Barbados Bells polka

This is a Scottish march (or perhaps a quickstep march). Transcription based on Finlay MacDonald’s playing of the tune.

Pipers/whistlers might prefer the fingering of the tune in Gmaj:

DE |: G2 G2 | A2 GA | B2 G2 | G2 AG |
E2 A2 | AB AG | F2 D2 | D2 DE |
G2 G2 | A2 GA | B2 AG | F2 ED |
E2 c2 | BA GF | G2-G2 |1 G2 DE :|2 G2 Bc ||
|: d2 G2 | G2 BG | c2 A2 | A2 Bc |
B2 E2 | E2 FG | AB AG | F2 ED |
d2 G2 | G2 BG | c2 A2 | A2 Bc |
B2 AG | A2 GE | G2-G2 |1 G2 Bc :|2 G2-G2 ||

I’ve been waiting for this tune to be here… I think this tune is really pretty, personally.

Thanks!

I heard this tune when Finlay was a guest on Radio Scotland’s "Pipelines" programme a few years back. He said it was a quickstep, and came from one of the Willie Ross collections. Don’t see the point in changing the key at all - what’s wrong with the original ?

Cracking tune. Usually played with the last 8 bars of the first part used as the repeat for the last 8 bars of the second.

@ Kenny: No reason to change it to G — that’s just how you would finger it.

ceolachan sent through this simpler take on my transcription (thanks c!)

|: AB | d2 d2 | e2 de | f2 d2 | d2 ed |
B2 e2 | ef ed | c2 A2 | A2 AB |
d2 d2 | e2 de | f2 ed | c2 BA |
B2 g2 | fe dc | d2-d2 | d2 :|
|: fg | a2 d2 | d2 fd | g2 e2 | e2 fg |
f2 B2 | B2 cd | ef ed | c2 BA |
a2 d2 | d2 fd | g2 e2 | e2 fg |
f2 ed | e2 dB | d2-d2 | d2 :|

This is one I would transcribe as 4/4 rather than 2/4 ~ this transcription is unchanged except for the time signature ~

X: 1
T: Barbados Bells
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: quickstep
K: Dmaj
|: AB |\
d2 d2 e2 de | f2 d2 d2 ed | B2 e2 efed | c2 A2 A2 AB |
d2 d2 e2 de | f2 ed c2 BA | B2 g2 fedc | d4 d2 :|
|: fg |\
a2 d2 d2 fd | g2 e2 e2 fg | f2 B2 B2 cd | efed c2 BA |
a2 d2 d2 fd | g2 e2 e2 fg | f2 ed e2 dB | d4 d2 :|

However, my want is to play AB as Ac or ce ~

K: Dmaj
|: Ac |\
d2 d2 e2 de | f2 d2 d2 ed | B2 e2 efed | c2 A2 A2 Ac |
d2 d2 e2 de | f2 ed c2 BA | B2 g2 fedc | d4 d2 :|
|: fg |\
a2 d2 d2 fd | g2 e2 e2 fg | f2 B2 B2 cd | efed c2 BA |
a2 d2 d2 fd | g2 e2 e2 fg | f2 ed e2 dc | d4 d2 :|

Quickstep ~ definitely 4/4…

From William Ross’s 1885 collection