I plan to bring an additional tune to my lesson tomorrow. I’d like to get a better grasp on some of the ornaments used, particularly on the repeated eighth notes…
Not sure if this helps, but I just do a cut between the A’s and then between the B’s. You really can’t do a proper roll with just 2 notes (unless I’m misunderstanding you).
You really can’t do a proper roll with just 2 notes (unless I’m misunderstanding you).
Ofcourse you can, short rolls or compressed rolls are in fact ‘proper’ rolls, although you wouldn’t place them on the A or B in that tune. ~F2A ~G2B is perfectly viable in that tune though and used a lot. Alternatively you could go ~F3 ~G2B FAd f or, obviously, ~F2A ~G3 FAd f
Why would you not place short rolls on the A or B? I’m not disputing the statement, just wondering why it wouldn’t be done. I’m still grappling with when and where to put rolls and other ornaments/variations.
Well, you wouldn’t customarily play F~A2 G~B2, because you’d be placing a strong accent on the weak 2nd beats of the triples. It’s a kind of syncopation. Of course, you could do that for a deliberately unusual effect. But it’s like taking the normal DID-dle-dee DID-dle-dee pattern and changing it to did-DLE-dee did-DLE-dee instead. Which is even hard to pronounce.
Try it! Play F{c-cut}A{G-tap}A G{c-cut}B{A-tap}B with a breath accent or tongue accent on the cuts. It sounds odd, like the rhythm is stumbling (though I secretly like it ).
Mr. Gumby’s suggestions all preserve the main accents on the strong 1st beats and the secondary accents on the 3rd beats - whether you’re phrasing things in straight threes (DID-dle-dee DID-dle-dee) or with 3rd beat pick-ups (DID-dle dee-DID-dle).
If I’m lazy (which is often), I just play FAA GBB = ~F3 ~G3.
The other thing I’d do with FAA GBB is triple-tongue, and swing (play dotted) the first two of each triple: F>A(A G>)BB. Think “tickity-uckity” or “uckity-uckity” for the tonguing syllables, and you get a nice legato between the two triples. This can give a nice lift if not overdone.
If you have the album Music at Matt Molloy’s, listen to Breda Smyth’s whistle jigs on the Cape Breton Jigs set, Track 2. She uses variations of this pattern throughout (though she may be single-tonguing, I can’t really tell).
For the FAA GBB thing, my “default” choice would be to simply put pats in between the repeated notes.
I usually prefer patting on an unstressed note, cutting on a stressed note.
But one could easily put cuts on the first A and first B. Though having the same note and gracenote pattern as short rolls on A and B, if the timing is kept even and the cuts aren’t strongly accented they won’t have the effect of short rolls, simply articulations.
One could, by strongly accenting the cuts, create short rolls there for a syncopated effect.
One could also put long rolls in there, and it’s fairly common to do stuff like that in jigs, shoving four notes into the space normally occupied by three.
Simply listening to good players and being in the company of good players goes a long way.
I also believe firmly in stretching a tune and in fact DO al the things you can think of to a tune, in private, and then throw out the stuff that sounds like shite. It is great for helping you understand how tunes sit together and work.
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