Mike Hobin’s mazurka

By Mike Hoban

Also known as The Cullybacky Hop-Jig, Hopperdy Skipperdy, Mike Hoban’s.

There are 2 recordings of this tune.

Mike Hobin’s has been added to 12 tune sets.

Mike Hobin’s has been added to 142 tunebooks.

Download ABC

Six settings

1
X: 1
T: Mike Hobin's
R: mazurka
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
K: Ador
(3Bcd|:eA Ag fd|eA A2 (3Bcd|eg fd ce|dG G2 (3Bcd|
eA Ag fd|eg ag ef|ge dB Gd|BA A2 (3Bcd:|
|:ea ab ag|ed ef ga|ge af ge|dB G2 (3Bcd|
ea ab ag|ed ef ga|ge dB Gd|BA A2 (3Bcd:|
2
X: 2
T: Mike Hobin's
R: mazurka
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
K: Ador
e2 A A2 g f2 d|e2 A A3 B2 d|e2 A A2 g f2 d|B2 G G3 B2 d|
e2 A A2 g f2 d|e2 A A3 g2 a|b2 a g2 e d2 B|B2 A A3 Bcd||
e2 a a2 g b2 g|e2 A A3 B2 d|e2 a a2 g f2 d|B2 G G3 B2 d|
e2 a a2 g b2 g|e2 a a3 g2 a|b2 a g2 e d2 B|B2 A A3||
3
X: 3
T: Mike Hobin's
R: mazurka
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
K: Ador
e3 gfd|eAA AB/c/d|egf dce|dGG GB/c/d|
eAA gfd|ega gef|g/f/ed BGd|BAA A:|
|:eaa bag|ede g2 a|gea g2 d|BGG GB/c/d|
e2 a bag|ede fga|ged BGd|BAA A:|
4
X: 4
T: Mike Hobin's
R: mazurka
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
K: Amix
Bcd|e2A A2g f2d|e2A ~A3 Bcd|e2g f2d =c2e|d2G ~G3 Bcd|
e2A A2g f2d|e2g a2g e2f|g2e d2B G2d|B2A ~A3:|
|:Bcd|e2a a2b a2g|e2d e2f g2a|g2e a2f g2e|d2B ~G3 Bcd|
e2a a2b a2g|e2d e2f g2a|g2e d2d BAG|B2A ~A3:|
5
X: 5
T: Mike Hobin's
R: mazurka
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
K: Ador
eAAg fdeA|~A2B/c/d egfg|dG~G2 eGdG|~G2ce dGB/c/d|
eAAg fdeg|agef gedB|GAB/c/d gbaf|gedB A2B/c/d:|
|:eaab aged|efga geaf|gedB ~G2dG|Bdge dGB/c/d|
eaab aged|efga gedB|GAB/c/d gbaf|gedB A2B/c/d:|
6
X: 6
T: Mike Hobin's
R: mazurka
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
eA Ag fd|eA A2 (3Bcd|eg fd ce|dG G2 (3Bcd|
eA Ag fd|eg ag ef|ge dB Gd|BA A2:|
ea ab ag|ed ef ga|ge af ge|dB G2 (3Bcd|
ea ab ag|ed ef ga|ge d2 (3BAG|BA A2:|

Thirty-five comments

“Gan Ainm” ~ ???

M: 9/8
L: 1/8
K: A Dorian
Bcd |
e2 A A2 g f2 d | e2 A A3 B2 d | e2 A A2 g f2 d | B2 G G3 B2 d |
e2 A A2 g f2 d | e2 A A3 g2 a | b2 a g2 e d2 B | B2 A A3 Bcd ||
e2 a a2 g b2 g | e2 A A3 B2 d |e2 a a2 g f2 d | B2 G G3 B2 d |
e2 a a2 g b2 g |e2 a a3 g2 a | b2 a g2 e d2 B | B2 A A3 ||

Much prefer the 9/8 transcription of this, personally.

🙂

Not bad, I kind of like that one… Thanks for directing my attention so…

But it is a shame that it is contributed on site here as a ‘mazurka’… I wish you’d have asked me first. I missed the ‘discussion’…or avoided it when I saw it had something to do with ‘Lunasa’, sorry, my biases, though I like having them challenged…

I’ve just listened to a sample on the net and it’s not a jig. I hear it as a hop jig like the Butterfly.

Gets your ears cleaned out…

No, get yours!

Sorry, maybe it is my need for Q-tips, but I did a long reduction in the recording, taking it down to really, really slow, and it is played and grouped in threes, and that can be ABc or A2 c, or as notated if you want a run ++ GB/c/d… But hey, maybe the electonics is having its own way with the digital. You can’t always have something just because you want it. Like I can’t have force something into Dorian that is in Mixolydian… 😉

But hey, it’s only a melody, so why not take it every which way and loose… I actually like doing it in a set, going from the 9/8 into the 6/8, and who says it can’t also work as a waltz or a polka with a little doctoring here and there. I’ve got the knives laid out, you bring the pain killer…

Get my what? 🙂

I’ll take scotch, a good single malt, an Islay is my preference, but none of that damned ice or water or soda, how could anyone spoil it that way?

