Week #265 Carolan's Draught

  1. Marcelyn
    Marcelyn
    This week's winner is a beautiful piece called Carolan's Draught,
    Here are a few ABC versions of the tune from thesession.org
    X: 1
    T: Carolan's Draught
    R: reel
    M: 4/4
    L: 1/8
    K: Gmaj
    D2 |: GABc defd | g2fe d2Bd | e2ce d2Bd | c2Bc AcBA |
    GABc defd | gfed ^cbag | gfed A2^c2 |1 d3e dcBA :|2 d6 f>g||
    afga bagf | e/f/gfe ed=cB | edef gfga | bagf efga |
    bBbB aBaB | gBgB fBfB | edef gfed | e2ed e3f |
    gfed cBAG | e2d2 d2BG | c2Bc ABGA | FGAF DEFD |
    EFGE FGAF | GABG ABcA | d2g2 bagf | g2gf g2 ||

    X: 2
    T: Carolan's Draught
    R: reel
    M: 4/4
    L: 1/8
    K: Gmaj
    D2 |: GABc defd|g2fe d2 d2|e2E2 d2D2|c2Bc AcBA |
    GABc defd|gfed ^cbag|gfed A2^c2| d6 :||
    fg|afga bagf| egfe edcB|edef gfga|bagf efga|
    bBbB aBaB|gBgB fBfB|edef gfed|e6f2|
    gfed cBAG|e2d2d2D2|c2B2A2G2|FGAF D2r2|
    EFGE FGAF|GABG ABcA|d2g2 bagf|g6:||

    X: 3
    T: Carolan's Draught
    R: reel
    M: 4/4
    L: 1/8
    K: Gmaj
    G/A/B/c/ d/e/f/d/ gf/e/ dd | eEdD c/B/A/G/ F/G/A/F/ | G/A/B/c/ d/e/f/d/ gf/e/ dd | fe/d/ A^c d4 :|
    b/a/g/f/ g/a/b/g/ f/g/a/f/ ^d^c/B/ | ef/g/ a/f/g/e/ ^d/e/f/d/ Bg/a/ | bBaA gGfF | Ee/f/ g/e/f/d/ e2f2 |
    g/f/e/d/ c/B/A/G/ ed dc/B/ | cB BA/G/ ed dc/B/ | cB/c/ A/B/G/A/ F/G/A/F/ DD | G/A/B/c/ d/e/f/d/ gf/e/ dd |
    G/A/B/c/ d/e/f/d/ gf/e/ dd | e/f/g/e/ c/d/e/c/ A/B/c/A/ F/G/A/F/ | D/E/F/G/ A/B/c/A/ B/G/F/G/ gf/e/ | d/B/c/A/ B/G/A/F/ G4 ||

    You can convert this ABC notation to mandolin tab, standard notation, or midi sound files here...
    http://mandolintab.net/abcconverter.php

    Here's a page with mandolin tab...
    http://www.mandolintab.net/tabs.php?...aught&id=01624

    Here's a stunning version from someone we all know...


    Here's a lovely mandolin/guitar duet from George Chudacoff and Kathy Buttrell


    Here's a creative arrangement for twin mandolins from Simon Mayler...
  2. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    I recorded and posted my version of this tune a few months ago. This is an arrangement for two flutes from a Japanese site (Link). I've changed it into a mandolin duet, with tenor guitar backing.

    Washburn M-3SW mandolin (which I've since sold)
    1921 Gibson Ajr mandolin
    Ozark tenor guitar



    Martin
  3. dustyamps
    dustyamps
    Recorded on my Gibson A-0 last Dec.
  4. Francis J
    Francis J
    Wow! two great versions, and quick off the mark too. Here's mine..


  5. Marcelyn
    Marcelyn
    Two excellent previous posts and a new one already. That's fast!
    Francis that's such a musical and expressive interpretation. I really like the tempo and ornamentation. I'm enjoying learning along with it. Thanks.
  6. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Very nice, Francis!

    Here is our site owner himself -- a great version from Scott T with Bill Crahan:



    Scott's transcription can be found in both the tab and standard notation sections in the Cafe homepage.

    Martin
  7. Francis J
    Francis J
    I have always loved Scott and Bill's version. It's classy and so relaxed. Thanks for the kind comments Marcy and Martin
  8. Colin Braithwaite
    Colin Braithwaite
    This was fun; a tune I had forgotten I remembered. But whatever past lifetime it came from, it was in D, not G.

  9. Manfred Hacker
    Manfred Hacker
    What an inspiring start, David, Dusty, Francis and Colin.
    Francis, I really like the lilt you get in your playing.
    I was not sure about the tempo. No YouTube of O'Carolan playing his tune
    I guess he wanted to drain his draught fast to get another one, so I sped it up a bit.
  10. 9lbShellhamer
    9lbShellhamer
    Here's my try at it...sorry for giving you all the middle finger half the time

    For the backing track here, I recorded myself playing the guitar chords on an iPod touch, then played it through separate speakers while recording the mando section.

