This weeks' winner is Gypsy Princess, which is a barndance. I thought I'd read somewhere a while back, just what a barndance is, but can't find what I'm looking for. I did find this on www.thesession.org Barndances are generally in 4/4 and are a bit like something between a slow reel and a hornpipe with less notes (not so much emphasis on triplets). There is a big difference between barndances from the Clare and Doengal traditions too, particularly in tempo, the are generally played a good deal faster in Donegal and some of them seem to be in 2/4 rather than 4/4. and this A barndance is it's own animal, unlike slip jigs/hop jigs - it's not just a way of playing the tune. Barndances have there own thing going for them which is separate from both reels & hornpipes. Barndances are played with the same rhythm as a hornpipe, but they have different rhythmic features & those earmark barndance cadences which makes them stand out as barndances. The best way to sum it up is that a barndance is a hornpipe, but a hornpipe is not necessarily a barndance. Here is the ABC from thesession.org X: 1 T: Gypsy Princess M: 4/4 L: 1/8 R: barndance K: Gmaj (B2 B)B B2B2|ABAG E2 D2|(G2G)B d2 Bd|e2 dB A2 GA| (B2 B)B B2B2|ABAG E2 D2|(G2G)A BddB|A2 G2 G2 z2:| (d2 d)d d2 d2 |B2 BA G2 Bd|(e2e)e e2 e2|B2 BA G2 zB| (d2 d)d d2 d2 |B2 BA G2 Bd|(g2 g)e dBGA|B2 A2 G2 z2:| Here is a link to the tune on thesession.org I found this on Fiddlers Companion: GYPSY PRINCESS. Irish, Barndance. G Major. Standard tuning. County Cork button accordion player Jackie Daly plays this tune paired with “Killavil Postman” on the Arcady album. Arcady – “After the Ball.” X:1 T:Gypsy Princess M:4/4 L:1/8 Z:Transcribed by Bill Reeder K:G GA|B2 B2 B2 B2|ABAG E2 D2|G3 B d3 B|dedB AGGA|B2 BB B2 BB| ABAG E2 D2|G3 B dedB|1 A2 G2 G2 :|2 A2 G2 G2 Bc|| d3 e g3 e|dedB AGBc|d3 e g3 e|dedB A2 Bc|d3 e g3 e| dedB A2 G2|G3 B dedB|1 A2 G2 G2 Bc:|2 A2 G2 G4|| K:A c2 c2 c2 c2|BcBA F2 E2|A3 c e3 c|efec BAAB| c2 cc c2 cc|BcBA F2 E2|A3 c efec|1 B2 A2 A2 AB:|2 B2 A2 A2 cd|| e3 f a3 f|efec BAcd|e3 f a3 f|efec B2 cd|e3 f a3 f| efec B2 A2|A3 c efec|1 B2 A2 A2 cd:|2 B2 A2 A2 AB||M:4/4 X: 2 T:Gypsy Princess M:4/4 L:1/8 S:Brendan Begley Z:Transcribed by Terry Moylan R:Barn Dance K:G GA | B3B B2 B2 | ABAG E2 D2 | G3 B d2 Bd | (3efe dB A2 GA | B3B B2 B2 | ABAG E2 D2 | G3A BddB | A2 G2 G2 :|: Bc | d3d d2 d2 | BcBA GA (3Bcd | e3 e e2 e2 | BcBA GABc | d3d d2 d2 | BcBA GABd | g3e dBGA | B2 (3ABA G2 :| Here is a link to standard notation and tab on www.traditionalmusic.co.uk A band I love, that I discovered here on Mandolin Cafe, is Three Mile Stone. They do an awesome medley that starts off with Gipsy Princess. Here is a link to their website, and if you go to 'music' you can listen to a 'sample' of the tune... but it lasts long enough to get a good idea. I can heartily recommend purchasing this CD!
Here's a different version in the key of A played on my Sobell mandolin.
David, that was great!
Great stuff David - sparkling sounding in that key!