It’s a bloody hop jig!

The tune could potentially be played both ways, as ‘c’ points out. However, ‘c’ needs all that hair in his lugs trimming. Lunasa’s intention is to play it as a hop jig 🙂

X: 1
T: Mike Hobin’s
M: 9/8
L: 1/8
R: mazurka
S: Lunasa: Se
K: Amix
Bcd|e2A A2g f2d|e2A ~A3 Bcd|e2g f2d =c2e|d2G ~G3 Bcd|
e2A A2g f2d|e2g a2g e2f|g2e d2B G2d|B2A ~A3:|
|:Bcd|e2a a2b a2g|e2d e2f g2a|g2e a2f g2e|d2B ~G3 Bcd|
e2a a2b a2g|e2d e2f g2a|g2e d2d BAG|B2A ~A3:|

With variations in bar 1 |e3 e2g f2d| and bar 7 |g2e c2B G2d|.

Definitely eAA & eaa…not a doubt…but I like your ‘cute’ little variation… 😛

‘c’, the reason why you are hearing it as a jig is partly because it works structurally like that, but more importantly because the musicians in the recording have slightly (but not totally) straightened out the swing of the 9/8 so it almost sounds like it’s in 3/4, and then the bass punches out a cross-rhythm that’s syncopated with the underlying 9/8. Because the bass and guitar rhythm is so strong, the subtleties of the pipes rhythm is obscured a bit.

Now, that gan ainm up top has a =c in it, but you may be right, these other ways with it can work with either a =c or a ^c if you like… I’m not arguing with that. Yes, you’re right, of course you’re right ~ and I am completely deluded ~ HA, HA, HAAA, HAAAAAA!!! ~ and off in the distance, the sun setting, a demented man in y-fronts is disappearing into the Irish sea splashing about and laughing hysterically…

Splashing about and laughing hysterically in pronounced triplets in a strong 2 and 4 pulse… HaHaHa, HaHaHa, HaHaHa, HaHaHa…

I can see you trying to hide in another thread btw, but you’re safe. I’m not going there, I’m going to bed 🙂

Next time it we’ll be ‘swining’ on a star… Nighty night… Sleep tight… Pleasant dre, dre, dre, dre, dre-ams… 😉

Hey, how about a CSI of ITM ~ 😉

Here’s a little puzzle, whatever you do with the rhythm, notes occur in ways that sometimes can tell you their original intent… All swing, as this was the ‘straight’ nature of this particular recording, has been removed, which means removing the 2’s, but using Dow’s transcription as an example. As well, the run of B/c/d has been incorporated into the phrases. And for the most part, ignoring the accompaniment, this is what the pipes were laying down…

eAAgfdeAAAB/c/degfdcedGGGB/c/d |
eAAgfdegagefgedBGdBAAAB/c/d |
eaabagedefgageafge dB ~G3 Bcd |
eaabagedefgageddBA GBAAAB/c/d |

And not forgetting some variation, such as that telling ‘hold’ to start the first or second string of notes:

e3gfd ~

Sorry gang, I am definitely in a ‘wind-up’ mood this week. Maybe it is the repercussions of the road rage I faced last week? And sadly, having already played that card and stood in his defence, I can’t start anything to do with whether or not something is ‘swung’…

Now ~ Full honesty ~ I love ’em all…

Note corrections made first to the last two lines: B/A/G ~ etc…

eaabagedefgageafgedBGGB/c/d |
eaabagedefgageddB/A/GBAAAB/c/d |

Here are the solutions, starting with the smallest division/value for a beat, two notes, 2’s, which could be taken as 3/4 or swung as 9/8 ( | e>A A>g f>d | ):

eA Ag fd eA AA B/c/d eg fd ce dG GG B/c/d |
eA Ag fd eg ag ef ge dB Gd BA AA B/c/d |
ea ab ag ed ef ga ge af ge dB GG B/c/d |
ea ab ag ed ef ga ge dd B/A/G BA AA B/c/d |

A blast to play straight or swung…

& here is the other solution, in 3’s :

eAA gfd eAA AB/c/d egf dce dGG GB/c/d |
eAA gfd ega gef ged BGd BAA AB/c/d |
eaa bag ede fga gea fge dBG GB/c/d |
eaa bag ede fga ged dB/A/G BAA AB/c/d |

Take my word for it, while it will divide by 4, it will not work there without extreme doctoring…

There are a number of other tunes that will work similarly… Now there’s the potential of a spark in a dry field of corn…

“Hop Corn!” ~ didn’t you figure that one out?

Are you still on about this tune? So are you not going to try and write us one in 4’s. You’ve said it now so I’ve got all excited by the possibilities and want to see what you can come up with. Are you going to make me sit and wait?

