I quoted this tune, and its bagpipe origin, as an example of where
key signatures that allow for different pitches in different octaves
might be handy:
X:1
T:Oh I Hae Seen the Roses Blaw
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:G =f ^F % low F's sharp, high F's natural
D|G2G B>AB|c2A F2D|G>AG B2c|d2g d2c|B2c d2e|f2d B2G|d>ed cBA|G3 G2:|
d|g2d B2G |c2A F2D|g2d B2c|d2g d2c|B2c d2e|f2d B2G|d>ed cBA|G3 G2:|
What I entirely forgot to mention is what I *actually* do with that
tune, which makes an even better example. I play it with a clarsach
(diatonic lever harp) player. What she needs to know is which levers
to set before playing; harpists can flip levers in mid-tune, but it
gets in the way of doing anything interesting with the left hand. So,
she sets the lever that sharpens the low F and leaves the upper one
unset. Variant-octave key signatures are exactly right for notating
what she does. An accidental before each note tells a harpist FLIP A
LEVER HERE AND PUT IT BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, which (in the absence
of pencilled annotations) lets the player in for unnecessary work.
On her wire harp, this notation is even more useful - there are no
levers, so you have to use a fixed tuning for the whole piece.
Now can somebody suggest a key signature for Carlos Salzedo's trick
of threading a banknote through some of the strings?...
=================== <http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> ===================
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