We’re A Case (The Bunch Of Us) waltz

A great tune by piper Allan MacDonald of Glenuig.

The tune needs to be played pretty straight in order to sound right.

Posted in response to the following thread:

https://thesession.org/discussions/23201

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AM06o9bIcY

play video

Not the same tune but a wee glimpse of the brilliance of the man:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyC8DkEM66I

play video

We are indeed… A lovely tune…

But a few notes could be different in the 3rd part. Starting off on an A instead of C sounds better. Also beat 3 of bars 2 and 6 in part 3 should be a C, not E. This is how my ear is transposing it from Allan MacDonald’s C-pitched pipes.

By "played pretty straight" do you mean just don’t dot and cut too strongly? The tune has a fair bit of swing but not dot-cut though I agree with having the dots and cuts in the score.

Bar 5 of part 3 should keep the C.

Thanks for the comments Malcolm. Do you really mean part 3 though? It is a 4 part tune and part 3 starts on a B and doesn’t have an E note at all in bar 2.

As far as played pretty straight I mean as NYPB play it and indeed Allan on Colla Mo Run, although I have not been able to find an online clip of that. I think that was just how Iain described how it should be played.

Sorry Aaron - just saw that your name isn’t Malcolm. My apologies.

Typical! I wait until I come home and can check from Allan’s recording to find that you are right (albeit that it is the 4th and not the 3rd part) only to go and make the changes to find out that it has been converted within the last couple of minutes.

Ach well. These are the ABCs as they should be. It is only very slightly different from what is on the sheetmusic tab and the notes harmonise anyway but still. Anyway, thank you Aaron for pointing that out.

X: 1
T: We’re A Case (The Bunch Of Us)
C: Allan MacDonald
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: waltz
K: Amix
|: c>a a>e c>c | c>a a>c c>B | c>a a>f f>e | e>c c>B B>A :|
|: c>e e>A A2 | A>f f>e e>c | e>f f>A A2 | A>f e>c B>A :|
|: B>c c>B c>c | B>c c>B c>f | A>c c>B c>c | c>f e>c B>A :|
A>a a>f f>e | e>c c>B c>f | f>e e>c e>f | f>e e>c c>B |
c>a a>f f>e | e>c c>B c>f | f>e e>c c>B | A A3-A ||

… these further amendments:
second part:
|: c>e e>c c2 | c>f f>e e>c | e>f f>A A2 | A>f e>c B>A :|
last part:
f>e e>c c>B |B> A A4 ||
They’re closer to the original, if I remember well, and sexier!

…flute players start to complain the repeated c# are awkwhard or unirish or something, here are two versions in G and D that make easier learning and session playing:

X: 1
T: We’re A Case (The Bunch Of Us)
C: Allan MacDonald
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: waltz
K:GMajor
|:Bg gd BB|Bg gB BA|Bg ge ed|dB BA AG:|
|:Bd dB BB|Be ed dB|de eG GG|Ge dB AG:|
|:AB BA BB|AB BA Be|GB BA B2|Be dB AG:|
Gg ge ed|dB BA Be|ed dB de|ed dB BA|
Bg ge ed|dB BA Be|ed dB BA|AG G4||

X: 1
T: We’re A Case (The Bunch Of Us)
C: Allan MacDonald
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: waltz
K:DMaj
|:Fd dA FF|Fd dF FE|Fd dB BA|AF FE ED:|
|:FA AF FF|FB BA AF|AB BD DD|DB AF ED:|
|:EF FE FF|EF FE FB|DF FE F2|FB AF ED:|
Dd dB BA|AF FE FB|BA AF AB|BA AF FE|
Fd dB BA|AF FE FB|BA AF FE|ED D4||

NB: Since this tune is pentatonic, it is neither major nor mixolydian, hence the alternative tonalities.
The D version sits beautifully on the Uilleann Pipe’s drone, as does the A version on the Scottish pipe’s.
A brill tune!!
Composed about or around a taxi ride experience on the other side of the Atlantic , we learn from Alan McD’s own CDs notes.

The original tune in A is not exactly any tougher than any other key and I have never heard the note C# described as "un-irish". Not that it matters. There’s nothing wrong with other versions. For the record though your take on the 2nd part is wrong - at least not the same as was written. It does go down to the A as I notated, and, in my opinion, sounds better for doing so.

Yes, I meant part 4. No worries about the name (actually my surname). It was Malcolm until a small, orthographical change was made a few generations ago.

The man himself playing this in another amazing display of the art, 2 mins 52 s.