Mtngoat - Posted - 03/17/2023:  05:38:29

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Gaspe Reel  TOTW 03/17/2023

I’ve chosen Gaspe Reel for this installment of TOTW.   The Traditional Tune Archive says the tune is a “French-Canadian Reel named for Québec's picturesque Gaspé Peninsula, which forms the east bank of the St. Lawrence River as it spills into the Atlantic. The tune is usually played in D major with two parts but some performers add a third part in A major.  The third part is actually a strain from the Scottish reel "Money Musk."  The internet is silent on the tune’s origin or history.

I picked up a rudimentary two part version at a jam many years ago and, since Gaspe Reel is seldom heard in my local OT circles, I still rely on that same simple arrangement when it comes up again.  The videos below present more complex versions.

Here are some links to two part recordings:

maryzcox.com/track/1940371/gaspe-reel

soundcloud.com/hilary-dirlam

youtube.com/watch?v=a993_fpbz6s

youtube.com/watch?v=7nN0yRqveyw

youtube.com/watch?v=Mj716AAlI0g

Here are some links to three part versions:

youtube.com/watch?v=LrLTtlB2yWc

 youtube.com/watch?v=c_3_YeG9eL4

youtube.com/watch?v=q66B09jTLC4

I don’t recall ever hearing the three part version in an OT Jam, at least not in my neck of the woods.  Perhaps it has a regional distribution?  Comments addressing this question are invited.

Tabs can be found here:  banjomountain.com/melodic-claw...er-banjo/

And here:  clawhammerbanjotab.co.uk/page2...ge36.html

A transcription of the tune in standard notation is here:   mainefiddlecamp.org/gaspe-reel/

I was introduced to the wonderful traditional music of the Gaspe Peninsula while researching this tune.  Glenn Patterson, a Canadian fiddler and ethnomusicologist (and a fine banjo player as well) has been instrumental in documenting and recording the region’s artists and disseminating their music to a wider audience.  He and his collaborators have preserved many tunes and stories that would have otherwise been lost within a generation.   You can read more here:  canfolkmusic.ca/index.php/cfmb...d/666/651 and here: gaspesie.quebecheritageweb.com...st-part-1  and here:  gaspefiddle.blogspot.com/2010/

As always, readers are encouraged to post comments, performances, and tabs contributing to this thread.

Don Borchelt - Posted - 03/17/2023:  13:50:30

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A great choice for TOTW. 

This used to be a tune that my old pal, the late Ed Britt and I used to play all the time when we went busking. I went looking on my YouTube channel, and I was surprised that I had never made and posted a video of us playing it, but searching around my hard drive I found a raw video that I never edited and posted, from July, 2017. This was after Ed had begun exhibiting the systems of Alzheimers, but he was still able to play his banjo. So I edited it best I could, and just put it up. Playing fiddle with us in this video is my great friend John Maguire, who joined us in 2016, in part to help keep Ed safe when we went out. The sound quality is not the best, but I decided it was a memory worth sharing.

 

Mtngoat - Posted - 03/17/2023:  15:42:58

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Thanks Don.

Banjo memories are the best. I came into possession of a couple of banjos after long time jam mates passed and I can't pick them up without recalling my friends and all the good times we had. Their beings have infused the instruments.

I see that you play the two part version in Boston.

JanetB - Posted - 03/18/2023:  11:59:10

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Good to hear Gaspé Reel from Don and his friends! Having heard of the tune, but never tried it, TOTW has provided a good opportunity.  I liked hearing the many samples you gave and used two of them to put together a 3-part arrangement.  Hope you enjoy!

The PDF file with tab wouldn't load.  Here's a link for it:  Gaspé Reel clawhammer tab.

Bill H - Posted - 03/19/2023:  05:40:48

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Here's my take on Gaspe Reel. I have been learning to love these French Canadian tunes. They have such a happy bounce. 

Gaspe Reel tab

Mtngoat - Posted - 03/19/2023:  08:14:35

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Janet and Bill,

Thanks for the performances and tabs. I learned something from both posts. Janet's brush stroke into the melody note had not occurred to me before and Bill's drop thumb onto the forth string is also something new.

I had a notion that three part versions would be more likely in the northeast, closer to Quebec, and two part versions would be the norm in other parts of the country like California, That hasn't panned out.