It's been recorded by Bobby Casey, The Chieftains, Danú, Randal Bays, and many others. Gerry O'Connor's No Place Like Home showcases this tune beautifully on banjo. Here's a video of Gerry playing the tune:
Sorry I haven't contributed for a couple of weeks. Very busy with three commissions from Mel Bay, all for guitar, and all in DADGAD tuning. One is of Blues, another of Classical tunes, the other is "Celtic", and includes Banish Misfortune. So, I know it on guitar, but shouldn't upload that here.
Other news - my Deering Eagle II tenor banjo arrived yesterday. It's magnificent, but I have hardly had more than a moment on it. That will change. I opted for open back this time, and am glad I did.
Sorry I haven't contributed for a couple of weeks. Very busy with three commissions from Mel Bay, all for guitar, and all in DADGAD tuning. One is of Blues, another of Classical tunes, the other is "Celtic", and includes Banish Misfortune. So, I know it on guitar, but shouldn't upload that here.
Other news - my Deering Eagle II tenor banjo arrived yesterday. It's magnificent, but I have hardly had more than a moment on it. That will change. I opted for open back this time, and am glad I did.
I don't have time to play in sessions, so just play for myself, family and students. Therefore I don't need maximum volume. Also, I appreciate the lighter weight. Another advantage is that when the neck of the instrument is pointed away from me at 30 degrees or so, I can hear the sound coming out of the back much better.
I don't have time to play in sessions, so just play for myself, family and students. Therefore I don't need maximum volume. Also, I appreciate the lighter weight. Another advantage is that when the neck of the instrument is pointed away from me at 30 degrees or so, I can hear the sound coming out of the back much better.
I was inspired to learn this tune after watching a different video of Gerry playing it a few months back. I'm inspired by how he keeps the tune fresh by continually playing each section differently every time.
He starts off by what sounds like bending the first note up into the second. Is that what I'm actually hearing? I can bend that note but not all the way up into the next.
Back in the '90s I recorded a beginner-intermediate version of 'Banish Misfortune' in a medley (second tune) for Complete Book of Irish & Celtic 5-String Banjo. Nowadays I tend to use other fretting-hand decorations, though I sometimes bend into the second note, either sliding or bending up to it. Today I use more picking-hand variations, e.g., trebles in the first two measures of the C-part where crotchets (quarter notes) occur.
I still use the same overall melodic contour, though I had forgotten about combining this tune with the 'Kesh Jig' (It's okay, and one could add another tune.) For Varnish Meforeskin the tempo could vary greatly depending on where and with whom one is playing it. Tin whistlers tend to take this tune pretty fast, but then, whistle players tend to play a lot of tunes really fast.
Uilleann piper Noel Carberry from Derrahawn, Co. Longford, first cousin to Angelina Carberry, for a laugh, likes to pick up his whistle, rolling his eyes and imitating a drunken traveller, playing this tune as badly as possible, rapidly speeding up and playing skittery things, over-ornamenting, bending notes, and just doing horrible things to the tune.
It makes for great comic relief at a session that suffers from overly serious attitudes or unfriendly long faces, and it's hysterical every time he does it (even on the same night).
Thanks to Mel Bay Publications Inc. for letting me upload this tune on BHO for teaching and demonstration purposes. I know I don't normally take it this fast anymore, and it's good stock tune that everyone knows and can enjoy without one-upmanship at a session.
About Gerry O'Connor's take in this particular version of Banish Misfortune:
Wow, notice the intervallic variation, not just the melismatic and triplety rhythmic variations. Gerry keeps the melodic contour while playing different notes than one would otherwise normally expect to hear. That's the living tradition in action, a player improvising within implicit parameters, and keeping the listener's interest in a stock tune.
Rob, I've ordered an open back Ome. John Carty uses one and he says it is loud as you want it to be.
Wayne
quote:
Originally posted by Rob MacKillop
quote:
Originally posted by captbanjo
Curious Rob, why are you glad it's open backed?
Wayne
I don't have time to play in sessions, so just play for myself, family and students. Therefore I don't need maximum volume. Also, I appreciate the lighter weight. Another advantage is that when the neck of the instrument is pointed away from me at 30 degrees or so, I can hear the sound coming out of the back much better.
I always liked " Banish Misfortune " Kind of a crooked , twisty tune in a way .... have't played Irish music out here since I moved to the Ozarks , but I want to pick it up again ... I play banjos with thumb-strings these days ...
All of these Irish tunes would make great subjects for intricate banjo arrangements , I hear all kinds of possibilites for Irish banjo sounds in my head ... but I can only kind of do the straight melody if Im just picking up the banjo and winging it , like at a jam ... here I am having a jam-like go at " Banish Misfortune "
Feo, honestly I didn't like it, at first, but that was me being a purest. I continued to listen and it really enjoyed your version of this tune. I found myself thinking I could really enjoy listening to this on the porch at my cabin just relaxing and enjoying nature. I don't think I can say that for many Irish dance tunes, just not what they are meant for, and that is probably what I listen to more than any other music. So, thanks for posting and expanding my musical tunnel vision.
Feo, honestly I didn't like it, at first, but that was me being a purest. I continued to listen and it really enjoyed your version of this tune. I found myself thinking I could really enjoy listening to this on the porch at my cabin just relaxing and enjoying nature. I don't think I can say that for many Irish dance tunes, just not what they are meant for, and that is probably what I listen to more than any other music. So, thanks for posting and expanding my musical tunnel vision.
