Hangman's reel

The folk process. A bunch of us learned a tune called "The Hangman's Reel". The common festival version comes from Albert Hash of Grayson County, Va. I learned it from Albert's protoge, Brian Grim. Apparently Albert concocted his version trying to learn the tune from a French/Canadian fiddler at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. I've heard JP Cormier, Ned Landry, Isodore Soucy and Shane Cook play this tune properly. For the time, I'm satified with my version...but I'm still a long way off.
Please go hear this tune played properly, copy this link to your browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT3DctGzUhI

Category:

Music

Tags:

• fiddle
• thomas
• bailey
• ATHF
• sorefingers
• appalachian
• pendu
• clifftop
• old
• time
• sore
• fingers

[vithefiddler]

not bad! You hit the nail on the head with the link to the Jean Carnignan version. He was phenomenal. I have never heard anything like his hangman's reel!

[yellowbarber]

Thanks. It's my own continuously evolving version. Someday I'll figure out left-hand pizzacato & it'll sound a little more like Carnignan's.

[jackmagee]

hey man,  what up from mississippi.... i was playing hangmans reel at clifftop with some people from ithaca... they were singing on one of the parts! hangman, hangman.....

[yellowbarber]

yup, that would be Albert Hash's version.

[isabellanakahara]

Hey, I really enjoyed your fiddling!

[ScotchIrishFool1]

@jackmagee Hello Jack, Ross May here. This song is about a fiddler named MacPherson, who was being hung. He said that if any man outplay him, he would give him his fiddle. He didn't and he didn't. MacPherson broke the fiddle over his knee and cursed the onlookers.

[ScotchIrishFool1]

@jackmagee Hello Jack, Ross May here. This song is about a fiddler named MacPherson, who was being hung. He said that if any man outplay him, he would give him his fiddle. He didn't and he didn't. MacPherson broke the fiddle over his knee and cursed the onlookers.

[sajidswindon]

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL. FAV.

[99sco]

great playing

[bertwindon]

Brilliant !. Very odd sort of reel, The Hangman's. Anyone know aught about it ?

[ashhsa13]

almost sounds like Black Mountain Rag, where you change the tuning on the fiddle,, but it is on Shane Cook's album

[theblindfiddler]

so awesome!

[ducky3d]

Very nice. =]

[mohawk424]

wow,,very good,what tuning were you in?this isone great song,,wish you would do it slower so i can learn it,,LOL,,keep on posting.