Twenty-one comments
Those crazy A major tunes
Has anyone else noticed how many crazy, pyrotechnical tunes there are in the key of A major?
The Mason’s Apron, The Clumsy Lover, The Contradiction reel.
They all feature mad bits of hopping around on the E string while playing the open A string. Banjo players live for this kind of thing :)
Isn’t it fun! I’ve always avoided learning this tune thinking that I wouldn’t be able to do the high bits, but I’ve since taken up the concertina and discovered that the high bits are of course no big hassle on that type of instrument. So this is my fave tune of the moment…
just after listening to McNamara’s "hidden treasure" CD and im nearly sure that they have a version of this called "Miss Gannon’s Rant" which is played beautifully by Enda McNamara on the fiddle. worth checking out
I think this is One of Seán Maguire’s tunes
As borne out by the following photo:
http://www.belfastfolk.co.uk/gallery2/menu.asp?p=50
Derrane’s own pyrotechnics
In Give Us Another, Joe Derrane, lacking the keys for the so-callled pyrotechnics on his Baldoni, takes them down one octave, and it doesn’t detract from the overall quality of the tune at all. In a session setting it actually gives the tune a different flavor when some intruments play the lower octave.
Sean Maguire’s ?
Conan - the photo to which you link shows a jig, not a reel, called the contradiction. Hmmm ??
By the way everyone, the greatest version of this is surely Matt Molloy’s, especially the one-and - half octave jumps in the show-off bit.
The Contradiction
I had heard this tune played by a young lad who said it was written by William Marshall, but on tunefinder it says it Irish. Does anyone know. It sure seems like a tune that Marshall would write.
A less daunting Contradiction
I have this from a tape of Tony DeMarco from a few years back. I was reminded of it because it’s more or less the version recorded by Coleman/Tom Gannon and recently put online by Kevin Reitman.
<a href=http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=52152&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0>78’s Online</a>
The 78 has the parts doubled.
X: 1
T:Contradiction, The
M:4/4
L:1/8
R:reel
K:A
c3A B~E3|CEAc dfed|cBAG ABce|fagb afed|
c2cA B~E3|CEAc dfed|cBAG ABce|(3fga gb a3||
e|agab aece (3dcB BA|GABc|A2 ag aece|(3dcB BA EAA2|
agab aecA|dcBA GABc|Acec Adfa|gbeg a3||
e|cefe cefe|(3fga ec BAGB|cefe cefe|(3fga gb afed|
cefe cefe|(3fga ec B3c|ecea fdfa gbeg a3||
Sean Maguires contradiction
Sean Maguires contradiction was indeed a jig.He didn`t compose the reel.
and what can I do with my flute……….
Garry Shannon is seen playing it on flute here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Uh—OYB5mNo
Seems like my kind of flute playing, I love hitting the d’ sometimes. I can never get e’ though.
I love this tune!!!
This is a good unuiqe tune
And definitley sounds best on the banjo:D
History of the tune
Was just trying to figure out who wrote this one, and came across this website:
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/contra.htm
worth a look if you’re interested in the history of the tune. It seems to be Scottish (NOT Irish) but doesn’t seem to written by Marshall. thought people might find it intriguing :)
Version from Paddy Fahey
from a recording I borrowed from a friend - Paddy Fahey plays all the G#s consistently flat - between G# and G natural.
X: 1
T: [Contradiction Reel]
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Amaj
cefe ceae|d2 cA BE~E2|cefe ceae|f2 ge abed|
cefe ceae|f/g/a ec BEGB|eAce fdfa|gbeb aged||
c2 cA BE~ED|CEAc dBed|c2BA GABc|defg aefd|
c2 cA BE~ED|CEAc dBed|cABA GABc|defg aAce||
aA ~A2 cABA|GBEB GBEB|aA ~A2 cABA|GBEB cA ~A2|
ae ~e2 cAcA|GBEB GBE2|agfe fedc|BEGB A2 ce||
|:a2 c’e a2 c’e|bed’e bed’e|c’ee’e c’ee’e|dcBA EAce|
a2 c’e a2 c’e|bed’e bed’e|c’ee’e c’ee’e|dcBA EAce:|
last bar is better ::
dcBA EA ~A2||
Contradiction reel - Version from Paddy Fahey
He wasn’t playing the G# flat (or the G-nat sharp), or playing either out of tune; he was playing a note in between that is not part of the classical Western scales (as exemplified by the piano keyboard) but is normal in its own right in some parts of Ireland.
There are also notes in some tunes that are between C-nat and C#, and F-nat and F#.
A William Marshall tune
Apparently it was written by William Marshall and published in Edinburgh in 1800, with three parts (A, B, D - no high bits!). The name given to it by Marshall was Miss Gunning’s Reel.
(See note on it in Brenda Stubbert’s Collection of Fiddle Tunes).
First tune avec Charlie Mackerron
And Danu
NOT composed by Marshall
NOT composed by Marshall - first published in 1751, when he would have been 3 years old.
And first printing is not in Scotland, but in London. So originally an English tune?
https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Miss_Gunning%27s_Reel