More Irish Fiddle Music

[themodestokid]

This weekend (and much of the past week) I am working on a medley of "The Boys of Bluehill" and "Harvest Home" that I like to play on fiddle, trying it out on both mandolin and tzouras. Here is a short version of just a single A and B part of Bluehill, played on tzouras --

The Boys of Bluehill

[Dave Hanson]

lost for words.

Dave H

[Dagger Gordon]

Well I must say it's not what I expected from the title of this thread.

[Bertram Henze]

I know that tune well, but I would not have recognized it from listening to the video; I don't even recognize it now after reading the post. Those must be other boys from a bluer hill...

But since Irish tradition has a custom of renaming new versions of tunes, I'd call this "Dunning Kruger's Hornpipe"

[Charles E.]

[Randi Gormley]

Interesting. I played that set a couple three times this past week (Boys of Blue Hill/Havest Home), but apparently a different version than the one you're using ...

[Paul Busman]

Tsouras (various spellings) is a Yiddish word for "trouble"...

[Eddie Sheehy]

If that's Irish Music then that's an Irish Bouzouki...

[foldedpath]

For the sake of any forum searches that land here on a search for "Boys of Bluehill," here's a somewhat more standard version of the tune, just for reference:

[Al Trujillo]

Hey...as a newbie myself I think he plays it pretty good!

[jimbob]

I am not at a loss for words, but I don't want to get called down by the very nice moderators.

[Jess L.]

I can hear the melody in there, in places, especially the high part, it's kind of like a bluesy free-form improvisation or something. Reminds me a little of some of the improv music I heard in clubs in the 1980s. I didn't quite understand that music then, and I still don't understand it as far as the rhythmic structure, but I would listen to it occasionally back then precisely *because* I didn't understand it, I thought maybe it was a chance for me to learn something different (compared to the straight-rhythm dance music I grew up with). All music is interesting in its own way even if it doesn't fit into one of my predefined categories or genres or whatever.

Really the important thing is, does the music bring enjoyment to the person playing it, does it help them to relax or express stuff or whatever, and if so, then that's cool.

Also, I see progress and learning here, in that the instrument is more in-tune now than in earlier recordings, so that's progress in the right direction.