The Peacock’s Feathers hornpipe

I transcribed this tune from a CD called - of all things - “Lifescapes: Celtic Fiddle” (despite the terrifying title, it’s got some fine trad fiddle playing on it). I’m not usually one for hornpipes, but I love the swing of this one, and the fact that it’s in a minor key doesn’t hurt either. I also like the fact that there is a lot of room for ornamentation - like not playing those triplets as triplets every time around, or making the long note in the second half a bit more interesting by adding rolls or somesuch.

Does anyone out there actually play this tune (in sessions, for instance)? What other tune(s) would you play it with?

i learned this one along with peacock’s feather #2, which follows it nicely. i’ve posted #2 ….

sarah cardin

I heard this one in a session last weekend. I knew it from somewhere, but couldn’t put a name to it. It’s basically the air of the song, The Parting Glass.

After learning this tune off an Iron Horse cd i try to squeeze it in to sessions sometimes. I find it sounds good played in Eminor too. Its a really really really cool tune so spread the word!

This tune, along with the major version also posted here, is not that uncommon. I’ve heard them in lots of sessions. Both can be heard on Frankie Gavin’s classic album w/Alec Finn c. 1977. I don’t see the connection with the Parting Glass though. 🙂

How nice it would be to gather the brandances under that section, to see their similarities. While they do share a lot with hornpipes, there’s even one categorized under hornpipes in the O‘Neil collections, ’The Slipper’, they do have a certain pitch and yaw all thier own, as do Highlands (Highland Flings)…

Schottische / German / Barndance

Played in A Dorian on Open Hearth by Mary and Andrew MacNamara.

Hi all. In the tunes section there is a Peacock’s Feather in D major and one in D minor. The one in D minor has a key signature of one flat. My question is how do you play that on a D whistle? As you can tell, I am not much of a musician and am completely confused by this. I have a partner that I play with who wants to string the two together, but I am at a loss as to how to do so on my whistle. Thanks for the help.
Lowhistle

on a D whistle it would be rather inconvenient. you’d be half-holing 2 notes, the F natural and the B flat.
if you had a C whistle it’d be easy. it’d be just like playing in E minor on your D whistle (with a cross-fingered C natural.)

I learned this tune along with the Peacock’s Feather in Dmajor at Swannanoa from Patrick MAngan…I really like them both, especially together…the first triplets are really fun to vary, I sometimes (I picked this up from Patrick too) play two triplets, so the tune starts A-G fed efe d (fed and efe as triplets, I’m new to this ABC notation thing)

If this tune is in O‘Farrell’s 1810 as a march, which it seems to be (although I don’t know if O’Farrell actually called it a march because I don’t have the book -- I’m just going by the Fiddler’s Companion), I don’t see how anybody can growl about it being a barndance instead of a hornpipe!

Marches and Barndances were interchangeable for some couple dances, that a tune can be played as both a march or a barndance/hornpipe/schottische/German ~ is no mean feat, easily done, hell, look at all the 2/4 marches being used as polkas, and the shared tunes and ways between strathspeys and highland flings (‘single’ schottishes)…

You misunderstood the use of ‘growl’ here Katedu. The term has to do with it dipping low. This melody is also played in other and higher keys. I love the growl of the lower registers… 😉

K: D Dorian
|: A>G |
(3FED E>F (3DDD D>E | F>EF>A (3GAG F>G | A>dd>^c d>=cA>G | F>DA>B c2 A>G |
F2 E2 D2 D>E | F2 (3FGA G2 F>G | A2 (3ddd d2 A>G | F>D (3DDD D2 :|
|: A>B |
c2 c>A d2 (ed^cd | d>cA>^F G2 A>B | c2 A>d d>cA>G | F2 A>B c2 A>G |
F2 E>F D>A (3DDE | F>EF>A G2 F>G | A>d^c>e d>cA>G | F2 D2 D2 :|

The F natural is one of the easier half-holes to master, you just straighten out the third finger (E finger) so that it lifts enough to make the F natural, but not taking it off the instrument, and DO NOT USE THE FINGER TIP!!! It is a kind of rocking motion between moving between the E and the F natural on a D instrument. The first joint only of the finger rocks up slightly as you straighten it, while the back of that joint, The part palm-side, remains on the instrument. A basic exercise is just that, rocking that joint between the E and the F natural. It is basically the same move, part way, as slurring from E to F sharp, only the finger doesn’t lift off…

The above version replaces those lovely growls down to A, and B, and C, places most D winds can’t reach… I hope it helps. There are also some other ‘variations’ / choices given that differ from the transcription here…

Key signature: e minor
Submitted on November 11th 2006 by ceolachan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/6359

Key signature: a minor
Submitted on October 21st 2006 by Fiddle Inferno.
https://thesession.org/tunes/6275

And no smart ass comments about ‘cock-ups’…

You mean like one about the bar of 4/4 you wrote with 5 crotchets in? 😉

Uh oh!? I did correct that didn’t I? If not, you’d better drop me an email quietly and direct me to where it is if it still is there…

Hey, maybe it was a hint of a 5/4 waltz… 😉

I’m not going to tell you where it is. That’d make it too easy for you. I’ll give you a clue though. It’s on this page. I’m starting the stopwatch………..NOW.

