I learned The Otter Holt recently, and I’ve got the melody down. Problem is, now I’m blanking on ideas for imbellishment. Also, the melody doesn’t seem to leave many possiblities in terms of spots to breathe. Any ideas?
Did you learn it by ear or by notation?
Off the top of my head, there’s an example on “Music at Matt Molloy’s”, track 11. That may give you some ideas for ornaments and breathing.
After the roll on the final “b” in the 4th bar would be a good breathing spot
Teri
On 2002-09-17 16:28, Teri-K wrote:
Did you learn it by ear or by notation?
I learned off of a site that has been mentioned before, BBC’s virtual session. They’ve got notation to accompany the music, so I cheated and used the notation to figure out the melody. However, I only used the notation as accompaniment for the audio.
As for the breathing, yes, I do breath where you mentioned, Teri. I also pause for a breath quite often in the A at the end of the bit below.
|fBBA FEFB|A2
Also, I find that removing the first B in the first bar and breathing there can be used, though I’m not sure that it’s really a good idea. It adds emphasis to the first f that I’m not sure is needed, or for that matter, wanted.
The thing is, besides those points that I just mentioned, no other possible spots stick out at me. I like to vary it, you know?
Also, that first section that I notated above really seems to me like it needs some kind of subtle touch. It’s a good phrase and all, but I don’t play with enough emotion to carry it just on that. It needs something, I just don’t know what.
I was just asking myself the same question earlier today!
I don’t have Music at Matt Molloy’s, but it’s also on his first album which I just got. (Track 2, he uses a Gaelic name for it.)
I’ve been listening a lot to Barry Kerr’s recording of it (on The Three Sisters). He does something very different with the B part – same sort of fiddling around on a D major chord, but very different note patterns. But whatever he’s doing is not coming to me casually, and I haven’t sat down and tried to puzzle out the details yet.
On 2002-09-17 16:59, colomon wrote:
I don’t have Music at Matt Molloy’s, but it’s also on his first album which I just got. (Track 2, he uses a Gaelic name for it.)
Thanks for pointing that out, Colomon! I’ve got easy access to that album, but I hadn’t remembered that The Otter’s Holt is on there.
Another development in my breathing scheme: I’ve decided that the tune needs the sustain on the A2 that starts the second bar. That note sounds to me like a lonesome, sad note and it loses the effect when you take a breath on it.
I’ve got easy access to that album, but I hadn’t remembered that The Otter’s Holt is on there.
Also a version by Paul McGrattan on “Within a Mile of Dublin”, by Kevin Crawford on “Raise the Rafters”, and by Mike McGoldrick on “Fused”, in the Otter’s Set. Also by Noel Rice on Baal Tinne’s “…About Time” - although buried in an ensemble setting. Different paces, different settings, different phrasing.
Kevin Krell
The tune was composed by Junior Crehan, I think originally in the lower key of Em, giving some lovely dark sounds on the fiddle, Bobby Casey used to play it in that key, it’s also on Kevin Crehan’s wonderful CD that way. It crept up to Bm however, which works well too allthough I sometimes take it one tone down from that which works nice on the pipes, starting the second part on a long c natural [the Musical Priest responds well to that treatment as well by the way].
Martin Murray is as far as I know the man who wrote a song to the tune, which may help your grasp of the melody [even though they considerably changed the rhythm for it, it’s the same melody]. Take her in your arms [and tell her that you love her], he recorded it with Kevin Crawford and PJ King [probably as Raise the Rafters, not sure of that.] I hear it a lot on the radio, as it’s a small world Martin lives and has his studio about a mile as the crow flies from where I am writing this.
Offcourse my musical generation learned the tune off the second Bothy Band album. Martin Rochford had a lovely fiddle version of it too and I have an MP3 of him playing it sitting here, if you’re interested.
[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-09-18 11:37 ]
On 2002-09-18 06:09, Peter Laban wrote:
Martin Rochford had a lovely fiddle version of it too and I have an MP3 of him playing it sitting here, if you’re interested.
Yes, I’m interested! I’d love to hear it. How do you want to get it to me?