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(2 of 2) Jumping straight from the C# to the A or the G# to the E is what endows these ornaments with their particular bagpipe spiciness. You can, of course, play any of these triplets as descending runs (C#-B-A or G#-F#-E) and certainly that’s the way many fiddlers play this tune. Either version certainly maintains the essential shape of the tune and, in fact, both versions can be played simultaneously in a session and won’t sound too muddy together. But I find the version notated here to be cleaner and perkier on my octave mandolin, so give it a try and see if you don’t agree. Lastly, keep in mind is that this tune is not designed to be played too fast. As one old collection puts it, "Play this one in the Scottish manner, that is, at not too great a speed." The ornaments are plenty satisfying at an easy tempo. Looking at this tune from another angle entirely, it occurs to me that there’s an amusing structural trick you can try on "Timour the Tartar," as well as many other tunes. This is a trick that I sometimes call "time compression" or "jumping the gun," and which I’ve used many times over the years. It works on any tune with a melody that both starts and ends on the tonic note, so right away you have several thousand to choose from. In the case of "Timour the Tartar," it only works in the first 8-bar part of tune, between the first time through and the repeat. You hack the eighth bar in half, so it’s only two beats long. Then the A that used to be on the third beat of the eighth bar becomes the first beat of the first bar. You’ve just sling-shot yourself into the repeat of the tune, skipping two beats. Why? Because it’s fun and rock and roll and totally unexpected. It’s a trick that gets people who are only half paying attention to sit up and say, "Wha’ hoppen?" In fact, I like dropping beats exactly once a night, just so the audience is listening that much more closely and is left at the end of the show wondering if they only imagined it. Time compression should be used sparingly, and for its amusing shock value. Of course, you can’t indulge in time compression just any old time. In a session, unless everybody has agreed to do it, skipping two beats anywhere will only get you into hot water. And if you’re playing for dancers, you’d better play the tune straight or incur the wrath of the poor dancers who suddenly don’t know where they are. But in a band setting, or simply playing for yourself, it’s fun to find these little Celtic moments when you can rocket forward to the next downbeat with power and surprise. |
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