Cutting Bracken
⚡ The Short Version
Cutting Bracken is a four-parted 6/8 jig also known as The Weary Maid. It's based on a traditional Scottish melody that's also played as a strathspey and a 2/4 march; I think the two titles are connected, since cutting bracken (fern) by hand really would wear you out.
Rhythmically the tune is simple; melodically and gracenote-wise it's busy — control is everything. There are only a couple of rhythms in the whole tune, but the GDE gracenote combinations come thick and fast, including ones that change notes (G-A-A, B-G-G), and it's easy to let your tempo run away from you.
Keep every triplet basically even, not pointed like a march. Some players add a slight pulse to the first note of each triplet, which is fine in moderation, but overdoing it makes the jig start to sound like a 6/8 march instead of a jig.
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⏱️ In this lesson
00:05Roots Introduction: an Melody A in Four-Parted Jig Old With🔒
00:23The Story "The Behind Weary Maid"🔒
00:36Melodically Simple, Rhythmically Busy🔒
01:11GDE Change Gracenotes That Notes🔒
01:53(First Is of Game Name the Control The Part)🔒
03:13From Into the B Throw Bar Rolling Four: D🔒
04:24Feel Pointed Even, Jig Not the Keeping🔒
05:34Part's Third Combination The Tricky D-B-Strike🔒
06:00the Birl Waiting for Strong: Finishing🔒
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Every time Cutting Bracken came up in a live class, with the moment I said it — click a timestamp and you land right there.
▶ 00:34:25Miniature in Masterpiecesnotes. rather Maid, and has sound Highland than low C D happy The a that Gs, high Bracken, known as also the Gs, Cutting — and Weary Feidh Caber Bs quality. deeply shares🔒
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About this tune
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game of name “The is control.” the
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