Yay! Very nice. Love this tune and what a great version.
Gypsy Princess .tef http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/at...6&d=1293198410
I like the tune and have cobbled together a version of it I like with some drone and double-stop notes sprinkled throughout. So far it's been frustrating...there's a couple of spots I can't play cleanly (with the added flourishes) so I don't have a recording I'd care to post yet. Here's a quick attempt at Tabledit, missing a few rests in the bottom (drone) voice. http://brenthutto.com/GypsyPrincess.tef.pdf
It's been a long time since I actually recorded the song of the week in the right week itself -- here is my version of Gypsy Princess. I used Brent's version but didn't play all of his double stops but mainly the open string drones and a few of the more trenchant ones. It's a fun tune -- fairly simple but well-suited to adding a few drones and double stops. I've played this on my 1921 Ajr. Not sure I got the dance pulse quite right; it could do with a few more playthroughs to get it swing more. Martin
Thanks for posting that, Martin. It does sound good with the drones. In fact this would be a good song to illustrate open-string drones if you were teaching a lesson in that style of music. Nice sound. When we get back in town from the holidays I'll try to get a recording of my own to add.
Short n sweet and no expense spared on the Xmas decs........
lovely versions from t'other side of the Atlantic there - well done lads!
Right, here's my go of it:
Here's my attempt
Nice one, HddnKat - did you get a new mandolin?
Yes - last summer - it was my 'moving on' present when I got a new job. It's a Kentucky KM 630.
Thank you, HddnKat and Jill for rockin' the house with this tune. Just started learning it. There's one version that goes from G to A ~ I don't learn tunes very fast, but I'm determined to learn this one!
Getting my mandolin out of mothballs. See if I can remember how to post...
Mike R, Just two words... Oh. Yeah.
Great to see you here again Mike!
Hey welcome back stranger. The mandolin may have been gathering mothballs but your playing hasn't, nice stuff Mike.
Just brilliant Mike, wonderful......
Nice one Mike.
Here's the melody of Gypsy Princess in my own rather slow and contemplative take, rather than as a dance. http://brenthutto.com/Mandolin/Gypsy...sPlainMono.mp3 I'm still working on an elaborated version with drones. Here's the current, very simple realization. I like the slow tempo and rubato plus the drones are very effectivee, I think. Still a couple dissonances I want to work in. Some other day for that, though.
Brent. You've got #5 ringing like a bell. You keep working her and you'll have her dancin' n prancin and singin the blues. Nice job. If you ever come down with scroll envy and decide to sell her. Let me be the first to know. #6 misses her. Gary
Brent that is one sweet sounding mandolin, you're pulling some lovely tone out of that thing!
Thanks, folks. I'm certainly having to reevaluate the thing I've always heard about mandolins by definition not having much sustain. Oh yeah? I only wish I had more experience with good mandolins because I have an inkling that this one is a very special instrument. I've played one Collings MF that would be a close call which had the "better" tone...but I wouldn't have traded for anything. This one really suits me right down to the ground. Gary, I have a long-term goal of staging a "reunion" of our sibling instruments. Not sure how that'll happen at a 3,000 mile remove but you never know...
Brent, A reunion down the road sounds good. Later on there'll be more siblings. Maybe in Kansas with Mike so he can see the 'children'.
It’s funny, you know that feeling as you’re recording something and there’s nothing catastrophic, and the errors are small but there sure are a lot of them? Well on this one I was about to call it a day and suddenly the woodpecker chirped up so I decided to keep on ploughing through. https://youtu.be/11AS3m0Oc-w
Simon - another great tune and video - thank you.
The woodpecker called for more…
Simon, I see you were too tired to vigorously stomp your foot, so I'll do that for you in this older video of mine (It's with Joe Banes and I posted it as Other Tune, unawares that Gypsy Princess already had an official one).
Fine, grand playing Bertram, the tone that you’re getting on your octave is really something. And the double foot tap, I must try that in future!
Two great new videos!
