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Whycocomagh Bay reel

There are 2 recordings of this tune.

Whycocomagh Bay has been added to 2 tunebooks.

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Two settings

1
X: 1
T: Whycocomagh Bay
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmix
G|FDDD FGAB|cCGF EFGE|FDDD FGAd|1 cCGED2dG:|2 cCGED2Dg||
fdd^c defa|gcge cdeg|fdd^c defa|cAGED2Dg|
fdd^c defa|gcge cdeg|fafd egec|faged2d|]
2
X: 2
T: Whycocomagh Bay
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
A | FD D/D/D FGAB | =cCGF ECGE | FD D/D/D FGAd | =cCGE D/D/D DA |
FD D/D/D FGAB | =cCGF ECGE | FDAD FGAd | =cCGE D/D/D Dg |
fddc defa | g=cge cdeg | fddc defa | =cAGE D/D/D Dg |
fddc defa | g=cge cdeg | fadf eg=ce | fage d/d/d d |]

Five comments

Whycocomagh Bay, X:2

This setting is as found in Gordon F MacQuarrie’s book The Cape Breton Collection of Scottish Melodies for the Violin (originally printed in 1940, the 2nd printing is from 1975). He also wrote a strathspey called "Whycocomagh Indian School" and another called "The Indian Teacher’s Minks", all of which I can’t help concluding are linked.

Re: Whycocomagh Bay

Should an awful lot more of the Cs not be natural, Nigel.

Re: Whycocomagh Bay

I presented it the way it was notated in the book, but I think you’re right and it was a mistake in the original rendering of the notation. I’m not sure how much to editorialise it, as it would be my guess, although there are plenty of precedents in the tradition…

Whycocomagh Bay, X:2
I have come to the conclusion that it would be better to change it to the way I think it was meant to be notated, so this is amended from the book version referenced above.

Re: Whycocomagh Bay

Looking through other tunes in the book, similar errors can be found. I think that the music setter has misread the original transcriptions, and it wasn’t properly proofed.