Hi Folks,
Sorry this blog post is a bit overdue. Its more time consuming than i thought to notate all the parts of the arrangement, then record it, and make sure everything matches up.
I found some mistakes in the Tobin’s part 1 post, sorry for that. I had forgotten about the capo at the second fret when i notated some up the neck positions. In addition, i am playing around with SoundCloud.com to host my audio files from. That way you get a player here in the blog post, and if you want to download the file just click on the little downward pointing arrow to the right of the player.
So to start you will want to download the PDF’s for this lesson. There are two, the B part of Tobin’s Jig and then the full tune.
Tobin’s B part
Tobin’s Full Version
One of the nice things about alot of celtic tunes is that sections of the A part may also come up in the B part. So once you have learned the A part you almost know the whole thing. Tobin’s is one of those tunes, the B part only contains two new measures, everything else you have seen in the A part. So this should be pretty easy.
So take a look at example one on the PDF and give a listen to the track below
I play it pretty simply, all in first position, using the basic bass notes that correspond with the chord changes of the tune. As i did with the A part, often times this is a good place to start when outlining an arrangement of a tune.
Next comes example 2. I have added a B note in the bass on the first measure for some harmonic variation. In addition, i got up the neck like i did in the A part. Pay attention to the second to last measure. I have phrased a bit different, adding in a three note ascending triplet by hammering on. It adds some nice variation, and is common in celtic music. There are often times small variations between players for a given tunes.
Then we have example 3. Rather than play the first phrase on the first string i have opted to play it on the second string higher up the neck. I feel this adds a bit of richness and fullness to the tone. Be sure to catch the two string barre in the that measure, as well as grabbing the F# with your pinkie, its neccessary for that phrase. Or feel free to play it differently, and let me know!
Example uses alot of the up the neck voicing we saw in the A part, as well as some varying bass notes in measures 5 and 6. Pay attention to the G note triplet in measure 3. There are a variety of ways to play this with the right hand. I play it ring, middle, and index finger, or in classical guitar terms, A M I. Steve Baughman often interjects his thumb in there, and i am not sure how Tony Mcmanus does it. Find a way that works for you, and feel to comment if you have a question about that.
Finally we have the full version of Tobin’s Jig. This is both the A and B part, as i would play it on a cd or in concert. I can’t say this is how i would play it every time, I will often play certain bits differently depending on what i am feeling or where i want to play on the neck. I have combined some different aspects from the various examples we looked at.
So thats it for this two part blog entry on arranging Tobin’s jig. I hope folks enjoyed it, and got something out of it you can apply to your own playing. Feel free to get in touch or leave a comment with feedback.
Anton