Donaldson's Woods (mp3)
The Least Resistance (mp3)
Donaldson/Least (pdf)
Knee High in December (mp3) (pdf)
I've had some trouble trying to decide how to present jigs in this blog. I have a bunch that I like but I never seem to choose them for recording. This week, however, I purchased a copy of Paul Kelly's excellent collection 110 Irish Mandolin Tunes, vol. 1 and found a solution. Mr. Kelly presents recordings of all 110 tunes on two CDs that come with the book and each tune is played once through. Duh, what a concept! This simple idea got me over the hump with jigs and I recorded several today. Here are the first three.
Donaldson Woods Nature Preserve in Indiana's Spring Mill State Park contains a beautiful stand of virgin timber. This particular jig was written while staying at the park lodge in the summer of 2005.
"The Least Resistance" title is a mystery to me now. I probably had something in mind when I named the tune but no longer. "Knee High in December" is presented in pdf form along with its friend "Puddle Jumper" from the Contratopia Tunebook. The latter tune appears on our Smitten CD but "Knee High" has yet to be recorded, even though we've played it now for a number of years. We usually play it first as a jig and then as a reel and, if we have time, we'll sometimes go back and forth playing the A section in 4/4 and the B section in 6/8. The title, of course, refers to snowfall in northeast Iowa.
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