Hi folks,
I’ve got to play for a wedding and they want me to play this march. I usualy play reels jigs and son on. So this request is a bit unusual to me. I’ve transcribed a few dots, but it seams very difficult to me to adapt the tune to our instrument. Has somebody heard about a UP version? I was told Heather Clark was working on a transcription. Is it available somewhere?
Thanks in advance for any help
The main theme (which is often all that is played at weddings) sits nicely on the pipes when transposed to G Major (from the original C Major). One G# is required.
So just find the original score online and transpose the melody line to G.
Oh heck, it just took a minute … 
X:1
T:Wedding March
C:Felix Mendelssohn
N:Original in C Major
Z:MTGuru for C&F 2013-05-28
M:C
K:G
g4 f3^c|e2d2 =c2A2|!trill!G4 {FG}A2D>A|Bz GB DGBd|
g4 f3^c|e2d2 =c2A2|!trill!G4 {FG}Bz A>B|A4 "Fine"Gzz2:|
G4 G3G|B2A2 F2D2|D3G G3B|B2A2 F2D2|
G3B B3d|d4 c2B2|A2 ^G>B A2 E>G|F2d2 "DC al Fine"e2f2|]
mmmhhmhm… yeeahh, but…works better in D, from my perspective. Ive had to (on insistent request from B&G’s..) do this piece a few times. Many more times than I’d actually want to, given my choice, because Its not really what id term a musically fullfilling experience, but the customers always right. 
One can work some nice cranns in, do a great sweeping D major arpegg, & get a few choice honkin reg opprotunities goin with it. (thanks Felix) 
(WWFS: what would Felix say, one always wonders…) 
Thanks a million!
I began to write it in Gmaj. Ill’ll try D as well.
Go raibh míle maith agat
I’ll choose the Gmaj version. It would be too tricky in D because the accidental G# in the first part.
Thanks again.
Not saying you’re wrong; you’ve actually performed it. But do you play all the way up to the 3rd octave D then? You’d really have to to avoid folding, no? And folding that D might sound quite odd to hoi wedding polloi expecting the usual melody. D also puts much of the melody fairly high up in the range, where the overall impression may be less effective. It also introduces an D# into the melody, though that’s not really a problem.
In G the only folding is that long arpeggio, which would hardly be noticed. You can do those G trills with the proper turn at the end, without crossing the register break. The bottom Ds in the second part make nice cranns, and you can substitute D3 for G3 in the 4th line for another crann.
Yes, that 3rd note of the melody is fairly critical for listener expectations. And G Major makes it an easy C#.
methinks thou overthinkest
http://snd.sc/13360t6 indeed not a memorable snippet for the instrument, but there it is, forever preserved in beautiful cellphone quality recording, folded & spindled.
As with all these unidiomatic adaptations, keeping the character & salient features is usually enough; (except perhaps for the bride’s artsy college friend who isnt playing her wedding; but this will only be a talking point until the 3rd mojito, or 2nd attractive guest, whichever comes first…)
What the bride will remember during her 1’:35" minute recessional is that all eyes were on her, everyone clapped, Aunt Marie was in tears, she didnt trip, and she got the tune she wanted from the bagpiper. It was beautiful! Guess its handy in case things run long, to have it in both G and D. D for me. 
Nah … Methinks me overthinke not at all. Just describing what a few seconds spent noodling the melody reveals.
Of course, as you imply, horses for courses. Or maybe in this case, rides for brides. 
But in your clip you are taking … ahem … considerable liberties with the tune. And in the B part you modulate to G Major anyway. So why not play the whole thing in G and avoid all the dropped/folded notes and creative transmelodification (yes, I just made that up) …
Or just play the Imperial March from Star Wars instead. Maybe they won’t notice the difference.
details, details, man. 
I’m maintaining a firm wall of blaséitude about it. It will never creep up into the top 40 & its doable on uilleann at customers request if it makes them happy.
I paid for a full wind section here. All I get is trumpets & bones? Where s the contractor?
“blaséitude”…love it. 