John, after more than 25 years’ study of the matter, I am in general agreement with the frequently heard assertion that all Irish tunes sound the same.
However I would venture to suggest that The Otter’s Holt and Dinky’s are not the best examples to prove the point.
That is I don’t think they are very much alike at all. So either 1) you have ears of cloth or (more likely) 2) what purports to be Dinky’s on your source is something else. Perhaps there is more than one tune in the set?
The Otter’s Holt is a composition of Clare fiddle player Junior Crehan (his title for it was in Irish and translates literally as “The Water Dog’s Hole” I believe), composed in E dorian but nowadays almost invariably played in D dorian.
Dinky’s reel is not dorian but mixolydian although, interestingly, it is named in honour of a Donegal fiddler of bygone days, Dinky Dorrian (with two Rs). Maybe the Dorian mode/Mr Dorrian is the closest link between the two tunes?
Since I learn purely by ear, I am sure I am hearing the exact same tune. I do not possess any sort of music theory training or comprehension, so I cannot say as to what this tune originates from in any way. I just made a whistle one day and started playing.
They still have a downloadable mp3 called “Dinky’s Reel” (see the link below)
In the ‘middle’ of the reel is a whistle solo that sounds VERY similar to this “Otter’s Holt”, so I was just wondering if this was something they threw in the middle of their song, or if this was in fact a known reel with it’s own ‘identity’?
As I’ve said many times… I don’t read sheet music, so I guess I can’t say for positive.
I have the tune, however I am uncertain whether I should link to it or not, so I am just going to put the link to their website… you can snag the mp3 from there.
All is now made clear John! There are three tunes on that clip:
Humours of whiskey
Otter’s holt
Dinky Dorrian’s
You ears are hereby pronounced lint-free!
PS Nanohedron the dorian thing is a bit of a red herring - it’s the sixth degree of the scale that distinguishes between conventional minor key and dorian mode, and in the Otter’s holt it’s absent. No Gs, John!
[ This Message was edited by: StevieJ on 2003-02-24 20:48 ]
So, then, StevieJ, when a theory-challenged fluter (such as yours truly) sez that Poll an Madra Uisce is in Bminor, it’s really D Dorian in this case? Ouch. I need to take a nap now.
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