Doctor O’Neill jig

Here is a good old tune that shows up every now and then. I rarely hear more than three musicians at a time who know the piece.

I enjoy it with quite a few rolls and pickups but I notated it without any ornamentation or variation. See how the simplified version works for you.

I like to take it easy on this piece.Try to let it flow without attacking any individual part.

I learned the tune out of the Oneil’s book and I play close to that version.

Nicely done Mark, and a great tune. Actually, to my ear, you have posted one of the more sessionable settings of this that I’ve seen.

On the other hand--and this is where my preference for seeing some ornaments enters into the debate--I’m not sure that “simplifying” the tune down to interval-based phrases really captures the tune, when most trad Irish players *would* more likely use, say, a roll. So does |ded dcB| really get the tune across, or should it be |~d3 dcB|? Can you play it either way? Well, yes, sure. But part of what defines Irish trad playing from other genres is the *ability* to do the ornaments and techniques, and the sensibility of where to put them in.

Maybe a better solution would be |d3 dcB|, which leaves the options more open, and to my eye, more obvious. Yes, I can roll that, or snap a triplet, or do the d-e-d thing. Experienced players will likely know what to do. But what about beginners?

Maybe it’s a toss up. Ornaments complicate the notation too much, but unornamented settings don’t help beginners understand the tradition or style.

This is really popular out my way, I admit that I just fudge through it & could never play it with out the help of others. Everyone else knows it though & it’s a staple. These multiple part tunes (over 4 parts) need to be played often to keep them straight.

A|:~d3 AFD|E2F G2 A|~B3 Bcd|AGF EFA|
~d3 AFD|E2 F G2 A|BGB Bcd|AFD D2 A:|
|:~d3 ceA|dfe dcB|AFA Bcd|AGF E2A|
~d3 ceA|dfe dcB|AFA Bcd|1AFD D2 A:|2AFD D2 g|
|:~f3 afd|ded fed|~g3 faf|gee e2 g|
~f3 afd|ded fed|gbg fag|fdd d2 g:|
|:fdf ece|dcB AFA|AFd AFD|AGF E2 g|
fdf ece|dcB AFA|~B3 Bcd|1AFD D2 g:||2AFD D2 G|
|:FAF GBG|FAG FED|FAF GBG|AGF E2G|
FAF GBG|FAG FED|~B3 Bcd|1AFD D2 G:|2AFD D3||

Certainly, the sound of the above arrangement marks it as more Irish. I play the above version most of the time. It depends on how well I’m playing. If I am playing well - I modify it more according to the moment.

Will you made mention of the d3 alternative to dcd and what it means to you. I think that you have a worthy conversation and teaching topic there. Kevin Burke had the same talk with a group of us a few years back. You could have been quoting his book for all I know. (You apparently know him well enough that you have heard every moment of his training workshops by now.) In any event I regard dcd as an opportunity as well. To me, it might just as well be the d3. It means to me that something goes here.

I took a few one-on-one lessons with Mr. Burke years ago, and one workshop recently where we all just talked. And I saw one of his videos once, but didn’t actually study it. My observation comes more from years of listening--to Burke and others--and recognizing that sometimes things written like |faf| are integral to the melody, and sometimes they’re just a “simplification” of what was actually played: |~f3| or |ff/f/f/| etc.

Anyway, after playing this stuff for so long, I come at a piece of written music, as I’m sure you do, with a sense of where to put the rolls, etc. Posting ornamented settings along with the less adorned version, as you’ve done here, should help newcomers to the tradition get a better handle on how it all fits together.

When the dancing in the dance “The Haymakers Jig” is well timed these are great mates, as the dance works out to be equivalent in length to a 5-part tune… But, things don’t always go exact in these things, and there aren’t that many 5-part jigs….

We do this one at an easy pace, followed by “Top of Cork Road.” It is a favorite of Bruce the bouzouki player, who likes to start with a D chord, and then go to a Dmaj7 chord in the beginning, a nice touch.

g:||2AFD at the seventh line should be g:|2AFD.

X: 3
T: Doctor O’Neill
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmaj
|: A |\
dcd AFD | E2F G2 A | B^AB BB/c/d | AGF EFA |
d2 d AFD | E2 F G2 A | BG/A/B Bcd | AFD D2 :|
|: A |\
d2 d ceA | dfe dcB | AFA Bcd | AGF EFA |
ded ceA | dg/f/e dcB | AF/G/A Bcd | AFD D2 :|
|: g |\
f^ef afd | dcd fed | gbg f/g/af | gfg e2 g |
fAf afd | d2 d fed | gfg eag | fdc d2 :|
|: g |\
fd/e/f ece | dcB A2 B | AFd AF/G/d | AGF EF/G/A |
f2 f e2 c | dcB A2 A | B^AB BB/c/d | AFD D2 :|
|: G |\
FAF GBG | FAF FED | F2 F GFG | AFD D2 G |
F2 F GBG | F/G/AF FED | BF/G/A/ Bcd | AFD D2 :|

..Is that what it should be for the 2nd to last measure, ceol?

Anyway, I really enjoy this tune. Unusually (for these many-parted pieces), I like the last part the best.

Yes muspc, I slipped… 😏

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GYgRlZVNpU

play video

A fiddle and cello arrangement, this one featuring solo fiddle, but the cello has an ever-changing bass line.

https://soundcloud.com/user-155461785/doctor-oneills

If God Himself told someone to swing for the fences and create the most perfect jig that ever existed, I believe it would be this 5 part home run. This is my absolute favorite piece of Irish music, ever.

The way The Gloaming perform it, it’s like a heart to heart conversation with God in the most intimate quarters of Heaven. I’ve never heard anything like it and I never will again.

https://youtu.be/8IeN82rq06Y?t=393

play video

Mighty jig, over 5 strains! Goes well on the pipes.