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Poll

What tune shall we play in February?

Dark Girl Dressed in Blue (aka Duchess...)
- 22 (37.9%)
Cheshire Waltz
- 17 (29.3%)
The Dark Island
- 10 (17.2%)
Redowa Polka
- 9 (15.5%)

Total Members Voted: 54

Voting closed: February 01, 2011, 12:00:00 AM


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Author Topic: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011  (Read 9844 times)

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Clive Williams

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Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« on: January 25, 2011, 12:00:00 AM »

OK folks, here we go again!

Duchess/dark girl dressed in blue has come in second so many times now. Perhaps this is its month?

Code: [Select]
X:79
T:Dark Girl Dressed in Blue
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:G
A3G F2G2|AB cA B2G2|A3G F2G2|A2d2d4|
A3G F2G2|AB cA B2G2|A2d2^c2e2|d4d4:|
f2f2g2f2|de dB A4|f2f2g2f2|d3B A4|
f2f2g2f2|de dB A2B2|c2B2c2G2|[1A2AB c2d2:|[2A8|]

Spotify users can find an amazing version of Duchess/Dark Girl (labelled 'The Duchess Dressed in Blue') on Tiger Moth's album 'Mothballs Plus'; Courtesy of our own Anahata, we have a splendid version by Ethel's Cats (second tune). We're talking about the english tune by the way, not the irish tune with the same name which is *completely* different.

--

Cheshire Waltz - see it here and here - a lovely old English waltz.

--

The Dark Island - here ; a Scottish pipe march, easy to play, hard to play well. A recent-ish composition, but I can't remember who at the moment. Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

--

Redowa Polka

A little quicker than I'd expect (there aren't many youtube versions out there), but try this.

--

And there we go. Happy voting!

Clive

Martin J

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2011, 12:52:32 AM »

Love Dark Island.  We use it as a show tune in between dances at ceilidhs.  Have loads of echo and reverb with string synth (borrowed from the piano) for all the ethereal backing.  Over mixed, overdone and goes down a storm.  Not an authority but I have always understood it to have been the theme tune to a BBc2 documentary in the mid to late 80's.  I'm sure I will be corrected by some knowledgeable worthy quite quickly  ;D
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jackson10

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2011, 02:31:04 PM »

I love that Cheshire Waltz, but if I'm going to need to play it within a month I'd better go with Dark Girl Dressed in Blue.
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Ellie

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #3 on: January 25, 2011, 03:03:50 PM »

Oh no - I could go for all 4 of those this month! At least it won't matter which one wins. Although both Dark Island and Redowa polka are half-learned already...  ::) :D

ladydetemps

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #4 on: January 25, 2011, 03:43:53 PM »

I attempted cheshire waltz on concertina aaaagggeeesss ago...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjsGZthLppw

philtrewinnard

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #5 on: January 25, 2011, 04:01:43 PM »

i cant believe anyone would want to play redowa polka that fast;
cheshire waltz sounds much better but after  January's tune of the month a change in time signature would be good 
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Graeme

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2011, 04:15:26 PM »

The Dark Island - here ; a Scottish pipe march, easy to play, hard to play well. A recent-ish composition, but I can't remember who at the moment. Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

The tune was composed in 1958 by the late, great Iain MacLachlan from Benbecula, and originally entitled 'Dr. Mackay's Farewell to Creagorry'.

Graeme
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Alison Scott

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2011, 04:20:42 PM »

I'm very fond of Redowa Polka, which was the first tune I properly learnt. It always seems to be less well-known than you might expect.

Bill Young

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2011, 04:25:32 PM »

Love Dark Island.  We use it as a show tune in between dances at ceilidhs.  Have loads of echo and reverb with string synth (borrowed from the piano) for all the ethereal backing.  Over mixed, overdone and goes down a storm.  Not an authority but I have always understood it to have been the theme tune to a BBc2 documentary in the mid to late 80's.  I'm sure I will be corrected by some knowledgeable worthy quite quickly  ;D
Only about the date! Originally broadcast in 1962. This Wikipedia article pretty well covers it. Doubts have been expressed, by some with memories longer than mine, as to whether Iain McLachlan actually composed it, or whether he used an older traditional tune. It was apparently copyrighted by the BBC with Iain designated as the composer. He doesn't appear to have composed any other tunes.
Two (different) performances by Iain McLachlan can be heard on the CDs "Kings of the Button Keyed Box" (CD shared with Fergie McDonald) and "An Island Heritage". I prefer the latter - a solo on Shand Morino accordion.
Edit: Someone has uploaded the second recording to Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbo5pBmVs68
« Last Edit: January 25, 2011, 04:30:30 PM by Bill Young »
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Gary P Chapin

