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Andyrhydycreuau - Posted - 05/31/2024: 10:58:51
The TOTW this week is an Irish fiddle tune with lots of different names. The most common seem to be The Merry Blacksmith, An Gabha Meadrac in Irish (translates as just The Blacksmith) The Boys of the Lough, and Paddy on the Railway, but there are lots more. Tunearch website has all of them.
tunearch.org/wiki/Merry_Blacksmith_(The)
It's usually played in D major but I've found a few versions in A major. I have a tab in A major - see below. My version is in standard G tuning, but you could obviously put a capo on the second fret to get it to A.
youtu.be/MWnUSgTUr94?feature=shared
Paddy on the Railway Patrick Murphy
youtu.be/zOCNUVSldlY?si=r2iJQz90B6Pk5ZO7
This link from "The Fiddlers Way" is a "play along" which starts slow, getting faster each time through.
Tune historians have found this in written collections from the late 1800s, and recordings first show up in the 19teens and 1920s.
youtu.be/ka79YYlviq0?si=JpcRER_aKAEwqlWr
County Sligo/New York fiddler Michael Coleman recorded a version of this tune in 1921 as this second tune in this medley entitled "The Boys of the Lough."
youtu.be/xsz8B21CmWE?si=66BFPb6EKrONmLtB
Here's a fabulous tenor banjo version from Shane Farrell to give a banjo flavour to the proceedings.
There aren't many clawhammer versions out there, but one here from @zachwil on YouTube
youtu.be/jXUokktUeOU?si=pSjc8IkQklmHky5Nyoutu.be/jXUokktUeOU?si=pSjc8IkQklmHky5N
This one is a really nice version played in double D tuning by Steve Rosen of Rose banjo.com with Aodan Coyne on guitar.
youtu.be/dqBrEjBo9OQ?si=9BYsfzeRStAKo_n0
I have a version in standard G,
and a version in double C.
Tabs for both are included.
Have fun, post your versions please!
JanetB - Posted - 06/01/2024: 12:20:02
Good choice, Andy, and so thorough in your presentation -- A+ for you!
I know this tune, but somehow haven't gotten around to playing it for decades. So I used a resource I used to have the book for -- Francis O'Neill's Music of Ireland. On-line you can purchase a complete set of the 1800 tunes with notation as well as midi files, so I used the midi today.
The Merry Blacksmith is an exercise in double thumbing, pull-offs, and hammer-ons. This new tab is similar to yours, Andy, in double C.
On a side note, my son, Ben, is a certified journeyman farrier and attends blacksmithing competitions. Two years ago he won the buckle for his division. The trade of blacksmithing is still quite alive and well. Ben has also been our volunteer town blacksmith at Smartsville's annual Pioneer Day and makes items other than horse shoes from the red hot steel heated in the forge and pounded upon the anvil. Exploring artistic possibilities goes beyond the normal vocation of horse shoeing, but what nice keepsakes they make for Mom -- roses, picture frames, a sea horse, a business card holder, and a bottle cap opener.
Andyrhydycreuau - Posted - 06/01/2024: 13:07:13
quote:
Originally posted by JanetBGood choice, Andy, and so thorough in your presentation -- A+ for you!
I know this tune, but somehow haven't gotten around to playing it for decades. So I used a resource I used to have the book for -- Francis O'Neill's Music of Ireland. On-line you can purchase a complete set of the 1800 tunes with notation as well as midi files, so I used the midi today.
The Merry Blacksmith is an exercise in double thumbing, pull-offs, and hammer-ons. This new tab is similar to yours, Andy, in double C.
On a side note, my son, Ben, is a certified journeyman farrier and attends blacksmithing competitions. Two years ago he won the buckle for his division. The trade of blacksmithing is still quite alive and well. Ben has also been our volunteer town blacksmith at Smartsville's annual Pioneer Day and makes items other than horse shoes from the red hot steel heated in the forge and pounded upon the anvil. Exploring artistic possibilities goes beyond the normal vocation of horse shoeing, but what nice keepsakes they make for Mom -- roses, picture frames, a sea horse, a business card holder, and a bottle cap opener.
That's lovely playing Janet, thanks for sharing it.
I have a cousin in Wisconsin, not sure where to be honest.
It's good the old artisan trades keep going. Horses need shoes for sure, but the smithing on top must make for a better living and more creativity!
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