With Original Second Parts and Arrangements

of

Irish and Scottish session tunes

by

Colin Spence

All rights reserved

2003 Sweetone Music
www.sweetonemusic.com

Acknowledgements
Thanks to all teachers past and present, endowed with the spirit of patience and
humour Eric Kershaw, Pat Evans, Dave Parry, Andy Holdorf, Al Potts, Ian McHarg,
the gang of contrafunk Jules, David, Steve, Stan and Anne who took contrafunkalism seriously (a gem of time).
The chaps of the Maythorne band for tolerating my clumsy footfinding, and to Eddie,
Clive, Gary and Anne (again) for compadreship in Trevors Fetish. The folk-dance
spirit definitely grows on you.
Charlie Crabtree, John Holt, John Daniel molto supportivo. My family, for support,
and Anne - without whom, definitely not..

INTRODUCTION
Playing a duet holds the promise of good conversation, whose ebb and flow can take us
beyond tired prejudice, and open us to the thrill of enquiry and fresh insight.
The duo are companions, sharing a common topography (the piece) and language (music).
Each simultaneously experiences the uniqueness and the inter-relatedness of both his own,
and anothers, perspectives.
Like a good conversation, a duet refreshes and grounds us in our common humanity.
On its own, a melody line will - sooner rather than later - tire both player and listener. But
add a second part to a tune make it a duet and you bring a variety of formal
performance options to the table.
Say, for instance, our duo - players A and B - decided to play seven choruses of a tune.
A possible format might be:

Player

A
Player

1st
Chorus

2nd
Chorus

3rd
Chorus

4th
Chorus

5th
Chorus

6th
Chorus

7th
Chorus

Melody
(Solo)

Melody

Melody

Second
Part

Improvisation

Harmony/
Part of
choice

Melody

Melody
8va
Bassa:

Second
Part

Melody

Harmony/
Part of
choice

Improvisation

Second
Part

(reversing)

Exploring such possibilities, a duo quickly becomes adept at ringing its own changes.
Confidence grows; soon, a nod and a wink is enough to access a repertoire of customised
performance techniques.
Playing becomes vital, freer, and a lot more fun.
The options for changes of texture and voicing are still more varied when two lines are
played in a band context. A rhythm instrument can often double on melody and - as player
C - take any of the above roles, while the remainder of the rhythm section maintains a
steady pulse.
A relatively stable rhythmic continuity is an excellent basis on which to build subtlety of
variation in the permutations of front line voicings and effects. Conversely, the rhythm
section can stretch out and groove when most solo instruments drop out, and the melody or
improvised line is expressed simply, by one.

Because the formal options are greater, and more musicians are involved, a longer period
of trial and error is often necessary for a band to achieve the duos level of integration.
Sheer playing together, experiment, and communication, however, gives any band its own
character.
Notice - the example above makes room for improvisation. If you keep the spirit, why not
chance the arm occasionally, against the relatively simple chord changes found in so many
folk-dance tunes?
While working on the parts, I had no choice but to form a relationship with these ten
popular folk-dance tunes. I had to listen respectfully to each, and I hope that these pages
convey at least some of the good talk, and hide much of the argument that led to it.
I hope you enjoy them.

Notes on Recording the CD

Not all members of our band, Trevors Fetish, were available before press, so I recorded
the parts (electric, acoustic and bass guitars) myself. I hope that TF can make good this
omission and - in its inimical (and more acoustic) way - record the tunes soon.
Nonetheless, despite the absence of violin, double bass and specialist acoustic rhythm
guitar, I hope this recording demonstrates that the parts work together regardless of
instrumentation.
In order usefully to serve as a play-along, the tunes are generally recorded at slightly
slower than performance tempo.
The Stereo spread of the recording concentrates the original melody on the left, bass and
acoustic guitar in the centre, and the second part on the right.
On many of the tunes both the original melody and the second part are doubled
In this case, the stereo spread is:

LEFT

RIGHT

It remains the case that the melody is preponderantly to the left, and the second part to the
right. To focus on either part, adjust the stereo balance on your system.
Guitarists, remember that the guitar sounds an octave lower than it is notated, so transpose
up an octave!

Track Information
(Track 01)
(Track 02)

Flowers of Edinburgh, a reel, is recorded at MM = 160.

*The Lisdoonvarna, a polka, is recorded at MM = 120.

(Track 03)

Donneybrook Fair is a 32 bar jig, recorded at MM = 112.

(Track 04)

Father Kellys, a reel, is recorded at MM = 160

(Track 05)

Behind the Haystack is a 40 or 48 bar jig. Here, its a 40. MM = 112.

(Track 06)

*The Irish Washerwoman is a 32 bar jig, recorded at MM = 112.

(Track 07)

*Drowsy Maggie is a 16 bar reel, recorded at MM = 136.

(Track 08)
(Track 09)

Boys of Ballisodare, is a slip jig, often used to strip the willow. MM =

112.
Strike the Gay Harp is a 48 bar jig, recorded at MM = 104.

(Track 10)

*Old Rosin, the Beau, a 32 bar jig, is recorded at MM = 112.

Notes

Three choruses of each tune are recorded, except for Behind the Haystack (Track 05),
which has two recorded choruses.

On tracks marked *, the entrance of instruments, and/or parts, is staggered.

In the scores of each of the final three tracks, certain notes are enclosed by brackets
().
This indicates that they can often be omitted to good effect.
My choices of when and where are on the recording.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ..

Introduction ..

Notes on recording the CD ...

Track Information .

The Duets
Flowers of Edinburgh ..

10

The Lisdoonvarna

12

Donneybrook Fair

14

Father Kellys ..

16

Behind the Haystack

18

Irish Washerwoman .

20

Drowsy Maggie ...

22

Boys of Ballisodare .

24

Strike the Gay Harp .

26

Old Rosin, the Beau

28

About the Author

30

Accompanying CD on thick inside back cover

10

Flowers of Edinburgh

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12

The Lisdoonvarna

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13

The Lisdoonvarna - Second Part

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Donneybrook Fair
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Donneybrook Fair - Second Part

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Father Kelly's

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Father Kelly's - Second Part

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18

Behind the Haystack

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Behind the Haystacks - Second Part

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20

The Irish Washerwoman

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21

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22

Drowsy Maggie

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23

Drowsy Maggie - Second Part

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24

Boys of Ballisodare

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25

Boys of Ballisodare - Second Part

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* Notes enclosed by a pair of brackets ...( ) on this, and the succeeding tunes, can be ommitted

to good effect.
Listen to their treatment on the recording, and experiment.

26

Strike the Gay Harp

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27

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28

Old Rosin, the Beau

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29

Old Rosin the Beau - Second Part

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30

About the Author

Colin Spence has been performing music, on both guitar and
piano, for forty years, and teaching and writing music for
varying ensembles for over thirty.
His study of jazz at Leeds College of Music in the 70s was
cut short by a bike accident. He took this as a blessing in
disguise: Instead of trying to be a speedy gonzales, I slowed
down, and rediscovered my appreciation of the emotional
expressiveness of music.
After recovering, he spent some years busking around Britain
and Europe, then playing in local (yorkshire) rock and jazz
bands.
Colin and wife Anne live in the Yorkshire Pennines, where
they walk the hills, and work - both as a duo, with Two for
the Road, and with Ceilidh band Trevors Fetish.