The Snuff Wife jig

This is a popular traditional highland pipe reel. Picked it up from Leo McCanns’ album “If Anyone Can”

G lydian in the 1st 2 parts. Interesting tune!

Yes Dow you’re right. I didn’t see that very often, I know a tune tune from Liz Carroll which seems to have its 2nd part in E lydian, with the rest (1st part and end of 2nd) in E dor. That gives something really great… but I don’t have the name. I’d like to post it, but not with ‘Gan Ainm’ as a title.

Thanks for fulfilling my request! 🙂

But I can’t get the sense of this title (got a bad English)?… it seems strange to me 😏

Snuff is like tobacco you snort protz

The snuff wife … a powdered tobacco seller

Very interesting tune! I’ve rarely seen anything using the lydian mode, much less anything that sounded very good…

One of the best pipe-jigs ever, and one of my favourites,popularised, I’d say, by the “Battlefield Band”. The key changes really tie accompanists up in knots, in my experience.

I can’t see any reason to classify this as a B minor tune. There are grounds for G lydian and A mix in 1 & 2, and A mix and D maj in 3 & 4, depending on whether you hear the opening or closing passages as the modal centre.

Matt, the reason the tune is listed in B minor is because it has two sharps. The first two parts may be in G lydian but the last two are not. Any way you list the tune would be wrong. B minor was the best choice as it has the right amount of sharps. You can’t list a tune here in two keys.

https://thesession.org/tunes/8744

I know you can have tunes in two keys here but they have to be listed in one key here. It’s G lydian to Amix. ??? There is no G lydian choice here though. Maybe it would be better listed A mix? Any opinions?

Hi bogman - I don’t see it can be B-Min, as B is not the keynote. And even if it were, it would be the natural minor (rather than the harmonic minor), as the latter always includes accidentals.

I think that A-Mix would be a fair classification (certainly for the “A” part, although (as has already been noted) it could be argued that part of the “B” tune modulates into D-Major.

Heres a setting with some variation and grace notes.
X:1
T:The Snuff Wife
C:
R:Jig
M:6/8
Q:1/8=132
K:Amix
L:1/32
|: A4 | {Gdc}d8 c4 {g}B4{d}G4{e}B4 | {g}B4{d}G4{e}B4 {g}B4{d}G4{e}B4 | d8 c4 {g}B4{d}G4{e}B4 | {g}A4{d}A4{e}A4 c8 {G}A4 |
%
| {Gdc}d8 c4 {g}B4{d}G4{e}B4 | {g}B4{d}G4{e}B4 {g}B4c4d4 | {g}e8 d4 {g}c4B4c4 | {g}A4{d}A4{e}A4 {gcd}c8:|
|: {g}f4 | B8 d4 {g}d4c4d4 | {g}B4d4{G}d4 {g}G4d4{G}d4 | {g}c4A4c4 {g}B4G4B4 | {g}A4{d}A4{e}A4 c8 {G}A4 |
%
| B8 d4 {g}d4c4d4 | {g}B4d4{G}d4 {g}G4B4{G}B4 | {g}e8 d4 {g}c4B4c4 | {g}A4{d}A4{e}A4 {g}d8:|
|: {g}e4c4A4 {g}e4c4A4 | {g}e4c4A4 {g}e4c4e4 | {g}f4d4f4 {g}e4c4e4 | {g}d4{e}d4{G}d4 {g}f4e4d4 |
%
| {g}e4c4A4 {g}e4c4A4 | {g}e4c4A4 {g}e4f4g4 | {ag}a4g4f4 g4f4e4 | {g}d4{e}d4{G}d4 {g}f4e4d4:|
|: {g}e4f4g4 {f}g4f4g4 | {f}g4f4g4 {f}g4f4g4 | {a}f4d4f4 {g}e4c4e4 | {g}d4{e}d4{G}d4 {g}f4e4d4 |
%
| {g}e4f4g4 {f}g4f4g4 | {f}g4f4g4 {f}g4f4g4 | {ag}a4g4f4 g4f4e4 | {g}d4{e}d4{G}d4 {g}f4e4d4:|

why is this not A mixolydian? look at how all the phrases resolve…..

Who wrote this tune? Is it traditional? in which case where was it first printed ? Im looking for an old setting but its not under this name on Ceol sean… What other name might it be known by ?clues appreciated …

The earliest book it appears in under that name is, I believe, John Wilson’s book 1, published in 1937. No composer is mentioned.

Excellent , thanks Weejie , I will see what I can find .

This is fascinating; it really does move through different areas. Even the first bit though, has so much emphasis on moving toward D that it’s ambiguous (typical of less typical modes . . .). And it does;t give a clear ending either. Somebody could make mischief by messing with the chords. But i’ll just play the tune. That’s easier.

I could not find the rec. mentioned above, but I listened to An Lár (about whom I know nothing) on iTunes—they take advantage of the ending & blur into the next tune, like a turntablist. 🙂

I’d be curious to hear more info—

Please allow me to offer this with sincerity and humility, and absolutely without derision:

If you believe that it is important to spend more than about a quarter of a second of your life trying to determine whether the first two parts of The Snuff Wife are in G lydian, or B minor, or A mixolydian or D major or whatever, then I urge you to at least consider the possibility that you might not yet completely grasp Scottish music.

It’s not a transcription of a Coltrane solo. It’s not an exercise from one of the Hindemith texts. It’s The Snuff Wife. Don’t try to use a bar of soap to peel an apple.

For me, it’s usefull to know the harmony to accompany tunes (maybe because I am not a great player). Adding and listening to the 7e helps me to find tonality => all the chords you might play to accompany. (I often avoid to play the 7e)
Dmaj ## but tones G, A and Em from Dmaj => basic chords
part 1: chords I and II V from Glydian
G (7M) A(7) D(7M)…
part 2: same
part 3 : chords I, II and V from Amixolydian
A(7) D(7M) G…
part 4 : chords I and VII from E dorian
Em(7) D(7M) …

and after, I play all the other chords that I think sound good…

Second song of Cosmos Cascade medley, from the repertoire of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band

A few variations from The Navigators.

Response to posts above. Several of you are struggling with understanding pipe harmony/melody.

The whole tune is A mixolydian. This mode is dictated by the 9-note Scottish pipe scale G-A-B-C#-D-E-F#G-A.

The A and B parts start on the flat VII (G chord), resolving in A every two bars. Using the same 9-note mixolydian scale, the C and D parts describe a major scale (Ionian) in D.

The A and B parts clearly describe an A7 sonority, with a lower neighbor G sonority resolving in A. The C and D parts outline D major. The first two bars of each line are clearly A7 harmony, which resolve in D.

This is a masterwork. I wish I could give a medal to the author. The tune is beautiful and ingenious.

Also from the playing of The Navigators.

https://youtu.be/z9Zv2DtsLqk

play video

From the playing of Gavin Marwick & Jonny Hardie.

From the playing of Celine Donoghue.