Dennis'
Grab Bag of Midis Dennis'
Grab Bag of Midis
(Tá
muid ag obair airleathanach baile seo anois!) I'm still working on this page. When
finished there will be an accurate description of each set (including tune names), as well
as short samples, and a zip file containing all the midis.Hi, ho, Dennis here! Welcome to the Ceili in a can! These are MIDI files I sequenced for a ceili dance class a few years back.
Click here for information about these files.
Click on each file name to have it play through your computer's multimedia speakers; hold down the shift key and click to download the files to your hard disk. All tune sets begin with 8 measures to start (either a single B section or an A section followed by two A sections, two B sections, etc.
| Gay Gordon Set | scotbrav.mid |
| Barn Dance Set | barndanc.mid |
| Jig Set | bolynn.mid |
| Reel Set | stail.mid |
| Reel Set | sally.mid |
Some time ago,
Kathy and I were asked to do a series of ceili dance classes. We soon found that we were needed more for demonstrating the dances and partnering the newcomers than we were for playing the tunes, so, like most teachers of our acquaintance, we got ourselves some recordings of dance tunes.At the time, we didn't have one of those fancy-pants tape recorders with the knob that lets you slow down the tape. We did, however, have a fancy-pants turntable that allowed us to slow down the vinyl LP record while we were taping it. So we ended up with about three tapes of each tune - on very slow, one not quite as slow, and one a wee bit faster. (BTW, by using this technique, we were able to get the tunes slower than most variable pitch cassette players I've seen since).
But even this was unsatisfactory, to my ears. What I wanted was something that would slow down the tunes, yet preserve the pitch of the tune, as if a live musician was playing the tune slowly. I know that today there are software programs such as Cool Edit that allow you to slow tunes down (but not in real time), but they weren't available at the time. I despaired until Richard Torstrick gave me a demonstration of his MIDI setup. MIDI is the Musical Instrument Digital Interface, where a file of data drives a synthesizer. Music is "sequenced" and then played back through a midi device.
I started to think of the applications of this technology to traditional Irish music. Fortunately, I came to my senses relatively quickly, but then we were asked to do another dance class. I remembered the "problem" with the tempos, set myself up with a MIDI keyboard connected to the sound card in my PC, and set to work.
The files are currently set for General Midi devices, which corresponds to the format used by most of the midi players on PCs. I sequenced them using the MIDI accordion, MIDI piano, and MIDI drum sounds. I had originally sequenced them for playback on my MIDI keyboard, a Roland D8, which I think has a better accordion sound than the General Midi specification. But I could then only play the files through the keyboard. It became more convenient to carry a MIDI file player and small synthesizer unit (the Roland Sound Brush and Sound Canvas) for playback, and later, to just bring a laptop with the files loaded on the Hard disk.
The advantage to using the MIDI files with the MIDI player or a PC that has sequencer software loaded is that the tempo can be adjusted "on the fly" to fit the level of experience of the dancers. For beginning workshops, I can slow the tunes down; for more experienced dancers, I can set the tempo up to speed.
The files are all medleys of tunes. All tune sets begin with 2 measures on the "cow bell" and "bass drum", then 8 measures to start (either a single B section or an A section) followed by two A sections, two B sections, etc. In all tune sets (except for the Barn Dance set) the "drummer" sits out for the first 8 bars, then comes in with a roll. As for the Barn Dance, I couldn't come up with a drum sequence that I liked!
Anyone who has a MIDI sequencer (i.e., Cakewalk, MasterTracks, MusicTime,etc.) can take these files and, through the use of cut and paste techniques, either shorten them or lengthen them to suit the needs of a particular dance.
In some instances, I don't know the names of the tunes. In most instances, the tunes are from the standard ceili repertoire - no obscure tunes here! Many of the tunes I learned from the playing of Ed McDermott, although I don't know how he would have reacted to hearing the tunes coming from a computer!
I make no representation that these sequences are traditional Irish music in the narrowest sense of the term. I didn't copy the sets of tunes from any ceili band or other performers, although many of the sets are tunes that are traditionally played together (i.e. The Swallowtail Reel and the Star of Munster). I put many of the tune sets together just because I like the way they sounded together (always a good reason to string together particular tunes!)
Good luck, and I hope you enjoy these files. Drop me a line to let me know how you're using them!
While I'm making these files available, I would strongly suggest that you contact traditional musicians living in your area to perform the music for the dancing. There is a special interplay between musicians and dancers that no recording or MIDI file can replicate.
On the other hand, if there _are_ no musicians in your area, or you're running a class where musicians aren't available, or you're just curious, download and enjoy!