    Great job to you all. You sound G R E A T.

  11. woodenfingers
    woodenfingers
    Martin, well played with your usual style. I very much appreciate the Hatao versions of O'Carolan that you set me onto some time back, thanks. Dusty, I am always taken in by the clear tone you get. It's not all due to the mandolin - great playing. Francis, a very jaunty version of the tune, I loved it!! I try playing tunes in different rhythms and styles because it helps me remember the tunes better. I'll have to work on your one!! Colin, great double stops up the neck, well done. Manfred, I'm going to steal those triplets and drones of yours, very nice. 9lb, excellent tremolo and I liked the minor notes too. Here's mine, using the Hatao arrangement posted by Martin:

  12. maudlin mandolin
    maudlin mandolin


    Great arrangement 9lb with some nice tremolo in there. A sprightly version of the piece from Bob- I like the super clear sound you get on your videos so I decided to follow suit and invested in a usb condenser microphone. Hope you can tell the difference from my computer built-in mike I used up to now
  13. woodenfingers
    woodenfingers
    Maudlin - definitely sounds much better! The frequency response of the new mic is likely much better than the computer mic. Also, a problem with using the computer for recording audio and video at the same time is that you sit close for the video but then the mandolin is too loud and overpowers the mic and amplifier causing clipping. You might try experimenting with the USB mic, placing it further and further away and looking for a good balance between volume and audio quality. You are definitely getting a better sound now.
  14. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Can’t offer such a great version like you experienced players so that’s what I’m able to come up with. Recorded with the micros of my Sony Handycam.

  15. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    I like it! If mine turns out to be of a similar standard, I'll be happy. I tried to record the tune this evening, was satisfied enough with the 24th take, and then realised that the sound was all clipped and far too noisy! So I'll make another attempt when I next have time ...
  16. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    I got it done now:
  17. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Loads of very fine versions for this choice, folks, and in a variety of styles, instrumentation and tempo. I have belatedly recorded this version on mandolin and guitar and at the slower tempo that some of you have chosen. The mandolin is one of my own creations and the one I am currently playing most!

  18. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    This is the version of Carolan's Draught that we've been playing for some years with our rehearsal group/jam (same arrangement as my 2013 recording earlier in this thread), using a harmony from a Japanese flute player (!) going by the name "hatao":

    https://celtnofue.com/media/files/sc...ansdraught.pdf

    Apologies for speeding up in the B part; my inner metronome needs resetting. I would have re-recorded it, but I had an unfortunate accident just as I had finished recording the harmony overdub: my chair toppled over as I got up and fell on the Gibson -- ouch! Fortunately, no cracked wood but a seam separation around the heel/neck joint which required some emergency glue/clamp application. I'll have to see if the joint holds when I put string tension back on, otherwise it's a trip to the luthier whenever the lockdown ends.

    1921 Gibson Ajr mandolin (x2)
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar



    Martin
  19. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    Oh Martin..I hope your Gibson is OK..nice playing with the harmony..nice synchronization.
  20. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, Ginny! I need to give it at least 24 hours before tensioning, so have to wait to see whether my glue application was successful. I'm not sure I managed to work enough glue into the joint as the gap was pretty tight.

    It's not so much playing with the harmony than the other way around: the video and lead track comes first, then I overdub the accompaniment and harmony onto the audio track extracted from the video.

    Martin
  21. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Ouch! Please tell us if your emergency atempt works.
  22. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Lots of very fine versions in this thread, good luck with your dammaged mandolin, Martin!
  23. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    Lovely rendition Martin, just as O'Carolan would have liked it. Best wishes for a sucessful recovery of your instrument!
  24. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks for the kind comments, and the good luck wishes for my poor Gibson.

    I'm delighted to say that I've just tuned the strings up to pitch, 48 hours after gluing the open seams, and everything looks rock solid. Even the action and the setup is just as it was before, as is the tone. Of course, the acid test is what happens after a few hours and days of constant string tension, but so far so good.

    I bit more detail that was too traumatic to talk about before: I was recording the harmony overdubs, and after the final take put down the Gibson on the floor to the left of the chair, next to the mandocello that was already lying there (from recording the bass line on Sunset Over Ayr). My laptop with the recording software was on a little table to my right. I picked up the laptop to move it to my desk for mixing and the cables got entangled in my legs, and my legs kicked the chair. It toppled over in slow motion but I couldn't catch it as I had the laptop in my hands. Loud clatter and I saw it hitting the headstock of the mandocello. I was sure the 'cello was bust but when I picked it up there was no sign of any damage at all. It was only then that my eyes fell on the Gibson on the floor next to the 'cello. I have no idea what and how the impact was -- might have been the chair, might have been the 'cello -- but the dovetail neck joint had shunted, with the neck moving up by about 5mm relative to the neck block, in turn opening up corresponding gaps in all surrounding joints over a 10 cm length between the sides, the heel, the back plate and the top. The miracle is that they all opened cleanly , no broken wood, no splintering. I immediately took the string tension off, then gently pushed the neck back down into the dovetail joint. All the gaps closed again to about 1mm width. I then took my luthier's glue (Titebond I, the water-soluble heat-releasing version -- hide glue would have been better, but I don't have any in the house) and gently worked it into the gaps as far as I could (which would have been easier if I had applied glue before pushing the neck back into place). Then clamping with a big C-clamp and softwood bracers on top of the fretboard and on the backplate in the middle of the neck joint, to push the remaining 1mm gaps shut. Wiping off the excess glue before it sets, and wait.