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #9 on: January 26, 2011, 12:32:15 AM »

I was asked to play a polka a few weekends ago, then another, then another, then another, then I ran out.  I vote for the polka!
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Anahata

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #10 on: January 26, 2011, 08:54:01 AM »

I'm tempted to play and record all the tunes in the poll.
I'd have to learn Dark Island but that seem a worthwhile enough venture.
Cheshire Waltz is a local session favourite. (also Comet Waltz in John Clare)
Redowa Polka is an old favourite but I can't bear to listen to to all those A chords in the C music. (it should go C F G C; on a two-row I play C D G C but as everybody else does G A G C * it's a horrible mess.)
Dark Girl plays itself...

* as did I once, until my lovely wife pointed out the obvious: it's a bog-standard I-IV-V-I sequence in the key of C
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Marje

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #11 on: January 27, 2011, 03:28:51 PM »

Ah, thank you, Anahata! I always hated the C part of Redowa (they played it a lot in Sussex, where I used to live) but I'd never taken the trouble to work out why. Now I understand why it sounded so awful, it was those wrong chords exactly as you've described.

Still can't play it, though, on a D/G with no accidentals. Still don't like it, but at least now I know why.
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Alison Scott

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2011, 04:46:34 PM »

Ah, thank you, Anahata! I always hated the C part of Redowa (they played it a lot in Sussex, where I used to live) but I'd never taken the trouble to work out why. Now I understand why it sounded so awful, it was those wrong chords exactly as you've described.

Still can't play it, though, on a D/G with no accidentals. Still don't like it, but at least now I know why.

It's normally played like this:

X:1
T:Redowa Polka
C:Michael Turner's MS
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:G
|:GB d2d2d2|dedc B2B2|GA B2GA B2|B2A2A4|
AB c2c2c2|cdcB A2A2|FG A2FG A2|A2G2G4:|
|:GB d2g2d2|d2c2cB c2|FA c2f2e2|e2d2d^c d2|
GB d2g2d2|d2c2cB c2|FA c2f2e2|d2ef g4:|
|:
K:C
G2Bc BcBc|A2^cd cdcd|B2G2A2B2|c2d2a2g2|
G2Bc BcBc|A2^cd cdcd|B2G2A2B2|c2c2c4:|

Nothing that can't be played on the D/G without accidentals...

Anahata

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #13 on: January 27, 2011, 07:01:23 PM »

Nothing that can't be played on the D/G without accidentals...

You are quite correct that it doesn't need accidentals.
The chords are the problem on a simple D/G.
My Salterelle 2½ row with 12 basses has an F major chord in the right direction which makes all the difference.
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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2011, 10:30:38 PM »

"Dark Island" was used as the theme tune for a six part radio thriller on the "Home Service of the BBC" and, if memory serves me, the notes were actually part of a code that was integral to the mystery and one of the heroes played it on a recorder in episode five or six.

Anorak now off  (:)

Steve

PS recorder not whistle 'cos you need the C and anyway, who played a whistle in 1962?

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Anahata

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #15 on: January 28, 2011, 08:06:10 AM »

That time of year innit.
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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #16 on: January 28, 2011, 12:18:53 PM »

Yes, you're right, Anahata, it's lacking the right chords that's the issue. And not liking the tune much anyway, so there's no real incentive to find a work-around. Happily, it doesn't seem to get played around here, so it's not a problem I need to address. I'm just gratified to find there is an explanation for my dislike of the tune.
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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #17 on: January 28, 2011, 01:00:38 PM »

Even without any chords that last part of Redowa Polka sounds rather strange.
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Graham Spencer

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #18 on: January 28, 2011, 01:24:37 PM »

Maybe I've been playing Redowa Polka wrongly for umpteen years, but I can't see how an F chord could possibly sound right against an A and a C# in the melody ......

Graham
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Clive Williams

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Re: Poll: Tune of the Month for February 2011
« Reply #19 on: January 28, 2011, 01:54:45 PM »

Do we detect Clive quietly setting up a "theme" of "dark tunes" here?

Mwa ha ha ha ha ha! >:E
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