A Tune A Week

Revisiting Walsh’s, this time in the key of A so I won’t get strange looks at the sessions any more.

This is Gearóid ÓhAllmhuráin’s version of a tune I’ve known for many years. The framework of the version I knew is in there, but his variations make it quite different. I’ve been working on this off and on for months, and I finally got it, and a couple of new tricks for ornamentation along with it.

Back to the terrific Jackie Daly record for a hornpipe. There are lots of triplets, and I’m playing most of them along the row instead of across - for instance, in the G-A-B triplet that starts the whole thing off, G and B are on the push and A is on the draw. That means a lot more coordination with the bellows than if I used different buttons to get all three notes on the push, but it gives the tune such a glorious bounce when I get it right that I can’t give it up. It still sounds awkward most of the time now, but I’ll get it eventually. Memo to myself: do not grab air in the middle of a triplet… this is the first time my air button reflex has worked against me.