    Right now, as I said, it looks like none of this happened in the first place: all the joints look rock solid, the string tension is on and holds, the mandolin plays in tune, intonates fine and has the same low action as before. All well for now, tomorrow is another day.

    But then again, this is not just any 1921 Gibson Ajr, but the most beaten-up example I've ever seen. These are not fragile instruments -- I suspect it has had a very eventful 99 years of history, and no intention of giving up so close to its centenary next year!

    Martin
  25. Brian560
    Brian560
    Nice playing Martin !
  26. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Very good playing, Martin. I always think that B part wants to be faster. It's a feature, not a bug.

    Well done for surviving that traumatic mandolin accident. I don't think I'd have slept after that.
  27. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Hope you can celebrate the centenary of your Gibson next year in good condition – of you and the instrument!
  28. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks for the good wishes! The Gibson looks and plays just fine -- I've been busy with work this week, but hope to do some recording over the weekend to test the sound after surgery.

    Martin
  29. pluckinstrings
    pluckinstrings
    Here's my take on this! Another great tune by Turlough Carolan. I don't know what it is, but I think of myself pouring a bit of whiskey in a glass when I play this one.
    The melody is one that a beginner can learn, and the tremolo is such that an intermediate player like myself can enjoy struggling with for some time to come. I hope you like this one!

    TABS available at pluckinstrings.com

  30. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    I really like it indeed, pluckinstrings!
  31. Michael Pastucha
    Michael Pastucha
    Very lovely tune in your capable hands. And a terrific sounding mandolin and recording... well done.
  32. John W.
    John W.


    This one has been on my ‘list’ for some time…but like others, I have struggled getting a recording without (significant) error. This is my best shot to date, so I can ‘tick it off’ (at least for now).

    Vega cylinderback mandolin
  33. Jairo Ramos
    Jairo Ramos
    My recordings always have errors, both technical and executional, so I don't feel qualified to judge yours, John. For my part, I like what I hear, and I like it a lot...
  34. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    This tune had a really good response away back in the summer of 2014 - lots of different postings, then a few more in 2020/21 and now you gave revived it John. I like your version here, and as Jairo says, we all have wee glitches in our recordings but we post them as an example of our playing at a particular time and they are enjoyed by the other members of the group, both active posters and the many lurkers.
  35. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    A fine solo recording, John, with the great tone of your Vega mandolin.
  36. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    It's a great tune, and well played! Like you, I think it works very well on solo mandolin.

    For some unfathomable reason, my 2014 video is my most-visited one on YouTube. It's also my only one that's ever attracted a negative comment.
  37. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Fine performances of this classic tune. Well played John, very clean and relaxed.


    69 is a lot of likes Dennis. And odd, I live in the region 69!
    I wondered about the comment, too. Did you get all the views and likes after the rude and ignorant French comment, that is, in the last year or so?
    And why would it be French? I believe I’ve written a couple of nice comments to you in French on other vids, perhaps it’s that. Also I used to write that I live in France but erased that after a fair amount of hassle.

    It could be your shirt, it couldn’t be more white?

    And related, possibly, your performance was chosen by a music group, possibly either classic or religious as an example of the tune to practice.
    Or it’s that your smile at the end is a little bit longer than is comfortable, and this is felt by the audience as the time to relax and smile (click).

    I did once write a negative comment to myself on a tune, something like, ‘Oops, I messed up the drums on this tune’.
    And would you believe it, I lost 5 subscribers!

    On the other hand if you tell people not to subscribe… guess what they do?!
  38. Richard Carver
    Richard Carver
    This is a lovely tune and beautifully done, John. And who among us is without error? (I've certainly never made a recording without a mistake of some sort.) Also, no one has yet congratulated you on your hat, I think. A real musician's hat.
  39. John W.
    John W.
    Thank you all for the encouraging comments. Just to clarify, I wasn’t referring to minor errors…which many of us do experience, especially when the camera is on, it was more the significant errors…which would bring my playing to a disruptive end, due to laughter or screaming…rendering the recordings not suitable for posting .
  40. Frankdolin
    Frankdolin
    Bringing out the best in that old mando John! If I worried about all "my" mistakes I'd get nothing done. But I'm also my worst critic, it's a battle...
  41. John W.
    John W.
    Thank you, Frank…keep battling
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