X:1
T:Rock Valley 2nd Change
N:From the playing of George Wade and his Corn Huskers.
M:C|
L:1/8
D:Victor 216569b (78 RPM), George Wade and his Corn Huskers (c. 1930's)
D:https://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/m2/f7/16444.mp3
Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz
K:C
(3G,A,B,|C2 E GFE|D2E F2A|GAG GBd|cBc AGE|
C2 E GFE|D2E F2A|GAG GBd|c2c c2:|
|:g|gag gag|e2c cBA|Gcc {d}cBc|ed^c d2 g|
gag gag|e2c cBA|G2c B2d|[E3c3]-[E2c2]:|
ROCK VALLEY. AKA - "Rock Valley, 2nd Change." Canadian (originally), American; Jig (6/8 time). USA, New England. Canada; Ontario, Prince Edward Island. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Jarman, Miller & Perron): AA'BB' (Begin, Phillips). The composition is credited to John Burt (Ontarion, Canada) in Jarman's Cornhuskers series (1944), but may only have been arranged by him. It was recorded in 1933 for RCA Victor Records by George Wade & His Cornhuskers (with Montreal's Jean Carignan playing fiddle). George Wade & His Cornhuskers Folklorist Paul Gifford links the tune with "Bride of the Wind" AKA "Anoy's Jig." "Rock Valley" is melodically different than those tunes and not, strictly speaking, a cognate melody; however, it is of the same character and harmonic structure and is functionally very similar in vernacular repertory, nearly interchangeable. Mr. Gifford’s further informed conjecture that all these similar tunes are derivatives of an unknown “Ur” 6/8 tune (probably a cotillion part from the 1840’s and 1850’s) would seem very likely. See his interesting tracing of such melodies, common to north and Midwest United States and Canada traditional music [1].
Additional notes Source for notated version : - Clem Myers [Phillips]; Sidney Baglole (b. 1912, Southwest Lot 16, West Prince County, Prince Edward Island; now resident of Freetown) [Perlman]; Dawson Girdwood (Perth, Ottawa).
Printed sources : - Bégin (Fiddle Music in the Ottawa Valley: Dawson Girdwood), 1985; No. 4, p. 18. Jarman (The Cornhuskers Book of Square Dance Tunes), 1944; p. 14. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddlers Repertoire), 1983; No. 26. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 146. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Music, vol. 2), 1995; p. 377. Songer (The Portland Collection, vol. 2), 2005; p. 171.
Recorded sources : - Apex TVLP 79052, Don Messer & His Islanders - "The Good Old Days" (1979). Bluebird B-55-3250 (78 RPM), Ned Landry. Fretless 103, "Clem Myers: Northeast Regional Old Time Fiddle Champion 1967 & 1970. Fretless 119, Rodney and Randy Miller - "Castles in the Air." RCA Victor 47-4442 (45 RPM), Ned Landry (). Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD 40126, Rodney Miller – “Choose Your Partners: Contra Dance & Square Dance Music of New Hampshire” (1999). Victor 216569 (78 RPM), George Wade & His Cornhuskers (1933). Voyager Records VRCD 312, Grant Lamb - "Manitoba Fiddler." Calvin Vollrath - "This Old Tune." Jim Magill - "The Immortal Fiddle, vol. 1."
See also listing at : Hear Andy DeJarlis's recording on youtube.com [2]
Hear George Wade & His Corn Huskers' 1930's recording at the Virtual Gramophone [3]
Hear Grant Lamb's recording at Slippery Hill [4]
Hear a field recording of P.E.I. fiddler Sidney Baglole [5]
See Charlie Walden's standard notation transcription [6]
