Jack Coughlan’s reel

Source: Kevin Crawford_maiden voiage
Transcription: Gian Marco Pietrasanta

This tune (slight differences) is printed in Ceol Rince na h

Learned from Joe Burke’s flute album, which I commented on earlier today. Also recorded by Kevin Crawford and “Danu”, but much faster, and to me , Joe’s is the definitive version. Echoes of “Christmas Eve ” in there somewhere, it seems to me.

Joe played this on the flute on his flute album, so forget that low B in the second part. Burke says he was reminded of it after forgetting it for years and years by Gabe O’Sullivan playing it on the Green Linnet record Joe and the Gabe, which is half Joe Heaney and half Gabe and all great. Gabe plays that bar DEDG G3A I think.

There seems to be a bit of confusion about the details for this tune. The two part ‘John Carty’s’ on Maiden Voyage, given as the source of it, is not the same as the three part John Carty’s on In Good Company. I am after the dots for the tune on the latter album. I realise that the details do not necessarily suggest that it is the same, but if you follow the links to In Good Company and then to the tune in the track list, you end up back at the wrong John Carty’s. Any ideas about another title for the three part tune in question? Otherwise, I’ll just have to learn it by ear I suppose.

https://thesession.org/tunes/1846

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlKmydbqmnQ

play video

By the way, this is not Mossy Banks: https://thesession.org/tunes/1846

If it ‘sounds’ too fast, then it likely means you haven’t quite got control of it rhythmically, which gives the impression of being too fast, because in a sense it is, for the person playing it. Fluctuating tempo also adds to that impression of something being too fast, again, lack of control. There is evident skill, but it comes off clumsy when it can’t keep within a steady beat and falls either side of that, or across it. The tempo does fluctuate ~ several times up and down. Maybe it was the children in the background calling for attention that was causing you to lose it, eh? ~ that expression on your face!? 😉 You’re braver than me, better looking, but just about as bald…

Fluctuating tempo has always been my problem.

You’re awake! You should have had the children in the shot.

I like what I saw as far as ‘basics’, but there was a clearly percieved problem with rhythm… ‘Ornaments’ are there to help define that rhythm and phrasing, not to ride over it or muddy it, as can also happen. Lower the tempo to where you feel you have control, play the tune bare naked, then slowly add the ornaments in so they lift the rhythm, define it and the phrasing more clearly, like consonants in speech. The same should be true of any use of tongueing, it should serve to add interest, with intent, rather than just taken for granted or used as some do to cover up problems with their fingering. That too, fingering, like the bow, should be ‘rhythmic’ and should already be able to clearly articulate a melody before anything else is added, like tongueing, bow-work, or ornaments (the twiddly bits)… Sometimes all these things step on the rhythm instead of being in time with it and complementing it… That’s also the ‘dance’ in the music… These problems aren’t uncommon…

By the way, it was nice to see you, and to listen to your playing and watch your fingering. I did that with and without audio…

Best of health to you and yours and your music too ~ a friend ~ ‘c’

… at the local session.

For lack of a better word it’s one of these recent (?) composition that seem to loiter around(?) or tries to catch its own tail like dogs do

It’s not that recent - 1940s? compared to a lot of tunes. It’s also a really good tune. I like the way tunes like this loiter and catch their own tail in a cyclic way - the Blacksmith’s is another good example of that… trance-like.

K:Gmaj
cABA G3 B | AE~ E2 GEDG | cABA G2 ge |1 dBAc BGGB :|2 dBAc BGGE ||
|: DB,DE G3A | BABd edBe|1 dBde gage | dBAc BGGE :|2 dBde gage | dBAc BGGB ||

Added a setting as played by Gabriel O’Sullivan on the flute.

I find that 8ve shifts at the beginnings of bars 9 and 13 pretty cool; sometimes he also shifts one or two pickup notes from the previous bar, like
… dBAd BGge|
dcde g2GA| …

…on Yvonne Casey’s record…and it’s awesome.

Ofter play this single reel in session, but I din’t know name and origin till hearing this recordings, https://youtu.be/14MFdUzDHrg (with Rio and Lady Anne Montgomery). Here it is called “Jack Coughlan’s”

play video

Mike Rafferty evokes Jack Coughlan as one of his early source of inspiration, especially when Jack played with Aggie (you can hear both of them playing together on the double cd album “Aggie Whyte”, disc 2 track 10).
http://www.irishfluteguide.info/mike-rafferty-interview-5/