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The Snipe march

By Donald Riddell

Also known as The Snipe.

There are 2 recordings of this tune.

The Snipe has been added to 1 tune set.

The Snipe has been added to 16 tunebooks.

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One setting

1
X: 1
T: The Snipe
R: march
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Amaj
A>B|c2 a<g f2 e<c|B2 A<B c3 e|f3 g a2 f>e|f2 B2 B2 A>B|
c2 a<g f2 e<c|B2 A<B c3 e|f3 g a>fe<f|c2 A2 A2:|
a<g|f2 e<c e2 f<a|B2 A<B c2 a<g|f2 e<c e2 f<a|f2 B2 B2 a<g|
f2 e<c e2 f<a|B2 A<B c3 e|f3 g a>fe<f|c2 A2 A2 a<g|
f2 e<c e2 f<a|B2 A<B c2 a<g|f2 e<c e2 f<a|f2 B2 B2 A>B|
c2 a<g f2 e<c|B2 A<B c3 e|f3 g a>fe<f|c2 A2 A2||

Eleven comments

The Snipe

This is a march composed by Highland fiddler Donald R Riddell whose influence as a teacher is much in evidence today (Duncan Chisholm, Bruce MacGregor, Gregor Borland, Iain Macfarlane, Sarah-Jane Summers to name a few).

When it was published in his “Clunes Collection of Scots Fiddle Music” in 1986, it was written without any snaps; now, as a session tune in Scotland, it seems to have acquired many. I suspect it’s the influence of Duncan Chisholm who plays it that way, and on whose version I have based my transcription.

I had to learn the tune ten minutes before the end of a concert I was playing at last Friday, as it was a tune which was going to be played by all the artists at the end. I’m grateful to Sarah Northcott who patiently played it for me till I could manage to play along.

Wendel’s Wedding?

Is it possible that the tune “Wendel’s Wedding” on The Gift by Jerry Sullivan and attributed to Tony Cuffe is a rearrangement (the parts reversed, moved up to A and reharmonized) of this apparently earlier popular tune?

I’ve always liked “Wendel’s Wedding”- I may have to try something tying together the two.

What about a transcription here in the ‘comments’ ?

Apologies; here at The Session-

Submitted on April 13th 2004 by Bill Reeder
https://thesession.org/tunes/2812

The transcription found there seems fairly accurate from the record-

X: 1
T: Wendel’s Wedding
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: strathspey
K: Gmaj
g>f|e2 d<e B2 B<A|G>B A<G E2 g>f|e2 d<e B>A Bc/d/|e6 zd|!
e2 d<e B2 B>A|G>B A<G E2 G>A|B<e d<B A<G B>A|G6:||!
G>A|B2 A<B e2 de/f/|g>f e<d e2 de/f/|g>f e>d e>d Bc/d/|e6 zd|!
e2 d>e B2 B>A|G>B A<G E2 G>A|B<e d<B A<G B>A|G6:||

Omens

http://www.scotslanguage.com/articles/view/2775

&…
As I walked the mountain in the evening
The birds spoke to me sorrowfully,
The sweet snipe spoke and the voiceful curlew
Relating to me that my darling was dead.
…
from “Bean Sléibhe ag Caoineadh a Mhac”
(A Woman of The Mountain Keens Her Son)
by Padraic Pearse

“to attack a person or a person’s work with petulant or snide criticism, especially anonymously or from a safe distance” (this definition, from dictionary.com, would apply to many a member at thesession! 😉)

It’s a 2/4 march, isn’t it? Do you play a G# or a G? It sounds great on a highland pipe or on a smallpipe chanter with the typical “High G”.

Forget the G. I was wrong.