Maggie’s Pancakes reel

I saw this posted in Richard Moon’s Tune db on woodenflute.com as "Maggie’s Pancakes". It’s a crazy tune 🙂 yay.

The original name for this tune was "Maggie’s Pancakes". The correct mode for it is B minor. It’s a Scottish tune composed by fiddler Stuart Morison of the Tannahill Weavers. The Maggie in the title is Maggie Moore who makes nice pancakes. I’ve sometimes heard this played at sessions in Australia, but I’m sure out of all the places in the world, it is most often played in Cambridge, UK. At some point the Tannahill Weavers played there live, and the tune must have been passed on to the local session players by the band members. Now it has become standard session fodder there and gets played every week.

Since the name given to this tune by it’s composer Stuart Morrison is indeed "Maggie’s Pancakes", I think it should be listed as such, and "also known as" "The Rainbow Tune". It was one of his first compositions, and has been recorded many times, including by an Australian pipe band.

We used to play quite a funky setting of this in Cambridge:
K: Bmin
fB~B2 fgfe|dBAB GBdB|cAAd AAeA|Aaec Aceg|
fB~B2 fgfe|dBAB GBdB|cABc def^g|afec B3e:|
|:f2dB GBdB|caec dB~B2|f2dB GBdB|caec Bcde|
fd~d2 fgfe|dBAB GBdB|cABc def^g|afec B3e:|

I’m not so sure I like that final ascending run. I might be more inclined to stick to:
|cAdA eAA^g|afec B3…

I found this on the Fiddler’s Companion. I haven’t got the recording but maybe this is closer to the original. It certainly flows nicely:

X:1
T: Maggie’s Pancakes
M: 2/2
L: 1/8
R: Reel
C: Stuart Morrison
D: Tannahill Weavers, "Dancing Feet"
K: Bm
fB~B2 fgfe|dB~B2 GBdB|cAAd AAec|AfdB ecAe|
fB~B2 fgfe|dB~B2 GBdB|cABc ABce|afec B2de:|
|:~f2dB GBdB|caec dB~B2|~f2dB GBdB|caec Bcde|
fd~d2 fgfe|dB~B2 GBdB|cAdA eAce|afec B2de:|

I find the syncopation in the 3rd bar a bit too much, so if I were playing this setting I’d probably go:

fB~B2 fgfe|dB~B2 GBdB|cA~A2 dAec|AfdB ecAe|…
or:
fB~B2 fgfe|dB~B2 GBdB|cA~A2 dAec|AfdB eAce|…
or:
fB~B2 fgfe|dB~B2 GBdB|cA~A2 dAeA|afdB eAce|…

minor variations for the first two bars:

fBde fgfe|dBdB GBdB|
fBde fgfe|dBAB GBdB|

Does anyone have any idea when or why the tune got called this ??

For the record, the tune was written on the same day as Live Aid !

Katriona MacDonald taught this tune at, possibly, the 98 shetland Fiddle School’ at Burwell House, Burwell, near Cambridge. Quite a few of the students were local, Her version is slilghtly more funky than the one shown but great fun to play

Second tune on ‘Standing Room Only’ - The Sandpiper is surely a cousin of Maggie’s.

Key signature: b minor
Submitted on October 7th 2007 by voodoo.
~ /tunes/7832

X: 4
T: Mary’s Pancakes
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: b minor
|: de |
f ~B3 fgfe | d ~B3 GBdB | cAAd AAeA | AfAA edBc |
d ~B3 fgfe | d ~B3 GBdB | cAdA e ~a3 | afec B2 :|
|: de |
f2 dB GBdB | caec d ~B3 | f2 dB GBdB | efdA Bcde |
~f3 e fgfe | d ~B3 GBdB | cAdA e ~a3 | afec B2 :|

I learned this one on a workshop from another flute player. She said she knows it from a recording of a hungarian band for which I forgot the name.

# Posted on October 7th 2007 by voodoo

Where would you put them in this?

It’s in B minor

which has the same key signature as D major. So, the key signature in the sheet music as posted is correct. I’m writing this in case someone who’s not too sure about keys/modes and key signatures comes along and isn’t sure about what to do. So, just play it with F and C sharps as already indicated.

Yes but it’s annoying when you search B minor reels for this tune and it doesn’t turn up coz the key sig is posted as being B minor

Check out The Smokey Lum at https://thesession.org/tunes/5752

Another birrilliant, smashin, giant tune from smorison. How does he do it?! Again!!

Jarlath Henderson’s Jig: The Slow Train https://thesession.org/tunes/10098 and Alain Leroux’s An Dro Pitaouer
https://thesession.org/tunes/10122 are two other classic Bminor tunes which cover the full Scottish Pipe range, using to great effect the lower minor 6th (low G)

I just LOVE Salsa-Celtica’s version of this tune.
I transcribed it from the disc, I believe it accurate
(with optional embellishments here and there):

X: 1
T: Maggie’s Pancakes
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Bm
dB~B2 | fgfe | dBAB | GBdB | cAAd | AAeA | AfAA | ecAc |
dB~B2 | fgfe | dBAB | GBdB | cABc | Ac~c2 | efec |1 ~B3c :|2 Bcde ||
f2dB | GBdB | caec | dB~B2 | f2dB | GBdB | caec | Bcde |
fd~d2 | fgfe | dBAB | GBdB | cABc | Ac~c2 | efec |1 Bcde :|2 ~B3c

Too be you can re-edit your comments :(
The notes division is wrong but you get the picture 🙂

I know the Maggie in question, and she does make exceedingly good pancakes!

Stuart leading……. starts 4.48

https://youtu.be/wZpdblHNWDs

play video

"Ceolbeg"’s farewell performance took place in Edinburgh in 2002.

Heard Altan play this recently. Fab 🙂

Version by Altan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s04TE7cWZlY

play video

As played by Catriona MacDonald on "Bold".

A more idiomatic variation for fiddles.