Yup, I hit the key below 3 and 3nd3d up with an e ~ resulting in this ~ c2 c>A d2 (ed^cd | ~ … mea culpa!

4 minutes 33 seconds. What a coincidence!

Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz3P1OxZwNU&NR=1

play video

At the moment, you can listen to Martin Quinn’s melodeon playing of this hornpipe on his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/martinquinnaccordion

https://thesession.org/tunes/665

Is this the same version that is on the Danú album? If so what whistle would be best to use for this? An F whistle seems like it would be too low. But then again I’m new to the whistle

Try it using a “C” whistle.

Danú plays what they call the Peacock’s Feather as a reel like this:

T: Peacock’s Feather as played by Danu
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K:Gmaj
|:cABG AAAB|cABc d2cd|eaaa aged|cEEF G2ed|
cABG AAAB|cABc d2cd|eaab aged|[1cAAG A2ed:|[2cAAG A3G|
ggge aaag|agec d2cd|eaag aged|ccEF G2ed|
cABG AAAB|cABc d2cd|eaag aged|[1ccAG A3G|[2ccAG A2ed|

I don’t know anything about musical modes so I don’t know if this is Gmaj or A dor or whatever but i needed an F# and Cnat so i put Gmaj

Goes nicely before Jamesy Gannon’s barndance.

It resolves on A, with F# and C natural, in this case A Dorian…

X: 2
T: Peacock’s Feathers, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: hornpipe, barndance
K: DDor
|: A>G |\
(3FED E>F (3DDD D>E | F>EF>A (3GAG F>G | A>dd>^c d>=cA>G | F>DA>B c2 A>G |
F2 E2 D2 D>E | F2 (3FGA G2 F>G | A2 (3ddd d2 A>G | F>D (3DDD D2 :|
|: A>B |\
c2 c>A d2 (3ed^c | d>cA>^F G2 A>B | c2 A>d d>cA>G | F2 A>B c2 A>G |
F2 E>F D>A (3DDE | F>EF>A G2 F>G | A>d^c>e d>=cA>G | F2 D2 D2 :|

X: 4
T: Peacock’s Feathers, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: hornpipe, barndance
K: EDor
|: B>A |\
G>EF>D E2 E>F | G>FG>B A2 G>A | B>ee>^d e>=dB>A | G>E[B,F>[CE] D2 B>A |
(3GAG (3FGF E2 (3DEF | G>DG>B (3ABA G>A | B>ee>^d e>=dB<A | G2 E2 E2 :|
|: (3ABc |\
d>c (3dcB e2 f>d | e>dB>^G A2 (3ABc | d>G (3Bcd e>dB>A | G2 [B,F>[CE] D>BA>F |
G2 F>G E>^DE>F | G>FG>B A>DG>A | B>e^d>f e>=dB<A | G2 E>^D E2 :|

How’s that for a match;
https://thesession.org/tunes/566

<< Despite his wheel and his unbearable cry, the peacock has no reality whatsoever. Rather than an animal, it is a pattern invented by Moghul miniaturists and plundered by Art Nouveau decorators. Even in the wild -I saw whole coveys of them on the Dekkan roads- he is not credible. His heavy, hedge-hopping flight is a disaster, making him look like he’s always on the brink of impaling himself. At top speed, he barely rises above chest level, as if he could not get away from the world wherein he strayed. We can sense that his true destiny is to crown giant meat pies from which spring out hurdy-gurdy-playing dwarfs in bell hats. I will die without ever comprehending how Linnaeus could admit it in his classification. >>
from Nicolas Bouvier’s The Scorpion-Fish, 1982
(translated from the French (Switzerland) by Thierry Michel).

Played with friends. Beautiful unusual minor key hornpipe.

Usually played in Dmin, and been here for 14 years. First time I’ve heard it played in Bmin, but I quite like it - more flute or whistle friendly.

https://thesession.org/tunes/663

This is actually Em, not Bm…?

Here is a version in E minor with the hornpipe in mostly long>short timing.

I actually play it with an occasional “(3” three notes which could be substituted for a long>short of the first and last note of those three. Instead of a c>A on the 1st and 5th measures, you could use a roll of (3cBA without a problem.

Also, instead of a ~d2, I would actually be trilling just before the second half of that, such as d>{e}d represents.

I’ve heard this on a concertina in A minor as well, so I might post another version for that, using the following code:

T: The Peacock’s Feathers
R: hornpipe
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K:Amin
Q:120
A>G|:F>D E>F D>C D>E|F>E F>A G>{A}G F>G|
A>d {e}d>c d>c A>G|F>A, {B,}A,>B, C2 A>G|
F>D E>F D>C D>E|F>E F>A G>{A}G F>G|
A>d d>e d>c A>G|F>D D>C D2 [1 A>G:|[2 A>B|]
|:c2 {d} c>A d2{e} d>c|d>c A>F G2 F>G|
A>d {e}d>c d>c A>G|F>A, {B,}A,>B, C2 A>G|
F>D E>F D>C D>E|F>E F>A G2 F>G|
A>d {e}d>e d>c A>G|F>D {E}D>C [1 D2 A>B:|]|[2 D2 z2||]

Also the name (almost) of a work by Joan Miró 🙂
https://www.original-prints.com/uk/Joan-Miro-Peacock-Feathers-1956-Original-Lithograph-Mourlot::1958:304.html