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Home/Library/Learning Tunes/What Makes This Tune Great? Field of Gold (Piobaireachd) — February 2, 2026
🎬 Class ReplayIntermediateFree Preview📅 Posted February 2, 2026· 59m

What Makes This Tune Great? Field of Gold (Piobaireachd) — February 2, 2026

The Short Version

The Field of Gold is a short, beautiful Donald MacLeod piobaireachd with a real melody you can hold onto. Four lines of ground and three variations, about seven minutes end to end. No singlings, no doublings, one of each variation, which makes it one of the most approachable big tunes in the repertoire.
Forget the printed note values and count four theme notes per bar. The old notation contorts itself trying to fit real piobaireachd timing into strict 4/4. I rewrite my tunes with every theme note as a quarter note, then mark the connectors as either truly cut or as the softer and-notes.
This is a fosgailte tune, so the taorluath is a GDE and the crunluath has a 6/8 lilt. Fosgailte means open. Play a taorluath without putting the little finger down on low G and you have a GDE. Once you know that, the odd-looking variations in this tune make complete sense.
Video🔒 Members Only
What Makes This Tune Great? Field of Gold (Piobaireachd) — February 2, 2026
59m · Full class available to Inner Circle members

⏱️ In this class

00:54Lennon MacLeod, and McCartney piping of the Donald🔒
02:26tune to Listening McCallum play the Willie🔒
09:59short variations and lines A three tune: four🔒
10:55every bar notes Finding in the four theme🔒
13:51the Why notation you misleads traditional🔒
15:23TR the mean symbols and What squiggle really🔒
18:49theme My cut version: notes, notes, and-notes🔒
24:15Donald on the tape teaching MacLeod tune🔒
27:38you a piobaireachd Why never wing can🔒
32:31and unusual shape siubhal The its variation🔒
35:05Scansion: tune fours written a expressing in🔒
39:21the means open what Fosgailte: style🔒
43:52its feel and The crunluath open-style 6/8🔒
46:21this Braemar Playing at tune🔒

About this class

🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.

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📜 Full class transcript

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