STME58
1942 posts
Mar 19, 2017
10:25 AM
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A few days before our monthly gig last Friday, I got a message that the band leader wanted to do "The Irish Rover" in the key of G, in recognition of St. Patrick's Day. I looked it up and found it was a simple tune, with hilariously hyperbolic lyrics. It would work well in 1st or 2nd position on the harmonica, or, being St. Paddy's day perhaps a tin whistle (sometimes called a penny whistle, but in modern times, at $12 each, I have a hard time applying that moniker, though I have no problem calling a brass tube with finger holes and a plastic fipple a tin whistle!) would be in order. I set to work with a tabbed lead sheet and my D tin whistle, which I have really not learned to play with any level of proficiency. I nearly had the tune down, but time was up. That evening, as the tune was called, we got the instruction that we would be using the tune from another song we typically play, but the singer would sing the "Irish Rover" lyrics. so my work was out the window! I could now either switch to familiar harmonica, or plow ahead with the tin whistle. Fortunately I had spent a few moments before the gig getting the G major scale on the D tin whistle straight in my head. This allowed me to come up with licks that worked and added the desired Irish flavor to the silly lyrics. I was even able to do a solo verse without terribly embarrassing myself. This reinforces to me again that time spent in scale work is at least as important, if not more so, than time spent on licks or melodies.
Our venue is adding us another night in the roster in a different format. We turn down the volume, open the repertoire, and invite other musicians up, giving them the option to have us back them or to play on their own. We have done this once, and either because of in spite of us, the bar take was higher than usual. The band leader said we might try "Irish Rover" again on one of these nights. I am going to encourage that it be done with the original melody, and that he add in a couple of verses he left out, the one about the flute player, and the one about the whore.
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