Happy St. Paddy's Day!! I hope you are healthy and well during these turbulent times. Here are three fun Celtic tunes: King of the Fairies (hornpipe), Alister McAlister (strathspey), and Cup of Tea (3-part reel).
I believe King of the Fairies and Cup of Tea are Irish tunes, and Alister McAlister is a Scottish tune. Alister McAlister is usually played in B minor, but I think it sounds pretty good after King of the Fairies if it's played in E minor! =) Not everyone likes the idea of playing with the key signatures like that, but I like how tunes sound on the lower strings of the violin a little more than on the higher strings.
King of the Fairies is a common dance tune. I've played it for Irish dancers, and, not going to lie, but it starts to get old after you play it for what seems like 500 times at slightly different tempos, lol....This version's tempo is at 130 bpm, which is much faster than most competition dance speeds, but it's a tempo that's fairly common at a session. I really like how strange of a tune it sounds -- the d and c sharps add quite a lot of mysteriousness to it.
Cup of Tea has a really catchy beginning. It's definitely a tune that easily gets stuck in my head. I find the middle part of the tune to be the hardest -- there are a lot of notes to try to squeeze in there. To me, it sounds like the tea cup fell over in that part, but maybe that's just my imagination. "Tea" seems to have a different meaning for 2020 (meaning, "gossip"), and considering how the melody bounces between major and minor parts, I think it somewhat fits that newer definition, too...
I hope everyone is safe from the Coronavirus.. =( I think it took people a little too long to realize what a problem it was going to be over here in the USA, but we're starting to take it seriously in Colorado. I'm staying inside as much as possible. I've always been a bit of a homebody, but now's the time to really keep away from other people. I had just gotten into the habit of going to the gym to workout, too.. Oh well, such is life -- I guess I can try to workout in my apartment..?
It really scares me that this thing is just getting started, and so much stuff seems to have happened already. I don't see an end in sight quite yet, but time will tell. Perhaps this virus will die off with heat? That would be nice, wouldn't it?!
Lots of Irish parades and bar gigs for St. Paddy's Day have been cancelled this year. It's sad, but I see it as a necessary thing to do. I'm staying away from going to sessions, too -- the majority of the people who play this music are older and in the higher-risk demographic...
All of this staying-in means that there will be LOTS of time to PRACTICE!!! :D Now I can finally sit down and try to learn Ragtime Annie -- that tune has been requested so many times! :o
BTW, it wasn't cold when I filmed this. It snowed the day before, but then was 54 degrees Fahrenheit the day I filmed...Colorado has weird weather. :o
Thank you for watching, and I hope you have a good rest of the week! Stay safe!!
~ Katy
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/ katyadelson
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www.goldenaspenmusic.com
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www.katyadelson.com
Download/stream my "Tune Collection" album:
fanlink.to/TuneCollection
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Software and equipment used:
Full list of all my basic violin equipment:
www.katyadelson.com/about/viol...
Violin gear:
Violin: 1899 Ernst Kreusler “Copy of Antonius Stradivarius” violin from Germany
Bow: CodaBow Luma
Strings: Evah Pirazzi Violin Strings (with a ball E)
Rosin: Salchow Rosin
Shoulder Rest: Bonmusica Shoulder Rest
Software used (for Macintosh):
Garageband for attempted sound mixing
Final Cut Pro for video editing
PicMonkey.com for the ending cards
Plugins for sound effects (I have A LOT to learn in this department!):
East West plugins - Goliath Virtual Instrument, Stormdrum II
Best Service Forest Kingdom II by Eduardo Tarilonte (See: bestservice.de)
Camera:
Canon 70D + 18-135 mm kit lens
Sony RX100 V
Microphone for audio recording:
Blue Woodpecker