The Rambling Pitchfork jig

Here’s a lovely tune that sounds nice when it’s played with a “lilting” feeling.

The setting of the tune here includes a few slight variations on the melody. Compare the first four bars to the next four. Some of the longer notes have been replaced with triplets.

To give this tune a nice lilt, try sliding up to the long notes. This works especially well on the opening F in the first part, and the opening D of the second part.

If you’re playing the fiddle or banjo, keep your finger on the F for the first few bars, and use cross bowing/picking. This is a technique that is more often used in reels, “The Mountain Road” for example.

Key signature: D minor & 4-part
Submitted on January 1st 2004 by Christopher Reynolds.
https://thesession.org/tunes/2329

Here’s a different setting of the tune called “Roland’s U-Turn”. I transcribed it from the “Late In the Night” CD , live at O’Conner’s in Doolin. It’s a really nice version…has some extra flare…

X: 1
T: Roland’s U-Turn
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
Q: 1/8 = 400
R: jig
K: Fmaj
F2F AGF | cAG AGF | G2G A2B | d2d cAG|
F2F AGF | cAG AGF | G2A BAG | AFD D3 :|
|: ~f3 fcF | FAc fcA | G2G A2B | d2d cAG |
|[1 ~f3 fcF | FAc fcA | G2A BAG | AFD D3 :|
|[2 fef gfg | afd cAF | G2A BAG | AFD D3 ||
|| d2e fed | ede A=B^c | d2e fed | g2g gec |
| d2e fed | ede A2=B | G2A BAG | AFD D3 ||
|| d2e fed | ede A=B^c | d2e fed | afa def |
| afd gec| fed cAF | G2A BAG | AFD D3 ||

to be heard on one of BattlefieldBand’s albums (‘wae’s me… ’ or ‘there is a buzz’ perhaps)

X: 3
T: The Rambling Pitchfork
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: D Major
|: E |\
F3 AFF | dFF AFD | GFG ABc | ded cAG |
FAF AFF | dFF AFD | GFG BAB | AFD D2 :|
|: A |\
d2 e fed | ecA AFA | dcd efg | faf gfe |
[1 dcd fed | ecA AGF | GFG BAB | AFD D2 :|
[2 a2 f gfe | fed ecA | GFG BAB | AFD D2 |]

Michael Dunn is likely the current longest serving and oldest Irish fiddler in Lancashire, a great character, good craic…

Anyone know where this tune is called “The flat skulled monkey”? I’m not disputing it as a name, I always love to see the Gaelic originals (or translations) for tunes, it’s just a very unusual one.

Key signature: d minor
Submitted on August 2nd 2008 by ceolachan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/8777

& a different take ~

“Roland’s Return”
Key signature: F Major (d minor)
Submitted on April 6th 2007 by joesmith.
https://thesession.org/tunes/7046

For another comparison to these see “Roland’s U-Turn” above…

I heard a longer version of this song that actually starts in E dorian with irish bagpipes playing a D drone…

Recorded by Felix Doran in 1949:

http://www.archive.org/details
/FelixDoranDoransFancyTheRamblingPitchfork

love this tune 🙂 🙂
a little video of me and a few friends from around the world at our ‘online session’…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH3RAmE_ZW8

play video

Setting 4 is from Mary Custy and Stephen Flaherty’s CD “After 10:30”. They play it in C, but I’ve put it in D. Mary has a more standard setting in the sheet music and ABC on her teaching website, but you can hear her recording of it on the same page: http://www.marycustymusicschool.com/#!blog/c1hby . The first jig in the set is the Caherlistrane jig thesession.org/tunes/3006 .

X:5 from Johnny Doran’s piping.

O’Neill’s DMI has the Rambling Pitchfork in a slightly different setting in DMaj under the name of “The Fisherman’s Widow”

Piping version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY0Hw1Xpd-0

play video

And a more session common version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTINGORJWjo

play video

“The Farmer’s Frolic” a song by Gaelic Storm from their album “Gaelic Storm”, 1998.

Sounds awfully like a “variation” on The Rambling Pitchfork - https://thesession.org/tunes/89

Wow yeah, indeed it does

Rambling pitchfork definitelly as Matt mentioned

Taken from ‘A Fine Selection of Over 200 Irish Traditional Tunes for Sessions’, compiled by David Speers with a Forward by Matt Cranitch. I like this version with the descending notes in the second time through the ‘b’ tune.

From the playing of The Irish Descendants, with subtle differences from X1.

Michael Flatley
Track: Wild Horses
Album: On a Different Note
This is a really cool version of this tune. Michael overblows the half beat in every bar to create an amazing rythmic pulse to the tune. The second verse also has a beautiful melody. You can listen to it free here. https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-a-different-note/424633648

Well, as there are already 11 settings, why not a 12th. From the Ballinakill Traditional Players’ 1931 recording.