> I came across the Irish polka below, and what drew me to it was how few
> notes are used in the tune (five in all).
[i.e. D to B for a D whistle]
That tune seems to be derived from "March to the Battlefield", which
itself uses a full octave.
> I'm trying to find Scottish tunes which use as few notes, for use
> in teaching complete beginners. Any suggestions?
The first half of "Katie Bairdie" (in D).
The first half of "Fingal's Cave" (in E minor).
The second half of "The Ale is Dear" (in E minor).
The chorus of "Caller Herrin" (in G).
...etc... - there are quite a few tunes where the first half works.
The classic Scottish example of a tune which uses very few notes is
the pibroch "Grain in Hides and Corn in Sacks" - G to e on the pipes.
Wrong scale to fit what you want and I don't think the students
would stick around long...
The old version of Teribus in my modes tutorial (which I'm currently
updating) is in the range you want but would need a G sharp.
The two neatest examples of tunes in your range I know of are German:
"Veris leta faciem" from Orff's "Carmina Burana" (you'd do it in E
minor for what you want, but it's handier on the recorder as you can
play it in A minor on the left hand alone and do something else with
the spare hand) and the mediaeval love song "Under der linden an der
heide" by Walther van der Vogelweide (in G).
Here's Orff's tune turned into a 6/8 march with a second part added.
X:1
T:Mr Orff's March
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:E Minor
E>FG F2E|F>ED E3 |E>FG F2E |F>ED E3 |
E>FG F2E|A2F G>FE|A2F G>FE|E<FD E3:|
G2A B2G|A>GF E2B |G2A B2G |A>GA B3 |
B>AG A2F|B>AG A2F |A2F G>FE|E<FD E3:|
and here's Walther's left as is apart from a slight whistlification:
X:2
T:Under der linden an der heide
C:Walther van der Vogelweide
S:the way Andrea van Ramm sang it with Syntagma
N:Musicum but with a few extra gracenotes
M:3/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
K:G
B4 {A}BA| B3 B{A}BA|G4 {AG}F2|{GA}G6 |\
B4 {A}BA| B3 B{A}BA|G4 {AG}F2|{GA}G6 |
A4 {B}AG| B4 {A}B2|A4 {BA}B2|{FA}F4 {A}G2|\
A4 {G}AG| B4 {A}B2|G4 {A}F2| G6 |
B4 {A}B2|{A}B4 {A}B2|B4 {A}B2| B6 |\
B4 {A}BF|{A}G6 |\
A4 {G}AG| B4 {A}B2|G4 {AG}F2|{GA}G6 |]
> The high D is a problem because it takes a particular skill to
> play it, and I'd like to wait a while before learning that skill.
That's one way a recorder is a better bet for pipe music - what
corresponds to the high A on a chanter isn't overblown, so the
fingering and tone quality flows more evenly across the nine notes
God made.
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