This polka is either the Forty Pound Float, 4 Pound Cheque, 42 Pound Float, or the 45 Pound Cheque! Whatever its name it's a great tune. I've played it here on a Kentucky mandolin with a Simon and Patrick guitar backup. Thanks John Kelly for ideas on how to back it up.
Very nicely done Michael. Does anyone know the significance of this song title? Payment of a sum of money seems to be involved, but what is the story behind it?
Nicely played Mic!
Great version Michael, I think I should work more on back up but it's time and I don't have enough! Maudlin, I think I'd rather have a Forty Five Pound Cheque than a Four Pound Float!!!!!
Barbara, You asked the other day for the chords I used in this tune, and I just realised that I had not responded, so here are the ones I used added to the abc file (I hope - had a glitch with my "Braes of Locheil" chords briefly but think I have got round this now!). For the "Tell My Ma" sequel I have not yet annotated the tune as I played it, just playing ad lib, but use D G and A(7) in the obvious places and this will work. If anyone wants it in abc let me know and I will do this. X: 1 T: Four Pound Cheque, The M: 2/4 L: 1/8 R: polka K: Dmaj |: "D"Ad "G"Bd/B/ | "D"AD FA | "Em"GE BE |"D" A>G FD | "D"Ad "G"Bd/B/ | "D"AD FA | "A"GE A>G | "D"FD D2 :| |: "D"Ad fe/f/ | "G"gf ed | "A"cA eA | "A"e>d cA | "D"Ad fe/f/ | "G"gf e>d | "A"cA Bc | "D"d2 d2:|
Nice version, Michael! Loved that wee slide down at the end of the sections - making your mark on the tune there.
Thanks much for the chords John. I took your abc and added the different ending to the A part that is noted by Markkunkel in the CBOM thread here. The Planxty recording has it with this ending the first time around. BTW, this was my first edit of an abc file. (I hope I did it right. I'm pretty sure the guitar chords would be the same for either ending, but please correct me if I'm wrong.) X: 1 T: Four Pound Cheque, The T: Forty Pound Float T: Four Pound Cheque T: Forty-two Pound Float T: Forty-five Pound Cheque M: 2/4 L: 1/8 R: polka K: Dmaj |: "D"Ad "G"Bd/B/ | "D"AD FA | "Em"GE BE |"D" A>G FD | "D"Ad "G"Bd/B/ | "D"AD FA |1 "A"GE e>f | "D"ed d2:|2 "A"GE A>G | "D"FD D2|] |: "D"Ad fe/f/ | "G"gf ed | "A"cA eA | "A"e>d cA | "D"Ad fe/f/ | "G"gf e>d | "A"cA Bc | "D"d2 d2:|
My mom came and took the baby for a couple hours this morning which gave me a few moments to record a song of the week These are tunes I've been doing for a while, so no practice was required luckily, but I've never recorded them on the new Jack Spira zouk! So, here they are I'm loving the sound of this new zouk! Tuned GDAD as usual Kyle
Dang nice Kyle. I WANT one of those! Sounds incredible.
Here is my attempt:
Kyle and Micheal, awesome! I really love the sound of your new instrument, Kyle. And hepmehepme (I've got to learn your first name because I'll never remember that). Great job on joining the two songs in a row without a major flub club. Welcome. throu
I was hoping to get Dennis Murphy's on here, but it didn't work out. I tried a different perspective from last week so you can't see my pretty face, but you get a better view of my hands. Looks like I need to work on making sure to hit both strings of a course. Constructive criticism is welcome--my skin's thicker than the callous on the index finger of a mandolin-playing elephant's left hand.
This arrangement of John Ryan's Polka is by Georgina Nettleton for three mandolins.
maudlin, that's some nice harmony!
This one was an experiment. Used my laptop's in-built mic to record with rather than my Zoom yoke. Hmmm... Interestingly, the title of this polka has been adjusted over the years for inflation. However if Planxty recorded it as the £42 Cheque back in 1973 the tune would now be "worth" £393.70 which means that the title of the tune today (well, August 2021 - the latest date for which official statistics are available) should be The 461 Euros Cheque. (I should get out more...)
You get a good sound there from the laptop's mic, Aidan. You certainly have posted a lot of stuff today by the looks of the list on the SAW page.
Making up for a lot of lost time. :-)
While on the subject of financial instruments (in both senses):
a lovely trio...Those rhythms make you want to dance! I'm noticing Richard that you've already passed the Noir period to enter the financial period
Career change into banking, Richard? First the halfpennies, then the People's Bank of Ireland and Ireland's Popular Bank, and now a cheque over the meaning of life? You seem to have found the way to marry speed with accuracy. And on three instruments as well! Hats off to you!
Seems the banjo was chosen for the first track. Great playing on all instruments!
Thank you, Jairo, Dennis, and Frithjof. Indeed, I seem to be in my financial period, Jairo, but I fear that I have emptied my account for the moment. On the question of speed, Frithjof, you have identified the answer. I have remarked before that I find the banjo a "faster" instrument than the mandolin, by which I suppose I mean that my preferred tempo for any given tune will be a bit faster than on the mandolin. When I record the mandolin first, as I usually do, I feel like I am holding back on the banjo. So for this very fast tune I thought I would do it the other way round and I think it worked. I didn't have any difficulty keeping up when I added the mandolin track. So I may try it this way again. Dennis, I believe the bonuses are better in banking than in academia (and if you lose a lot of money the taxpayer will give it back to you). You and I clearly made a wrong choice at some point.
Thanks Richard, very swift and agile playing there, and couldn't resist joining the party!
Thanks, Simon. And it really is a piece for a party - well played.
Simon in top gear! Driving, danceable, infectious! What a happy sound.
Thanks guys, yes I bombed this one Dennis, completely massacred it - surprised there are no cops at the door ) (Driving? Nope. Actually in real life I walk now, my bicycle has a mechanical 'issue'. Anyway walking in freezing weather is more peace and love!).
Rockin and rollin…great job, Simon.
Great delivery, Simon! Like the backward slides.
I think try this one be because a) I love Polkas and b) the Banjo loves Polkas too The extraneous sound is actually coming from my plectrum, not my fingers.... I don't really want to change , so I think I'm going to have to put up the squeaks, unless I can find a magic filter in audacity (I'll go with this name because of inflation ) p.s I'm not commenting on any tunes that I'm not contributing to because I feel I'm in no way qualified to; the recent postings are so far above my ability both in musicality, and recording quality that I'm still in a bit of awe... Jim
You are too modest, Jim. This is great - you are right that the banjo loves polkas. I tend to dig out my underused banjo when there is a polka to be played.
You need not fear making comments in this group, Jim. You are a very competent player and the videos you are making are of a high standard. As you will see from the comments we all post, they vary in tone and length and from the serious to the comical (and sometimes unintelligible). We are a happy band who bask in the reflected glory of the admiring comments we get from our fellow posters - why else would we be spending time recording the tunes and then creating the videos? Lose your inhibitions (you do play a banjo, so must be used to all the well-worn jokes) and get your responses posted. We will enjoy them, I'm sure.
I don't know much about banjo, but it sounds like good banjo playing to me. Easily "sessionable", to use the word of my former teacher.
Excellent banjo to my ears. Keep them coming! Another thing about SAW members (that makes me laugh) is that they are so agreeable that if you post a nice mandolin vid accompanied with the comment, ‘I love this, but it’s rubbish’, everyone will agree with you!
