Lesson 60. Fairies' Hornpipe

This well known tune comes in the standard 32-bar format, with two parts, each played twice. It is an ideal tune to play if a hornpipe is requested by a step dancer. Unusually for such a melodic tune the whole tune is played within one octave excepting the three F# notes that occur near the end of both sections. In the last two bars of each section multiple note triplets occur. It is important that you pick each triplet rather than slurring or tying them. In Irish music, when played on a fretted instrument such as guitar or banjo, all the notes of triplets are picked individually. In the accompaniment, Tony has included A7 in the fourth bar of the third line. It creates a nice addition to the “standard” chords found in G Major tunes, and is sometimes referred to as a “passing” chord. You can leave it out and play the succeeding D chord for the whole bar but the accompaniment is enhanced by the A7. Chords are G, D, Em and A7.