McGoldrick tune wanted

Trad Irish Music
1

I’m new on Chiff and Fipple, so I’m not sure if this is where I’m supposed to post this but I’ll give it a try:

I really want to learn a McGoldrick tune from the “Morning Rory” CD. It’s a set of reels, called “Peter Brown’s/Mamma’s pet/Sailor on the rock”. The thing is, I can’t find sheet music for the way Mike plays it. I’ve been looking at thesession.org, and have indeed found theese separate tunes, but as far as I see it, they aren’t even close to what Mike plays. Anyone that can help me out here?

:slight_smile:

2

Outside of the Ceol Rince na hÉireann series it would be pretty unusual to find readily available sheet music for a particular player’s setting (especially for such a relatively recent recording, as we count these things), so I’m afraid that probably the best you could do is listen for as long as it takes 'til you get it (that’s the normal way), and maybe augment the process by using programs like The Amazing Slowdowner, stuff like that.

That said, I would forward the usual cautions that I’m sure you’re already familiar with - that rather than imitating note-for-note, it would be better to ultimately have your own signature take on those tunes. That’s what it’s all about. :slight_smile:

Great set, though, isn’t it. :slight_smile:

3

Hi Jonie-boy, and welcome.

You do understand how trad music works, don’t you? That is, asking for the exact sheet music is like asking for a verbatim transcription of a story that someone told in a pub. It’s very unlikely. Instead, you hear the story and then you retell it in your own words. And it will be a bit different every time you (or anyone) tells it. Each retelling is a snapshot in time.

If you’re good enough to expect to imitate McGoldrick’s exact setting, then you’re probably good enough to hear what McGoldrick is playing and follow Nano’s advice and learn it by ear, with the possible aid of a transcription tool like a slow downer.

Otherwise, start with the basic tune and develop it in a way that makes sense for your own playing level and your understanding of style and variation. The settings on The Session are an OK starting point for that.

For examples of close transcriptions of particular tune performances, take a look at the “Further study” section of Brother Steve’s whistle site. The transcriptions at the end of Grey Larsen’s big book are another source. Larsen has also just published a book of close transcriptions, but it has not been in print long enough yet for a proper evaluation or recommendation.

Good luck …

4

hi jonie boy

That’s a great set of tunes.

As with everything else, tune names morph, version rise and fall, don’t take it all to seriously and have fun.

Peter Brown’s is normally called Rathlin Island, and was composed by piper Peter Brown though i think it Browne but i could be wrong. But the tune played on the recording is rathlin island. his mama’s pet is not the same mama’s pet played by fiddlers, he may have morphed that into a better key for flute and added more range than the original, but i could be wrong about that too, i learned mama’s pet off of a paddy glackin album many years ago, and that not to my mind the same tune. And yes there are often tunes with multiple names, and names with multiple tunes, gan ainm for instance lol.

Sailor on the Rock is classic tune and you can find it anywhere, however John Chambers abc finder is generally the best source. McGoldrick takes a lot of artistic license with his playing, so your not gonna find true transcriptions of his music nor will it consistent, great irish music is temporal, never played the same way twice, which is to sean nos, the old way.

In terms of learning by ear or by dots (sheet music), i encourage you to learn my ear, first listen to the tune 100 times with out trying to play along, then 100 more times playing along, learning a tune in this manner without slow downer software is to my mind the best way to do it and really develops the ear. this is not to be negative about slow downers or fast uppers… but they are a crutch in many ways.

dots are something i use for reference or when i can’t remember how a tune goes… it is more difficult to learn a tune from dots than by ear. if you are a master of notation and very analytical the tune may stick in your head but you’ll always or at least often rely on the sheet music to start it up. but learning from dots is very sterile and you end up getting a very static version. being dynamic like mcgoldrick is the goal for many.

McGoldrick’s Morning Rory tune somehow has become known as Baby Rory, a lovely slip jig, simple in many ways but exceedingly fun to play. So if your looking for consistency in this music you won’t find it.

below is a url for Rathlin Island, remember McGoldrick’s making the tune his, with variation and musicality so will find this to be a bare bones version in dots.

http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/tunefind?P=rathlin+island&find=FIND&m=title&W=wide&scale=0.65&limit=1000&thresh=5&fmt=single&V=1&Tsel=tune&Nsel=0


enjoy the ride