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Fishers Hornpipe

This hornpipe lends itself to a pronounced dotted rhythm. The notation might be written with no indication of dottedness
so it is up to the performer to put it in...if desired!
In this tune the dotted triplets are produced by blowing the first note (but not tonguing it)  tonguing the next note
with a soft K sound and tonguing the last note with a T.  Here is a clip of the first bit with dotted rhythm slowly.
Sort of like (hoo k t) you should hold onto the first note as long as possible
      

Whole tune slowly slowly                                This is played on a C whistle

 


The Homeruler

 The Homeruler is a common hornpipe and doesn't need to go fast. There are some long and short rolls and also a few cuts. On the fourth bar second time around there is a slight variation. As you can see all I have done is substitute the A note for the D above it. This works because the upper D note is the home note for the D major chord so there is no conflict. On the third beat of that bar there is triplet instead of the B to D. 
The dashes over some of the notes are cuts and if the dash comes between a note the cut is executed between the note. The fourth bar of the second part the note F# there is a slide up to the note on the first time. To get this you need slide the finger off of the E note up to the F#.

I need to say here that I pinched the idea of showing cuts like this from Grey Larson's book Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle

D whistle

The Homeruler

 slowish

 


Chief O'Neil's Favourite

Another popular hornpipe.  I have used lots of triplets in this tune and there is a variation on the last four bars of the second part which is optional. I would encourage anyone playing this type of music to have a go at adding and playing variations. One reason is that if a tune is played through three times with repeats (as is usual) it can get very repetitive. A variation should be kept simple and not stray away from the basic tune. The variation on this tune are triplets added to the basic melody.

In bar three triple tonguing can be used (when the tune is up to speed) but use single tonguing until it becomes difficult to articulate the notes cleanly. Tonguing techniques can be practiced away from the whistle, as you are walking or watching the Box etc. For double... taka taka taka etc and triple takata takata takata etc going as fast as possible without tripping over the tongue. The consonants can be changed to daga daga daga....dagada dagada dagada or even tiddly tiddly etc. Whilst you try these, notice how the tongue moves for each different articulation

There is a half holed note in the second part which is the only way this note can be produced, it can't be cross fingered like most of the other notes on the whistle. For a cross-fingering chart go here. The C natural can be half holed or cross fingered. I prefer cross fingering on this because as this way works better for me. Half holing this note can sometimes sound a bit slurry. This isn't to say that slurring isn't okay on some tunes, it is a matter of taste.

This Hornpipe precedes "Off To California" very nicely.

Generation D whistle

Chief O'Neill's Favourite

half speedfaster

 

The Pleasures of Hope in D, The same stuff applies as in the other tunes take it slowly and make changes where and when it seems right and vary breathing spots. There are a couple of mp3s below.


  Pleasures of Hope

slowlyfaster

 

 

 


 

 

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