Bagpipe march

For the little time I had the pleasure the Byrnes brothers and I did as much laughing as making music and dancing with invisible others…

This can also serve as a plea, as another recording I never managed to chase up, long unavailable, that features these two lovely gentleme was:

“Francie & Mickey Byrne: Ceol Na DTéad”
https://thesession.org/recordings/3083

It some generous soul out there has this, and is not looking to give me stick for my many infractions and my curiously wired brain, and would like to enrich my life further with a CD of this ~ it would be well recieved… Besides, I didn’t get anything for my birthday this year… 🙁

https://thesession.org/recordings/274
10.) Bagpipe March ~ Francie Byrne

Here are just a few comments from the notes to this lovely recording:

Francie plays this unusual piece in the third position throughout, which enables him to produce a striking imitation of the highland bagpipes by use of various drone techniques. ~

That piping exerted an influence on fiddling is suggested by the frequent use of a dron effect and other ornamentation. In fact, some fiddlers would tune the third (D) string down so that it sounded a full octave lower than the second (A) string, and then play tunes on the second string alone - by no means easy -- while sounding a constant drone. ~

This recording contains some of the best fiddle music you are likely to hear. ~ Dermot McLaughlin

Ditto on that last comment… This is a favourite of mine and I’ve got it in all three forms ~ LP, cassette and CD, and I’ve given a few out as gifts…

I haven’t got my Scottish sources on hand, or at least they are limited, so I haven’t managed to find a name for this yet, but it is familiar, beyond just Francie’s playing of it.

X: 1
T: Bagpipe March
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: march
N: an octave down from Francie’s playing
K: Dmix
A3 c B/c/B GB | A2 D2 D3 B | AGFE DEFG | A4- AGFG |
A/B/A- Ac B/c/B GB | A2 D2 D2 A2 | GFED CDEF | G4 F2 G2 |
A3 c B/c/B GB | A2 D2 D3 B | AGFE DEFG | A4- AGFG |
A2 c2 B/c/B GB | A2 F2 A/B/A- A2 | GFED CDEF G4 F2 E/F/E ||
D2 d2 A2 d2 | A/B/A D2 D4 | D2 d2 DEFG | A/B/A AB AGFE |
D2 d2 A2 d2 | A2 DD A4 | GFED CDEF | G4 F2 E/F/E |
D2 d2 AA d2 | AA D2 D4 | D2 d2 DEFG | A6 Bc |
dcBd cBAc | B/c/B G2 A/B/A- A2 | GFED CDEF | G4 F2 E/F/E ||
D3 E F2 D2 | A2 D2 F2 D/E/D | A3 B AFDF | A3 B AGFE |
D3 E F2 D/E/D | A2 D2 F2 D2 | G3 G GECE | G3 G GECE |
D3 E F2 D2 | A2 D2 F2 D/E/D | A3 B AFDF | A4 A2 Bc |
dcBd cBAc | B/c/B G2 A/B/A- A2 | GFED CDEF | G4 F2 E/F/E ||
D2 d2 A2 d2 | A2 D2 D4 | D2 d2 DEFG | A3 B AGFE |
D2 d2 A2 d2 | A2 D2 A4 | GFED CDEF | G4 F2 E/F/E |
D2 d2 AA d2 | AA D2 D4 | D2 d2 DEFG | A6 Bc |
dcBd cBAc | B/c/B G2 A/B/A- A2 | GFED CDEF | G4 d4 |]

Another comfortable place to take this melody…

Here’s that tune set in A Mixolydian. It might help identify the pipe tune that is the source. It sounds to me like a big 2/4 march that’s been rounded out to 4/4. I’m also imagining a birl on those A quarter notes in the B part.

