriel" is one. This is where I need lots of practice. I love "Evit Gabriel" (maybe its because I'm left-handed.) I think it was the first tune I learned out of the Portland Collection. "Trip to Sligo" is another tune thats pretty fun of the left hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted December 18, 2003 Author Share Posted December 18, 2003 [ love "Evit Gabriel" (maybe its because I'm left-handed.) I think it was the first tune I learned out of the Portland Collection. "Trip to Sligo" is another tune thats pretty fun of the left hand.] It's an interesting tune. The Dancing Bear is similar in being a good workout for the left pinky and fourth finger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janis Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 http://www.thursdaycontra.com/~spuds/TunesReels.html I never came across this site before--they have Evit Gabriel in ABC or JPG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted December 19, 2003 Author Share Posted December 19, 2003 >http://www.thursdaycontra.com/~spuds/TunesReels.htm Thanks for that link; a good collection of contra dance standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted December 19, 2003 Author Share Posted December 19, 2003 Chris -- Fete du Village is a workout for the left hand index finger. A fun tune. Since I've never heard it : about how fast do you normally play it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Wagner Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 All, Having never strayed too far from the key of G, D and C and their relative minors for playing melody on the Anglo, I forced myself to learn a tune in the key of A... I can't think of the name of the tune right now but it is on the first page of O'Neill's 1001.... I found it hard to get my fingers and brain moving where they should... . I quickly realized that I should use the pull A on the G row of the left side as opposed to the pull A on the C row (that I used more frequently) since I need the index finger for the G# often played right before/after the A. I also needed to experiment around with which E to use (the pull E on the G row left side or the push E on the C row right side) - as it turned out, I used both Es depending on the situation. There are a number of great tunes in A and, regrettably, I've never really looked at them. But now, with one tune under my belt, I'll see what else I can do with it. Onward, Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 [snip] ...I forced myself to learn a tune in the key of A... I can't think of the name of the tune right now but it is on the first page of O'Neill's 1001.... I found it hard to get my fingers and brain moving where they should... [snip] Craig! A is one of my favourite keys on my C/G anglo! *I* need to venture down into the "flat" keys - I'll bet they're not such a problem either, when you get to grips with them! Samantha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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