What is the name of this tune? [Archive]

MandoNoob

Nov-11-2004, 4:23pm

Hi all,

Anyone recognise this tune? I love it... I have a recording of it played (as part of a larger set) at about 160bpm on banjo and sax, and it rocked. I've tabbed it out in the hope I'll be able to play along on mandolin some day...

But what on earth is it called?

Thanks!

-- MandoNoob

<span style='font-family:Courier'>Unknown tune from a Murphy's Mob session
========================================

The full stops above the tablature mark the beat.
Asterisks denote triplets (no left hand info needed ... play triplet on same fret as previous note).

Part A

. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. .. . #. . . .
--523203|2-------|------5-|250-----|--523203|2-------|-----5-|250-----|
5-------|-50---05|2-------|---45024|5-------|-50---05|2------|---45024|
--------|---545--|-5* 5---|--------|--------|---545--|-5*5---|--------|
--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|-------|--------|

. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . .
--523203|2-------|------5-|250-----|--523203|2-------|------5-|250--023|
5-------|-50---05|2-------|---45024|5-------|-50---05|2-------|---45---|
--------|---545--|-5* 5---|--------|--------|---545--|-5* 5---|--------|
--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|

Part B

. . . . #. . . . #. #. . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. #. . . #. . . .
5-52--23|5-527532|2h330--30|--325323|5-52-252|-2527532|2h3* 3-53|2302-023|
----5---|--------|-----3---|3-------|----5---|5-------|---------|----5---|
--------|--------|---------|--------|--------|--------|---------|--------|
--------|--------|---------|--------|--------|--------|---------|--------|

. . . . #. . . . #. #. . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. #. . . #. . . .
5-52--23|5-527532|2h330--30|--325323|5-52-252|-2527532|2h3* 3-53|2302----¦
----5---|--------|-----3---|3-------|----5---|5-------|---------|----5024¦
--------|--------|---------|--------|--------|--------|---------|--------¦
--------|--------|---------|--------|--------|--------|---------|--------¦</span>

POB

Nov-12-2004, 3:31am

That's known as "The Scholar" or "The Poor Scholar". It's a great old standard.

MandoNoob

Nov-12-2004, 2:40pm

Thanks POB!

Now I have a more general follow-up question, but it seems rude to start another thread...

If one has tablature such as the above, which shows the melody notes only, how does one go about 'fleshing it out' so it sounds good played on solo mandolin? What are the basic rules?

I am experimenting a bit and have the following for the first four bars of The Scholar:

<span style='font-family:Courier'>. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #. . . . #
--523203|2-------|------5-|250-----|
5---2---|050---05|2-------|0--45024|
0---0---|0--545--|05* 5---|0---4---|
2---0---|2---2---|0---0---|2---2---|</span>

I've basically tried to put a chord on every other beat, with a rule to exclude strings higher than the one containing the melody note. It's a bit boring, but I think it's better than the naked melody.

Any ideas to what else I can do?

POB

Nov-15-2004, 5:47am

My take on this is probably a lot different from yours, so feel very free to completely ignore this...

If you're used to something like bluegrass, which is typified by full-on band arrangements, Irish music can feel a bit sparse at first - the melody can seem, as you say, "naked". There's probably not so much need to tart up the melody as you think.

What are the basic rules?
There are none, as such. Mandolin is a reasonably new instrument in Irish music and thus has no "set-in-stone" traditional way of playing it. However, there are defintitely some stylistic approaches to the music and its ornamentation on the more "established" instruments (pipes, fiddle and so on) that can be applied to the mandolin. See this page (http://www.greenmanhumming.com/html/zoukornaments/) for a good breakdown of some ornaments. Note that this style of ornamentation is primarily melodic rather than harmonic. That's a pretty defining characteristic of Irish tradtional music. So, it's not quite getting you away from the "naked" melody, but that's kind of where Irish music is at, in terms of melody.

It's a bit boring
No, it's not - give yourself some credit. Even though, as I said above, Irish melodies are, traditionally, not adorned by harmonic variation such as your chord-melody approach, there's no reason why you shouldn't do it. There are those in the tradition who would disagree, but to me, there's no point in playing a mandolin like a flute. If an instrument can play more than one note at a time, it's a shame to ignore that potential. However, I wouldn't play it that way all the time - I'd be more inclined to throw in the occasional chord and let the melody breathe more.

Okay, I've typed a lot and said very little here. Basically, if you're trying for a tradtional Irish sound, I'd advise you to start with melodic ornaments like those at the link above. Then explore more typical mandolin ornaments such as hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, drones, chord-melody and so on, but all quite sparingly. If, on the other hand, you're not particularly trying for a traditional Irish sound, then anything goes. Whichever it is, enjoy it - it's all music.

whistler

Nov-24-2004, 5:30pm

A little bit more info on the tune: I believe it was composed by James Hill, an 18th Century fiddler from Edinburgh who lived in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It was originally intended as a hornpipe, although it is now usually played as a reel. I'm not sure whether 'The Scholar' is the original title.

A little more than you needed to know, no doubt.

whistler

Nov-24-2004, 5:36pm

Correction: James Hill was born sometime in he early *19th* Century. He is known to have composed a number of hornpipes which have become integrated into the Irish tradition, including The Golden Eagle and The Rights of Man.