X:1
T:Bagpipe March
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:AMix
e3 g f/g/f df | e2 A2 A3 f | edcB ABcd | e4- edcd |
e/f/e- eg f/g/f df | e2 A2 A2 e2 | dcBA GABc | d4 c2 d2 |
e3 g f/g/f df | e2 A2 A3 f | edcB ABcd | e4- edcd |
e2 g2 f/g/f df | e2 c2 e/f/e- e2 | dcBA GABc | d4 c2 B/c/B ||
A2 a2 e2 a2 | e/f/e A2 A4 | A2 a2 ABcd | e/f/e ef edcB |
A2 a2 e2 a2 | e2 AA e4 | dcBA GABc | d4 c2 B/c/B |
A2 a2 ee a2 | ee A2 A4 | A2 a2 ABcd | e6 fg |
agfa gfeg | f/g/f d2 e/f/e- e2 | dcBA GABc | d4 c2 B/c/B ||
A3 B c2 A2 | e2 A2 c2 A/B/A | e3 f ecAc | e3 f edcB |
A3 B c2 A/B/A | e2 A2 c2 A2 | d3 d dBGB | d3 d dBGB |
A3 B c2 A2 | e2 A2 c2 A/B/A | e3 f ecAc | e4 e2 fg |
agfa gfeg | f/g/f d2 e/f/e- e2 | dcBA GABc | d4 c2 B/c/B ||
A2 a2 e2 a2 | e2 A2 A4 | A2 a2 ABcd | e3 f edcB |
A2 a2 e2 a2 | e2 A2 e4 | dcBA GABc | d4 c2 B/c/B |
A2 a2 ee a2 | ee A2 A4 | A2 a2 ABcd | e6 fg |
agfa gfeg | f/g/f d2 e/f/e- e2 | dcBA GABc | d4 a4 |]

Thanks Malcomb, much appreciated…

Doesn’t sound like anything modern. I’m going to stick my neck out and suggest this is a relic of the long variation set tradition (the real one, not the Victorian invention).

Just re-discovered this thread. There are echoes of Bonnie Anne in this tune.

Tell us more, make a link?

Malcomb, I think I’d take your A Mix transcription with lead-ins, like so, and to help those that might be more used to such things in 2/4, here goes:

K: Amix

M: 2/24
B/4c/4B/ |\
e>g f/4g/4f/d/f/ | eA A>f | e/d/c/B/ A/B/c/d/ | e2- e/d/c/d/ |
e/4f/4e/-e/g/ f/4g/4f/ d/f/ | eA Ae | d/c/B/A/ G/A/B/c/ | d2 cd |
e>g f/g/f df | eA A>f | e/d/c/B/ A/B/c/d/ | e2- e/d/c/d/ |
eg f/4g/4f/d/f/ | ec e/4f/4e/-e | d/c/B/A/ G/A/B/c/ | d2 c ||
B/4c/4B/ |\
Aa ea | e/f/e AA2 | Aa A/B/c/d/ | e/4f/4e/e/f/ e/d/c/B/ |
Aa ea | eA/A/ e2 | d/c/B/A/ G/A/B/c/ | d2 cB/4c/4B/ |
Aa e/e/a | e/e/A A2 | Aa A/B/c/d/ | e2- ef/g/ |
a/g/f/a/ g/f/e/g/ | f/4g/4f/d e/4f/4e/-e | d/c/B/A/ G/A/B/c/ | d2 c ||
B/4c/4B/ |\
A>B cA | eA c/A/4B/4A/ | e>f e/c/A/c/ | e>f e/d/c/B/ |
A>B cA/4B/4A/ | eA cA | d>d d/B/G/B/ | d>d d/B/G/B/ |
A>B cA | eA c/A/4B/4A/ | e>f e/c/A/c/ | e2 ef/g/ |
a/g/f/a/ g/f/e/g/ | f/4g/4f/d e/4f/4e/-e | d/c/B/A/ G/A/B/c/ | d2 c ||
B/4c/4B/ |\
Aa ea | eA A2 | Aa A/B/c/d/ | e>f e/d/c/B/ |
Aa ea | eA e2 | dcBA GABc | d2 cB/c/B |
Aa e/e/a | e/e/A A2 | Aa A/B/c/d/ | e2- ef/g/ |
a/g/f/a/ g/f/e/g/ | f/4g/4f/d e/4f/4e/-e | d/c/B/A/ G/A/B/c/ | d2 a |]

I’ll give it more time later and try to iron out the /4s and bring it back down to something simpler for comparison… For now, it’s time to go stomping around out in the rain. 😉

Listening to the Byrne setting…

https://thesession.org/recordings/1529