The Tenpenny Bit jig

Played at a session I went to the other day. Transcribed from Dervish’s Midsummer Night.

Lovely tune! I happened to record the group "London Lasses" playing this tune on a radio programme. It’s still in the archive of The Late Session: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/story/1034196.html (Sunday, 23 Jan.) The Lasses’ playing comes very first in the show. It’s definitely worth a listen.

Not to be confused with the well known jig which has the same name, of course. Does this tune have another title?

I found this is the one recorded on "Music at Matt Molloy." Sligo tune?

Looks like it’s in A Dorian, not G Major. The tonic is the A on the last strong beat of each part, just before the Bd that serves as a pickup for the repeat or the next part.

Nah, A-part = Gmaj, B-part Ador.

I beg to differ - A-part Gmaj, B-part Emin

What does it matter anyway. If you’re a backer, you call it whatever mode makes the most sense to you and play whatever chords sound right. If you’re a tune player, you just play the tune.

I’m a backer and I play the 2nd part in Ador. You could also use Emin but it doesn’t sound as good. It’s up to the individual, and, yes, you’re right, it doesn’t matter. I also agree with the "tunes players should stick to their thing and play the tunes" comment. Tunes players think they know how modes work but they don’t, sorry. Let the backers do their job.

Just to clarify before anyone enters into a pointless argument with me, I’m saying "I play in…Ador. You could also use Emin…", as in, you can use both, neither is "wrong", unless you play chords that don’t fit with the tune. Sorry David I shouldn’t have said "it doesn’t sound as good" - of course you could make both sound good depending on what you do with it.

Oh and by "sound good", of course I mean "in my opinion", so pls don’t jump down my throat. Ta.

BTW that wasn’t directed at you personally, David, etc etc. God what I’d give to be able to small print at the bottom of all my posts on this website so I don’t have to tread on eggshells…

Okay talking about this stuff is stupid you have to play it. Off the top of my head:

G into Ador:

|:C G |G / |C G|G Em |
D C|G / |Em / |D / :|
|:Am / |Bm / |C / |D / |
Em D |C / |G / |D / :|

G into Em:

|:C G |G / |C G|G Am |
Bm C|Em / |C / |D / :|
|:Em / |D / |C / |D / |
Am / |Em Bm |C / |D / :|

What I’m saying is that an Ador progression is nice for the B-part because it takes you smoothly up the chord scale and then back down again. You can bring in the cliched Em-D-C thing later on instead of killing the beginning of the B-part with it.

I don’t know if it is of Sligo origin, but certainly all the recordings I have of it are by Sligo musicians … Paddy Killoran (From Galway to Dublin), Peter Horan & Fred Finn (Music of Sligo), Peter Horan, Jimmy Murray, Jimmy Murphy (Music at Matt Molloy’s), Jim Murphy & James Murray (Mountain Road), and Devish (Midsummer’s Night). The Dervish recording is the only one I have where the tune doesn’t follow "Scotsman Across the Border".

"Scotsman across the Border" precedes this one on "Music at Matt Molloy" as well. Jim Murray, Jim Murphy and Peter Horan are leading the gang on the track.

Oops, sorry. I didn’t read your comment carefully.

Inspired by Peter Horan, I play the first part like this:

K: Gmaj
d|edB G2A|Bcd Bcd|edB G2A|BAB GFE|
DED G2A|Bcd Bcd|edB gdB|BAG A2:|

Yup, that’s how I play it as well. (Cept maybe the last three notes of the fourth measure.)

I tried playing this Sligo set in several places while travelling in GB & NI recently. Well, almost all the local musicians knew the first one. But when I went on to the second one, they always stopped playing, leaving me alone. The gang who took several sets of tunes from "Music at Matt Molloy" didn’t recognise it. And even a gorgeous flute player who worships Peter Horan didn’t play along with me. I don’t understand why they still play the New & Old Copperplates, but not this classic set.

This is called "The Ducks and the Oats" on the John and Julia Clifford recording "The Humours of Lisheen".

Here’s a version of this tune taught by Edel Fox at the Catskills Irish Arts Week 2007. She got it from Liz Kane, who got it from Dennis Murphy.

X:2
T:Ten Penny Bit
N:Version from Edel Fox via Liz Kane & Dennis Murphy
R:Jig
L:1/8
M:6/8
K:ADor
g|edB G2A|Bed Bcd|edB G2A|BAB gfg|
edB G2A|Bed Bcd|eag edB|[1 BAG A2:|[2 BAG A||
Bd|e2f gfg|eaa ged|e2 f gfg|efg a2 a|
aba age|ged Bcd|eag edB|[1 BAG A:|[2 BAG A2|]

https://thesession.org/tunes/8185/

It’s on the Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford recording "Music from Sliabh Luachra."
I don’t see either this tune or "The Ducks in the Oats" on "Humors of Lisheen" anywhere.

My mistake, there it is right after "John Mahinney’s 2". Guess I should read full titles rather than just file names.

Here’s how we play at our local session: the run-down at the end is a little different to the other settings here.