Garech's Wedding: Known by another name?

Trad Irish Music
1

All,

I’m trying to find the music to the tune Garech’s Wedding on Danu’s The Road Less Traveled(track 7). Does anyone know if it’s known by another name?

Thanks,
Tony

2

Here you go…

X: 1
T:Gareth’s wedding
M:9/8
L:1/8
S:Paddy Moloney
R:Slip Jig
Z:Steve Jones
K:Em
|:E3 e2 B G2 B | A2 A A2 G A2 B | E3 G2 B e2 f |
1gfe fed B2 e :|2 gfe fed e2 f||
g2 B BAB g2 e | f2 A AFA f2 a |1g2 B BAB g2 e|
fdd add fga :|2 gfe fed efg|BdB AGF E3||

3

Thanks! Would you know where I might find it in ABC format? I tried JC’s with no luck.

Thanks again,
Tony

4

Thanks for the ABC. I’m new to ITM and have a question. Are most slip jigs like that? I can’t read rythyms very well at all so I have to ABC’s to hear it. If not, could anyone recommend easy tunes like it?

Thanks,
Tony

5

All slip jigs are “like that” in that they are in 9/8 time, although the rhythmic feel of them can be quite different depending on the distribution of long and short notes in the tune.

As for reading the rhythms, this should be easy if you memorize this trick (which also works for ordinary jigs):

A group of three eighth notes (e.g. “gfe” in the above tune) sounds like “rickety” or “diddle-dee”.

A quarter note followed by an eighth note (e.g. “e2 B” or “A2 A”) sounds like “dum-tee”.

And a dotted quarter note (e.g. E3) is a long “daah”.

With this in mind you can lilt practically any jig or slip jig - the first four bars of Gareth’s wedding will go

Daah, dum-tee dum-tee | dum-tee dum-tee dum-tee | daah, dum-tee dum-tee | diddle-dee diddle-dee dum-tee |

and so on. There might be occasional complications such as pairs of 16th notes, but if these are a problem, for now just miss out the second and pretend the first is an eighth note.

As for other jigs “like that” - two that spring to mind are The Butterfly and A Fig for a Kiss. But I’d suggest that at your stage you don’t go looking for the sheet music but try to listen to the tunes until you can sing them to yourself using syllables like those above. Once you can do that, learning them by ear, or if you must with the music, will be easy.

Steve

6

Well done, Steve!

djm

7

But the guy’s name is (was? -or do I misremember) indeed Garech, not Gareth. Descendant of our dear Uncle Arthur Guinness. P Moloney composed it as a wedding present, but lost brownie points by not turning up for the wedding. Garech had introduced Paddy and friends to high society, launching him on a still-thriving career in name-dropping, but also helping the Chieftains on their way to superstardom by setting up Claddagh Records, which enabled PM and other members of the group to give up the day job.

8

Garech da Brun, indeed, but was he not formerly known as Gareth Browne? Anyway the only record I have heard the tune on (Chieftains 10) has it as “Gareth’s Wedding”, I’m sure. I didn’t know PM failed to show at the big event, Roger. Anyway he’s in good company as a namedropper. :wink:

9

Something about that name Garach da Brun sounded awfully familiar…I started thinking, wasn’t that the guy who composed the reel Man of Aran? No, wait, that was Darach de Brun. Right? Now I’m confuzzled.