The Duck jig

I know I’ll get a row for this but I’ve encountered a small problem when searching for a tune here. The tune I wished to find is called "The Duck" and I get "The Leg of the Duck" only when I search in the tune section. Because I’ve had a result, I’m not given the facility to request this tune. Can anyone advise or, if they know the tune, post it?
I’d sooner have the whole bird than just the leg. I’m a hungry b-gger. :-)

Is this tune on one of the Ossian CDs? If so I’ll post it when I get the chance.

Thaks Conan. It’s on "Dove across the water" and "The Best of Ossian". Keep it Up have also recorded this. It’s quite a simple tune and I’ve already learned most of it by ear. However, there are one or two bits I’m not sure about and would like to check the dots. So far, I’ve never seen it written down.

John I’m at work at the mo’ and then I’m flying off to Belfast for the weekend straight afterwards.
If you could give me the key of the first part I will try and cobble it together from memory during my lunch break.

It’s in B flat on the Ossian album because of the pipes but I prefer to play it in A as on the Keep it Up album. It won’t matter, though, as I can transpose it. Thanks.

(My connection has been down or I’d have been back to you sooner. There’s no rush, though.)

I put this together from memory during my lunchbreak and added some slightly more realistic chords. Obviously this is a rough hash of the real thing - no ornamentation and some of the notation might be *slightly* out.

If anyone has any comments re the key signature or wants to amend the notation, let me know in this section.

It’s up - I did it in G ‘cos it’s easy!

Thanks for that. I see that you’ve submitted in "G" but that won’t matter. It’ll be easy enough to transpose to "A" on the fiddle or mandolin. I just have to move up a string.
The notation seem fine and, if the recorded(or other)versions are slightly different, I should be able to adapt accordingly.
Thanks a lot. As I say, I had got most of it already but I wasn’t sure of certain bits-mainly in the last part.

Thank you, Conan. And thanks also to Jeremy for your patience with this thread. :-)

No problem. Sorry about the key!

Sorry, I’ve been a "total slaver". The Ossian key is E flat and Keep it Up is in D. It’s the third part which got me confused as the key appears to change, ie sounds more like B flat and A respectively.
Anyway, the same applies. It’s still easy to transpose. Thanks again.

Sorry, I’ve been a "total slaver". The Ossian key is E flat and Keep it Up is in D. It’s the third part which got me confused as the key appears to change, ie sounds more like B flat and A respectively.
Anyway, the same applies. It’s still easy to transpose. Thanks again.

You’re right about the key change, John. The transpose facility in ABCMus would work for playing along if you knock it up 8 semitones. Sounds nice with drones (DGdg) as all good piping tunes should.

I’ve got that old Ossian vinyl. That’s a great tune!

It’s a wee cracker. If you transpose it 7 semitones (not 8 as I said earlier) and plonk it on the end of Duncan Johnstone - also in the tunes section - you’re nearly there with the set. The Curlew that Ossian play after those two is a different tune from the Curlew (Glenbeigh Hornpipe)listed here though.

Maybe this discussion should be in the "Tunes" section… Jeremy?

Another composition by Pipe Major Donald McLeod, but he never wrote it in G, and I’ve never heard it played in that key, anywhere.
The name refers not to a bird, but to a piper of Donald’s acquaintance who had an odd posture when he was playing.

We know. Read the other comments!

http://youtu.be/KzOVbQ6NZfU

play video

Good man Kenny! There’s nothing like the real thing.

"The Duck" listed "On The Offbeat" is a composition by Liz Carroll and completely different from the tune setting above. Nevertheless this setting is also nice and interesting, specially the changing chords behind identical sequences.

Second setting in correct key: first two parts in D, this and fourth in A.
I really like the way that by changing all the D notes in the first part to C# notes in the third part you not only change the key but get a tune that makes musical sense.

X:3, broadly the same as X:2 from my colleague DonaldK, is from a sheet handed out at a workshop, and although the main differences are rhythmic there are a few different notes and a 2nd-time ending for strain 2.

The story I have is that only strains 1 & 2 are by Pipe Major Donald MacLeod, and that 3 & 4 were added by piper Willie “Wulls” Galbraith - to good effect, as DonaldK observes.