The Last Pint hornpipe

Is it a hornpipe or is it a reel? I’m not quite sure.

I saw the ABCs for this tune on the IRTRAD-l mailing list (always a good source of tunes and tune-lore) and I remembered that Lunasa fans had been hoping to see this one on The Session. Enjoy!

I think this was written by Pierre Bensusan, playing hornpipes like hornpipes is out of favor nowadays. That’s probably what caused the confusion.

(in my opinion!) Yes it was written by Pierre Bensusan and is on his album . The original key is F

Is it missing a variation? I’m no great shakes at hearing notea and reading music but I think there’s something missing when compared to Lunasa’s recording of it.

This tune was originally a Reel then Lunasa slowed it down. It is a nice tune. I believe the original key is Bb which is how it would sound up a minor third or on an F Whistle or Flute.

I just enjoyed seeing Lunasa live in concert at the Gibson Showcase here in Nashville, and managed to record bits and pieces of it on my iPod. My favorite song of the evening was “Like a Pint” and as soon as I got into my car, I turned on the iPod, grabbed my whistles and figured it out… Sure enough they performed it in Bb on a low F whistle, and by the time I got home, I had most of the basics down (not nearly as beautiflully as Lunasa does it, but at least a decent start!) Anyway I can confirm that they did it in the key of Bb on a low F whistle, or more accurately on THREE low F whistles!

Anybody know the harmony that Lunasa plays now? The version on their CD is different than the harmonies they played when I saw them in concert earlier this year. It was wonderful, but I can’t remember it! :(

I love this tune!Usually I play it in a slow way and after I play as fast reel “Far From Home”.I think that this set is very nice.

Whats the last part of the variation?

A kind of interlude, I guess.

lunasa do a fab version of this on their album “lunasa”…with a variation on the last part…goes up high and it sounds great!!

X:3
T:Last Pint, The
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:A
|:~A3F EFAB|cABc BAFE|~A3F EFAB|cABc B3z|
~A3F EFAB|cABc BAFE|ABcA cdBA|GEFG BAAG:||
A2 eA (3cde Ae|dcBA cAAG|A2 eA (3cde Ae|dcBA GEFG|
A2 eA (3cde Ae|dcBA cAAG|~A3F EFAB|cABc B4|
“Variación”
|cdcA dedA|cdcA efe2|cdcA dedA|cdcA BAF2|
|cdcA dedA|cdcA efe2|cdcA dedA|cdcA BAF2|

Look al B part. It sound to me more like lunasa’s. For my fiddle is more easy than in G or Bb.

I forgot sometihing at the end of B part

X:3
T:Last Pint, The
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:A
|:~A3F EFAB|cABc BAFE|~A3F EFAB|cABc B3z|
~A3F EFAB|cABc BAFE|ABcA cdBA|GEFG BAAG:||
A2 eA (3cde Ae|dcBA cAAG|A2 eA (3cde Ae|dcBA GEFG|
A2 eA (3cde Ae|dcBA cAAG|~A3F EFAB|cABc B4:||
“Variación”
|cdcA dedA|cdcA efe2|cdcA dedA|cdcA BAF2|
|cdcA dedA|cdcA efe2|cdcA dedA|cdcA BAF2|

For one week only,UK sessionistas can listen to Pierre Bensusan (mentioned in Brad’s post above).

Here’s the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pdk37

X:4
T:The Last Pint
C:Pierre Bensusan
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:120
K:D
|| d3B ABde | fdef edBA | d3B ABde | fdef e3z |
d2dB ABde | fdef edBA | defd efed | cdec eddc ||
|| d3B ABde | fdef edBA | d2dB ABde | fdef e3z |
d3B ABde | fdef edBA | defd efed | c2ec eddc ||
|| dfad fAda | gfed fddc | d2ad fAda | gfed c2ec |
dfad fAda | gfed fddc | d2dB ABde | fdef e4 ||
|| d2ad fAda | gfed fddc | dfad fAda | gfed cdec |
dfad fAda | gfed fddc | d3B ABde | fdef e4 ||
|| fgfd gagd | fgfd aba2 | fgfd gagd | fgfd edBe |
fgfd gagd | fgfd abad | fgfd gagd | fgfd edBc ||

I’ve also seen this performed with 3 whistles- with the A fingering on a Bb whistle, G fingering on a C whistle, and D fingering on an F whistle - putting it in the key of F, though I don’t remember which one(s) were high and low whistles, respectively (maybe a C, Bb and low F)?

For the key of G, I guess that would likely be a C, high or low D, and low G?

Not sure how Lunasa has it in Bb/F and has more than one low whistle - might have a baritone low C, or bass Bb, though low (tenor) D is the bottom end for most of us?

I always assumed they all had low F whistles and played it in Bb with G fingering.

Super bad quality, and not the original line-up, but here you can see that all three use the G fingering:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgmwQvgCoWw

play video

I see that several people have added the first variation - |BcBG cdcG|BcBG ded2| etc - but what about the slow improv on that itself which they play before returning for the last time thru. It’s all crotchets, and the two whistles weave in and out of each other. There’s an ostinato figure for 2 bars, done in unison, and then it goes into 8 bars of improv. Again there 2 parts. I’ve sort of worked out the higher, ‘lead’ part, but the lower whistle part is more subtle and harder to discern from the other, a they are occasionally playing in unison for a note or two, it seems.

Here’s what I have got
X: 6
T: The Last Pint final variation
S: Lunasa
R: hornpipe
L: 1/8
M: 4/4
K: Gmaj
|: gagd gagd | gagd gagd | |b2a2 a2g2| a2g2 g2f2 |
|e2d2 e2d2 | B6 b2 |a2 g2 g2 f2 | g2 f2 f2 e2 |e2 d2 B2 A2||G8 |


has anyone transcribed that lower part ?

At the Harrisonburg VA session, we always finish the session with this tune. The B-part is tricky to learn, but it sounds amazing.

Je propose ça comme variation (whistle D) :
% “Variation perso”
|: bc‘bg c’d’c‘g | bc’bg d‘e’d’2 | bc‘bg c’d’c‘g | bc’bg agee :|
|: bc‘bg c’d’c‘g | bc’bg d‘e’d’2 |1 bc‘bg c’d’c‘g | bc’bg agee |
:|2 e‘g’e’d‘ g’a‘g’d’ | g‘a’g’d‘ g’a‘g’d’|
|: b‘2a’a‘ b’2g‘g’| a‘2g’2 g‘2f’2 |1 g‘2e’2 d‘2b2 | e’2d’5z |
:|2 g‘2e’e‘ d’2b2 | a2g4z2 |

(K: Gmaj)
… par exemble.
Anything else ?