Thursday, September 8, 2011

Tune of the Week: Cooley's Reel

So, every week or so at my fiddle lesson I work on a new tune.  The one I am working on this week is called Cooley's Reel.  This is tune is in the key of B minor.  This is a plain version of Cooley's Reel which is actually in E minor with accidental C's.    
Cooley's sheetmusic  
Joe Cooley was a distinguished button accordion (blah) player from County Clare (in Ireland) and this tune was named after him.  It is a popular tune among traditional fiddlers.  



Something I am working into this tune are two ornamentations : the grace note and the turn.
The grace note is another way of adding emphasis and is indicated in written music by a smaller note preceding the note being graced.


The turn is particularly important in jig playing, this turns three quavers, either separate or slurred, into 5 notes. For example, take a single B note (1st finger, A string), lasting half a bar of 6/8, ie a dotted crotchet. This could be split into five notes; BC#BAB, all slurred together. The five notes can be given equal length, or there may be more stress on  the first one. 
Here is a version of Cooley's Reel with some added ornamentation.
 
In the B part you can see what looks like a sideways "S".  That is the indication to do a turn.  I like to do a grace note cut, which is simply a grace note that cuts between two of the same notes, between the two B eighth notes in the 1st measure, and likewise in the 5th measure (the grace note in these cases would be a D).
Here is Cooley's Reel on a tin whistle.... I couldn't find one I liked with a fiddle.  So I settled for second best...  :P






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