You get Pigeon On The Gate!
Sort of…

eAAg fdeA|~A2B/c/d egfg|dG~G2 eGdG|~G2ce dGB/c/d |
eAAg fdeg|agef gedB|GAB/c/d gbaf|gedB A2B/c/d:|
|:eaab aged|efga geaf|gedB ~G2dG|Bdge dGB/c/d |
eaab aged|efga gedB|GAB/c/d gbaf|gedB A2B/c/d:|

Well, that’s my effort.

Hah! ~ I caught you…. Now, reeling you in I just know is going to be hell… That should have pulled the hook deep into you cheek, now, have I got the right weight of line for such a behemouth? 😉

You have any idea the can of worms we’ve opened here? It could completely transform Irish music as we know it. There’s no limit to the amoung of hop corn one could pop…

yeah it’s a hop jig, cauze another name for it is “the cullybacky hop”

“The Cullybacky Hop-Jig” ~ C: Mike Hobin

Yes Pere, almost note-for-note ~ but let’s not forget that webpages have a nasty habit of disappearing into the digital void. Here’s the ABCs, minus the chords, and the notes from that page you were kind enough to link to ~ in case the link eventually fades away ~

http://img.lunasa.ie/misc/book-page16.jpg

X: 1
T: Mike Hoban’s
S: Lunasa ~ minus the chords
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
K: G Major
|: (3Bcd |\
eA Ag fd | eA A2 (3Bcd | eg fd ce | dG G2 (3Bcd |
eA Ag fd | eg ag ef | ge dB Gd | BA A2 :|
|: (3Bcd |\
ea ab ag | ed ef ga | ge af ge | dB G2 (3Bcd |
ea ab ag | ed ef ga | ge d2 (3BAG | BA A2 :|

“Mike Hoban’s” ~ arranged by Lunasa

The first tune in this set came from a recording of Paddy O’Brien, the great accordion player and tune collectot originally from Co. Offaly, but now resident in Minneapolis. It’s a hop-jig that Paddy learned from its composer, Mike Hoban, a whistle-player from Foxford, Co. Mayo who moved to Chicago in the 1960s. A hop-jig is a type of slip-jig but we played it in a 3/4 time instead of 9/8.

It was still a kick mud wrestling here… I’s not like I’m a fan of flattening slip/hop jigs and making up stories to support the practice… Give me more of that hay to twist… 😉

Further mud wrestling ~

This actually made me commit and purchase the album, my first and only from Lunasa’s rattle bag. I tried to get the O‘Brien one but found Lunasa’s first, in a clearance sale for a quid. Yes, very clearly in 3s and as you’ve give it dear Pere, well done. 3/4 fits it as they play it. I remember seeing someone’s notation of a similar attack (this alteration of ’hop-jig’) as a slip jig but grouping the notes as you’ve given them here, but something like the following ~

M: 9/8
L: 1/8
K: G Major
|: Bcd |\
(4e2A2 (4A2g2 (4f2d2 | (4e2A2 A3 Bcd | (4e2g2 (4f2d2 (4ce | (4dG G3 Bcd | ~

Crazy eh? They are very talented musicians, but the CD doesn’t get a lot of play in our house. I decided to put it on again today. Nah, sorry, a bit too herbal tea for us, t’s just too daft and exhibitionist for us. It’s not like we don’t occassionally enjoy a cup ot herbal tea, just not Liptons… It doesn’t make me want to dance and the end result after a full listen is more akin to sea sickness than inebriation… 😉

Oops! ~ missed converting those last two bars ~
~ | (4e2g2 (4f2d2 (4c2e2 | (4d2G2 G3 Bcd | ~

“James Kelly’s Hop Jig” ~ here’s that example

Key signature: D Major
Submitted on March 9th 2003 by gian marco.
https://thesession.org/tunes/1492

|: (2FA (2AB A3 | (2FA (2AD (2B/c/d | ~

Well, it wasn’t (4 but (2, which makes more sense… I’m sick, forgive me for my slip… Heh, heh, heh, cough, cough… 😉

Corrections (better late than never)

I knew Mike HobAn (not Hobin) R.I.P. well. He was an accordion player (NOT a whistle player) from Mayo, who lived in mid-Missouri. He was a horse trainer and a bricklayer as well.

Mike called this tune a hop-jig. Paddy O’Brien (Co. Offaly) recorded it on “Snug in the Blanket” where it was titled “Hopperdy Skipperdy.” That COULD have been the title Mike Hoban gave it, but this I will not swear to. He was whimsical, though.

It’s not a mazurka. The maker called it a hop-jig. So it’s a hop-jig.

“Hopperdy Skipperdy” ~ C: Mike Hoban

Thanks caffeina, much appreciated…

Hopperdy Skipperdy

To corroborate caffeina’s post, this is the name Mike Hoban gave to this hop jig. My recollection of the story: as a young boy in a school classroom he was reading aloud a story which contained this phrase. He stumbled a few times over the pronunciation. As a result, the kids in class “gave him the business.” This incident stuck with him, apparently.

He obviously overcame his youthful speech impediment. I knew him to be eloquent and articulate. A lovely man. R.I.P., Mike.