John D - Posted - 01/03/2025:  07:52:25

The TOTW for 1/3/2025 is.....Whitefish in the Rapids. It's a Canadian tune from Ontario. The TradTuneArchive says this:



WHITE FISH IN THE RAPIDS. American, Canadian; Reel. USA, northern Michigan. Canada; Ontario, Cape Breton. B Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. "White Fish in the Rapids" is usually listed as "Trad." However, Paul Gifford remarks that this tune was supposedly written by Henry Thorne (1841-1928), “a part-Indian Civil War veteran who played for Henry Ford…. around Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, it was the real ‘local’ tune.” Paul also remarks that the Native Americans around the St. Mary’s River depended on the whitefish on the rapids for a major part of their sustenance.



See also the closely related tunes "Good for the Tongue" and "Jenkins' Hornpipe."



I first heard Whitefish in the Rapids from a post here on the Banjo Hangout about ten years ago. Here's the link:

banjohangout.org/archive/285794



I guess the tune is in B flat, but I don't do B flat, so I learned the tune in C (but lowered) from this sheet music:



hangoutstorage.com/banjohangou...62014.pdf





Maybe a dozen or so versions online. Here are a few:



youtube.com/watch?v=GtxSdIL1oDQ



youtube.com/watch?v=kAwWBB5wJXw



youtube.com/watch?v=OCarn5FT_qs



Here's my CH take:



banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=



It's a great tune, especially the B part.



John D

Edited by - John D on 01/04/2025 09:58:26

JanetB - Posted - 01/06/2025:  12:55:14

Nice tempo on yours, John.  I like how you got the flavor of the melody and plenty of clawhammer rhythm, too.  You've got the feel of those fish being carried by the strong current.

 I got tempted to listen to one of the videos and played along after slowing the youtube down.  It took me to a unique open Bb tuning fDFBbD (not find-able on the Anita Kermode tunings list on the Zepp music site even when adjusted to the key of C in gEGCE tuning).  At first, most of the notes were included on the tab, but for playability sake, some were later left off.  Canadian tunes are often notey, aren't they.  

My melodic take here is only one time through.  The fingering is foreign in this tuning and it would take more practice to be able to speed up.  After all, rapids on a river implies speed.  And you're right --  that B part is fun to hear while imagining the whitewater. 

Whitefish in the Rapids--TOTW

Whitefish in the Rapids (CH) tab

wsharp - Posted - 01/16/2025:  14:13:53

Is anyone playing this out of a different tuning than Janet is? I realize it's primarily a fiddle tune but I'd love to give it a go. Just curious as to how others are tuning to make it more accessible.

John D - Posted - 01/17/2025:  08:01:20

Wendy,

Try it in Double C tuning. Sheet music in key of C is here:

hangoutstorage.com/banjohangou...62014.pdf

John D

wsharp - Posted - 01/18/2025:  21:01:45

Thanks John. That helps but my fiddler buddy is playing it in B flat so I'm looking for the easiest way to play it in B flat.

JanetB - Posted - 01/21/2025:  21:14:41

quote:

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Originally posted by wsharp

Thanks John. That helps but my fiddler buddy is playing it in B flat so I'm looking for the easiest way to play it in B flat.

---

Here's a tab in double C.  All you'd need to do to play in the key of Bb is to tune down a whole step on each string to fBbFBbC (on your tuner you'll probably see fA#FA#C).

Whitefish in the Rapids (clawhammer tab), double C tuning