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abram
Dec-06-2004, 11:30am
I've been playing this tune now for three years, and always with a C as the second chord. Someone told me that it should be an Am, and I just can't tell for sure. Putting an Am in a tune in D makes for some pretty wild harmonic stuff, for a fiddle tune.

250sc
Dec-06-2004, 12:14pm
You should be able to use either chord without conflicting with the melody. Am7 is the relative minor to a C chord ie. all the same notes (C,G,E) Personally I like changing the chords to fiddle tunes to make them a little more harmonically interesting.

My advice is play what the other people you play with are playing. If you feel adventurous throw out a relative minor where it fits. You will either get a smile or a dirty look from those around you, but at least you tried.

Moose
Dec-06-2004, 1:02pm
"Oh, the cuckoo, she's 'a pretty bird ; she warble's as she flies ; but I never give her Miller's 'till the Fourth Day of Julyyyy.."(as sung by the Osbourne Brothers - one time - long go..). http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

onlyagibsonisgoodenuff
Dec-06-2004, 1:05pm
The version I know goes D and 2 and/A and 2 and/C and 2 and/ G and 2 and/ for the first few measures. No Am.

mandofiddle
Dec-06-2004, 1:38pm
Yeah, I play it with an A major too.
A part:
D / A / C / G
D / D G / D / A D

B part:
D / D / C / C
D / D G / D / A D

jlb
Dec-06-2004, 2:06pm
That is the way I play it as well, but I have heard versions that start with (what I consider) the B Part, and I suspect such is the way the original poster is playing it.

mikeyes
Dec-06-2004, 5:58pm
You are thining of two different tunes. "Nest" is an old fiddle tune taken from an Irish/Scottish tune of the same name. "Bird" is a song with a totally different tune.

Cuckoo's Nest is not an easy one to play on the mandolin whereas Cuckoo Bird is fairly easy. Two entirely different traditions here so don't confuse them.

Moose
Dec-07-2004, 9:46am
Mike : I would suggest that you are possibly....correct. - Thanks for the "heads-up" - http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

mandofiddle
Dec-07-2004, 10:41am
Yeah, Cuckoo's Nest has some cross picking in it which isn't the easiest thing for me to do. Listen to Thile play it... Makes me want to burn my mando.

abram
Dec-09-2004, 7:04pm
Hey, I have been playing it wrong!
I've been playing both the first and second parts with pretty much the same changes, but it sounds much better with the A after the D on the first part.
And I'm starting to think I do like the Am more than the C on the first part, anyway. Playing D-A-Am almost makes it sound classical.
By the way, does anyone know the origins of this tune? I figure it's Irish (and yes I do know what a "cuckoo's nest" is)

John Ritchhart
Dec-22-2004, 3:24pm
Depends on where you start...

Moose
Dec-22-2004, 3:51pm
"How you stand..., depends on where you're SITTING"(source: long forgotten). http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif