LyleK - Posted - 03/13/2014:  20:47:58

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men..."

I had fully intended to do a Missouri tune this week, and more specifically "South Missouri."  But I made the "mistake" of reading some BHO threads that got me thinking in other directions.  One of the main threads was Schlange's (banjohangout.org/topic/280528), which got me thinking about alternate tunings.  So I decided I would do a "tunings of the week," and in this specific case gDGDE, gEADE, gDGBD, and aDADE.  But there is a tune here, which is:

OYSTER RIVER HORNPIPE

This tune was in the repertoire of Lotus Dickey and there are some excellent recordings of him playing it.  In particular, go to the first tune at oldtownschool.org/connect/fidd...s-dickey/.  The recording starts with Dickey explaining that he learned the tune from his brother who got it in the mid 1920s from a published collection of fiddle tunes purchased from Sears Roebuck.  This was likely "Ryan's Mammoth Collection."  There's another nice recording of Dickey playing Oyster River Hornpipe in a medley at  the Indiana Fiddler's Gathering in 1982 (last *.mp3 at oldtownschool.org/connect/fidd...e-or-two/)

But wait, there's more:

Oyster River Hornpipe predates "Ryan's Mammoth Collection," which was first published in 1883, by about 100 years.  Its first appearance is apparently in John (?) Treat's "Gamut for the Fifes" which dates to 1779.  The tune is a standard in the fife world, where the A part is in the key of G while the B part is in the key of D (in the fiddle world the tune is entirely in the key of G).  For fife versions try:

youtube.com/watch?v=em-7V1Bh3r...C8FBAF02B

youtube.com/watch?v=iO2lONko9Wk

youtube.com/watch?v=t1alo6p785I (from 1:39 to the end)

youtube.com/watch?v=pUY5GeQQK8Q (from :39 to 1:17)

And before we get to the tunings, general thought is that the "Oyster River" in the title is a reference to the Oyster River that flows through Durham, NH (site of the Oyster River Massacre of 1694).

Now for tunings.  First, let's presume we're dealing with the fiddle version which is all in the key of G.  

gDGBD tuning would be the obvious choice, but I maintain that in choosing this tuning you are actually making more work for yourself.  If you stick to the low register for the B part it is pretty straightforward, but if you want to play the B part up where it "belongs" about the only choice you have is to use fingerings such as one would find in melodic three finger picking (see the tab below).

gDGDE or gEADE tunings remove the problems inherent in gDGBD tuning for playing the high B part.

aDADE works best if we return to the fife world and want to play the A part in G and the B part in D.

The *.mp3s and tabs are below.  And if you want to take my advice, don't use gDGBD tuning for this tune.  

Edited by - LyleK on 03/14/2014 04:24:07

gDGDE	gEADE	gDGBD high	gDGBD low
aDADE	Oyster River Hornpipe (gEADE)	Oyster River Hornpipe (aDADE)	Oyster River Hornpipe (gDGBD)
Oyster River Hornpipe (gDGBD high)	Oyster River Hornpipe (gDGDE)

JanetB - Posted - 03/14/2014:  06:22:11

Lyle, you've given us interesting choices and new ideas here.  The first thing after listening to your links and wonderful recordings was to look up some of the history behind the tune.  Here's the wickipedia link: 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Oyster_River

A site with this photo of Lotus Dickey (1911 - 1989) had some information on him, but perhaps someone else could find more information for those of us who aren't familiar with this Indiana fiddler.

And next, to choose how and from what source to learn this tune.  Thanks for a thoughtful TOTW!

Edited by - JanetB on 03/14/2014 06:29:41

Davehammer - Posted - 03/14/2014:  08:13:28

Thank you!
I've just started getting into gDGDE and I like this tune.

bhniko - Posted - 03/15/2014:  09:06:14

What a terrific post. After playing through all of the songs three times it is still hard to pcik a favorite tuning.

Thanks to you and Janet for your posts...and of course...to your banjos.

JanetB - Posted - 03/17/2014:  06:28:59

This has been a most interesting study, Lyle.  I like your versions and tabs with their many tuning choices.  I chose to arrange one based on the fiddling from the Breaking Up Winter recording.  I'm playing on a Gold Tone cello banjo tuned dADF#A and coincidentally it's in the same key as the fife in the links above. 

What was really interesting was to hear the fifer's march complete with drums and compare that to Lotus Dickey's excellent fiddling.  Ever since getting Samuel Bayard's book Dance to the Fiddle and March to the Fife I've been curious about how these two instruments sound playing the same tune.   This is the first comparison I've heard.

Oyster River Hornpipe (CB)--TOTW

LyleK - Posted - 03/17/2014:  07:10:59

Wow, that was gorgeous Janet!  

And now aside from envying your playing I'm also envious that you were able to find a copy of Bayard's book (see my "thread killing" [apparently] comment on Erich's post about Bayard's field recordings - banjohangout.org/topic/279703).

People might have already come across this before, but there are a lot of fife manuals and tunes (in muscical notation or abc) at fifedrum.org/resources/

Edited by - LyleK on 03/17/2014 07:13:25

bob sears - Posted - 03/17/2014:  10:07:44

Thanks to LyleK and JanetB for the tabs and recordings of this song. They all sound good. And knowing some of the history always makes the old time music more interesting. There are quite a few on this sight who do a lot to help us novices. Thank you all.

Nita - Posted - 03/17/2014:  15:36:34

Thanks! You put a considerable effort into that posting; and it's great that you've put so much thought into alternative tunings, and provided examples. Also, that you chose a Midwestern fiddler; and gave us all those fife examples. I never even thought about fife before, and how important the marching bands were. Well, only a shadow of a thought. - Great TOTW!

Beachbum Scott - Posted - 03/17/2014:  18:07:51

Awesome job on this TOTW!!! Way to think out of the box for sure.

About that tune "South Missouri" here are a couple threads I started awhile back if anyone is intrested...

banjohangout.org/archive/260533

banjohangout.org/archive/264501

tomberghan - Posted - 03/18/2014:  18:22:19

Very cool!  Thanks Lyle!

jeffs - Posted - 03/19/2014:  18:08:12

Nice tune. If you ask for it in jam you might get a third part (more or less in D).

vrteach - Posted - 03/22/2014:  09:17:56

I had to respond, partially because one of my favorite tunes also has the word "oyster" in it. Also because because during part of the week that this was the tune of, I was living in a motel in Knoxville, TN. LyleK was for many years a resident of Knoxville. I brought my banjo along with me with the plan to do a number of versions--but I watched movies instead.

So I'm back in my office on the weekend catching up with email. Instead of catching up with email, I decided to record a version of me playing along with the first Lotus Dickey link that Lyle lists in his post. What I'm playing works OK as an accompaniment, but I don't think that I'd let it stand by itself. I'm in gDGBD, which I have to say works just fine for me. It's a fun tune, and I particularly enjoy Janet's version.

Oyster River Hornpipe