Hi all,
I’m currently working on “The Star of the County Down” (from Yet Another Digital Tradition Page) and I have a little problem:
there is a reoccuring sequence of 4 A’s in a row and it sounds sooo boring.
Any advise on how to ornament that sequence to make it sound a little bit more interesting?
Thanks,
cb.
[ This Message was edited by: ChrisB on 2002-03-25 05:28 ]
[ This Message was edited by: ChrisB on 2002-03-25 05:31 ]
play one, cut one, tap one, play one
Longest roll in history? 
Thanks, Paul.
Good stuff, and it works reversed, too.
tap, cut. Sounds a bit different. I am increasingly replacing
tonguing with cuts and especially,
taps. More interesting, it seems.
Also, done quickly, these patterns
can sometimes replace rolls
to real effect.
Thanks.
Also one can slide into the first A.
Slainte</a](http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/5/slainte.html>Slainte</a)> on MP3.COM has an excelent version of The](http://artists.mp3s.com/artist_song/18/18856.html%3EThe) Star of County Down. It starts out with a just a whistle carrying the melody through. The voices join in the secont time through. Now that I’ve learned a little about ornamentation through the whistle, I can more easily hear the sweet soprano voice of the singer as she adds a bit of ornamentation here and there.
I’m working on this lovely song, too, but I have a slightly different version. Try making one of those A’s a B instead - not a cut, but a “real” note.
I’m working on another song with three A’s in a row in two places, and the last A is held for 5 beats. In the first phrase, I make the 1st A a dotted quarter, the second an 8th, then hold the third for the count. The second time, I substitute B as the second note. For the repeat, I usually reverse this, or play the B in both places. This adds a nice flow to the song, and the substituted B gives a nice lilt to the phrase.
Hope this helps, and thanks for the new webpage.
I tried the setting of “Star of the County Down” from YADTP and didn’t care for it. Try this one. It’s very close to Slainte’s version, which is pretty good (IMHO). It still has some “boring” sequences – BBB, EEE. I just put a cut or tap between the first and second notes, or I do a roll on the second note.
The ABC file is here.
[ This Message was edited by: ThorntonRose on 2002-03-25 14:41 ]
Thanks for this thread . . . the monthly group I get to play with performs this song on a regular basis. The fiddler has the lead and adds enough ornaments you’d think she was decorating a Christmas tree. I’m still fairly new to the whistle and can’t keep up with her flair. With more practice, and with the ammo from this thread, maybe I can better compliment her playing.
randy
Kendra,
try making one of those A’s a B instead
hey, that sounds nice. Thank you.
Thornton,
Try this one
I will, this evening.
or I do a roll on the second note
Believe me, you don’t want to hear me doing a roll on any note!
cb.
Thornton,
Try this one
Strange; your version is in 4/4 whereas the version I practice is in 3/4 !? 
Can anyone shed some light on this?
On 2002-03-26 05:45, ChrisB wrote:
Thornton,Strange; your version is in 4/4 whereas the version I practice is in 3/4 !? >
Can anyone shed some light on this?
The original time signature for this song/tune is 4/4. It is often executed quite stridently like a quick march. Playing it in waltz time is a relatively recent practice. I have always liked Star of the County Down, first hearing it in 4/4. IMHO, the 3/4 time signature is an improvement.
Cheers,
David
[ This Message was edited by: Feadan on 2002-03-26 06:38 ]
ThorntonRose, thanks for posting the link to your version, it’s ever so much nicer than the one I had been working on! I’ll be working on this one today…
Slainte, :
:
Andrea ~*~
On 2002-03-26 06:37, Feadan wrote:
The original time signature for this song/tune is 4/4. It is often executed quite stridently like a quick march. Playing it in waltz time is a relatively recent practice. I have always liked Star of the County Down, first hearing it in 4/4. IMHO, the 3/4 time signature is an improvement.
I’m going to have to try it in 3/4. It would definitely have a different feel.
I am working on the 4/4 version and really like it. I’ve tried the 3/4 version and don’t like it.
What I do with those boring bars is:
If the notes are BBB AB, with the B’s all being quarter notes and the AB two eighth notes. I dot the first B, make the second an eighth, play the third B, then slur the A and B into the first note of the following bar. This gives a definite “swing” to the music. There are lots of places in the version of the song I have with these 3 quarters and 2 eighths (but on different notes), and sometimes I do this treatment and sometimes I don’t - and in the repeat I try to do it differently.
I imagine you could get this same effect with cuts, but it’s easier for me to do what I do
On 2002-03-26 11:39, Kendra wrote:
I am working on the 4/4 version and really like it. I’ve tried the 3/4 version and don’t like it.
It can also be played in 6/8 as a jig, slow or faster, whatever toots your whistle.
Whitey
~. . . . . .
I had never heard this in 3/4 but it did sound nice when I tried it. But you wouldn’t want to sing it that way!
For a challenge, try singing it in 4/4 and then switching to waltz time for the break between verses.
On 2002-03-26 12:49, Blackbird wrote:
…For a challenge, try singing it in 4/4 and then switching to waltz time for the break between verses.
Isn’t that how Funcamental Note play it?
Bloomfield, I can’t get that picture of “you” out of my head - the one with the fuzzy hair and the orange shirt. Every time your name pops up, that’s the image I see.
On 2002-03-26 15:41, Blackbird wrote:
Bloomfield, I can’t get that picture of “you” out of my head - the one with the fuzzy hair and the orange shirt. Every time your name pops up, that’s the image I see.
I guess I have Dale to “thank” for that. Well, it’s not me. I am short and fat and have a big red beard. (Wish I was that good-looking, though…) :roll:
