Jack Daniels’ reel

This is most likely to be either a Scottish or Cape Breton tune judging by the scale it uses. It is in A major despite there only being one g and that being natural. It’s a common misconception that GHB/smallpipes tunes are all in A mix (or Bb mix). They play A major tunes by missing out g altogether. The g in this tune is just a passing note and may by played as a sharp if pipes are not involved but I’ve submitted it as I learned it. I got the tune from fiddler Farquhar MacDonald.

I’m afraid I don’t know if it’s a modern composition or a traditional tune.

Writen by the late John Morris Rankin, Cape Breton

Although there are many ‘true’ mixolydian pipe tunes there are also quite a number which are played as major on other instruments because that is what they ‘really’ want to be, and they are only mixolydian when the player doesn’t have the option of a G#. This is just one of them.

They are only (usually) mixolydian if you use the G of course. If you don’t use the G then it can be either, (or if you use it as a passing note like in this tune) in the same way pipes play dorian/minor by leaving out the third, c#.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znqZhiTqt-8

play video

This tune appears the Limehill Set as the 3rd tune at 1:46.

The setting is same key and similar to the dots.

Great clip, thanks for that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlji9V0883w

play video

this performance, by katie boyle, was shared by palethinboy on another thread, and it’s a fine illustration of variant settings. she somehow almost leaches out the ‘tuney-ness’ of it, for a savagely exhuberant rhythmic … ok, words fail. i learnt my setting from a recording titled _Party Acadien_, many of whose players went on to become the group Barachois, from Prince Edward Island, and it stays closer to the composer’s setting of the tune. But this one (it’s the 3rd reel of 3) is fantastic!

Aye, a good rendition that ‘tinamatt.