Thanks for the feedback ... I am so out of practice on the Irish tunes that I'm almost ashamed to post my playing them now .... I used to do the session thing , using my strings to imitate the wind instrument's versions of tunes ...but then I met a harper that I did some shows with and he cured my tunnel vision too ..... I was amazed by his harp playing , an instrument that I thought I didn't like...I actually gets lots of harp-inspired sounds in my head going when I pick up a banjo now ...only to fully implement those sounds I think may take some detailed and serious arranging to do it justice...I mean its a lot harder to wing the harp-inspired music , but I hope I live long enough to work some good Irish music out that way .... Its exciting and motivating for me to see an Irish banjo music section in the BHO now ... ok , I don't use tenors much these days ( hope us thumb-stringers don't get kicked out ), but still it is really nice to have a place to come to read about and discuss Irish banjo playing .
Well , most people would call a thumb-string banjo a 5 string banjo ...I guess I have my own strange terminology because I often think outside the box with my string tunings and banjo setups ... I don't go by other people's book writings and stuff ... I like to grab a bunch of different gauge strings and experiment with them.. I've got flea market banjos the size of a banjo- lin ,even though I don't tune it with 8 strings .. I may only tune it with 5 melody strings and make the 6 th string a thumb-string ... or I may take a 4-string banjo , tune 3 strings as melody strings and use a very light 4th thumb string ( instead of the bass string ) ... I go all the way up to a Pete Seeger Long necker and tune that down low .... generally though , mostly whatever banjo I play , I try to incorporate a thumb-string into the setup .... but I will keep my eyes open here and try to see what you guys come up with alternate tenor banjo tunings ... I like that ADad idea , because I already use that as one of my fiddle tunings :-)
I was just listening to that Gerry O'Conner clip at the top of the page ...his tenor banjo sounds like a REAL tenor banjo , without the floppy G string sound that I encountered while trying to tune my tenor GDae ( what I call mandolin style )
And he's capo'ed at the the first fret ! He's definitely doing something you don't normally encounter ... I don't have an instrument with me right now to check the key he's playing in ..... anyone know his tuning ?
I was just listening to that Gerry O'Conner clip at the top of the page ...his tenor banjo sounds like a REAL tenor banjo , without the floppy G string sound that I encountered while trying to tune my tenor GDae ( what I call mandolin style )
And he's capo'ed at the the first fret ! He's definitely doing something you don't normally encounter ... I don't have an instrument with me right now to check the key he's playing in ..... anyone know his tuning ?
Jimmy, he's tuned CGDA. His playing in Dmix scale with this tuning which would put him in the usual key this is played in but because he's capo'd at the first fret he's in Eb mix. If you capo at the first fret with GDAE and play it in the common Dmix scale you'll be in tune with him. Too high for my tastes - I prefer GDAE personally.
Jimmy, he's tuned CGDA. His playing in Dmix scale with this tuning which would put him in the usual key this is played in but because he's capo'd at the first fret he's in Eb mix. If you capo at the first fret with GDAE and play it in the common Dmix scale you'll be in tune with him. Too high for my tastes - I prefer GDAE personally.
It's not unusual for the Irish pros to go up one step for performance or recording as it sounds brighter. Angelina Carberry has at least one album tuned that way.
Banjo Judy Hynes - YouTube This is an old version of this tune, recorded no less than 3 times by pipers around a century ago. I took a stab at going into quadruplet time there, which is something musicians like Willie Clancy used to do.
Better late than never? Santa was nice to me this year and got me an audio technica pro 70 mic, a small clip on lav style mic that I've spent all morning playing with. Here is a quick recording of my version of Banish Misfortune on my hot-rodded Deering Goodtime tenor with that mic clipped onto the coordinator rod.
Yes Phil, it is December but that one came out in March!
Not sure how Rob feels, but in my opinion, these tunes should be up for interpretation any time at all....no time limit.
Good job and you sure took an original slant on this one. Two questions: why the half-step drop? I've noticed some pros such as Cathal Hayden and John Carty do this. There must be something they like in that tonal territory. Also, what did you use to make the percussion?
I love this rendition Phillip. Nice and clean/pure playing, right on tempo, with a real fun percussion back-up. All of these tunes remain open, forever accessible to added renditions. Thanks for doing just that!
Yes Phil, it is December but that one came out in March!
Not sure how Rob feels, but in my opinion, these tunes should be up for interpretation any time at all....no time limit.
Good job and you sure took an original slant on this one. Two questions: why the half-step drop? I've noticed some pros such as Cathal Hayden and John Carty do this. There must be something they like in that tonal territory. Also, what did you use to make the percussion?
Wayne
Oops! I saw it popping to the top a few days ago, did not realize it was from march..
I down tuned the banjo so I could place a capo on first fret to give me some wiggle room playing with my handicap. I forgot to put the capo back on and started playing, after playing in GDAE for a long time this just sounded different, new and refreshing.
The bodhran is a routine from youtube. I figured out how fast I was going to play the song and then searched on youtube a good bodhran pattern that went a little faster. I then slowed down the bodhran part by 10% to give it a more bass-like feeling.
