Breton Gavotte
Here’s a beginner lesson on how to play this Breton Gavotte from the Kevin Burke album “Portland.” It’s the first of a set of three gavottes. The tune has a great haunting feel which I love. Sounds good fast or slow.
It’s in the key of B Aeolian. So it has the same notes as D Major, but you start on B (A1) instead of D.
This tune is recommended for students in Module 1.7 or higher.
I made a supplemental video in which I’ll show you:
- A bit about Aeolian mode
- How to transpose the tune down an octave as well as a fifth
- How to add simple Irish embellishment
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Video loops 🔁
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A Part, First Half (bar 1)
Learning chunks
I’ve made some “Learning Chunks” to help you learn more easily. These focused exercises contain sheet music, tabs and mp3 snippets to guide you on your fiddle journey.
Preparation
Review and practice these lessons:
Play a B (A1) note with a B drone. Allow your breath, body, and mind to relax. Listen to the blend of your fiddle with the drone, and enjoy the sound.
B drone
Next, warm up with the B Aeolian scale and phrases from the tune (once you’ve learned it) using the drone above. Note: this is a mode of D Major scale.
B Aeolian, upper: A1-2-3-E0-1-L2-3-4
B Aeolian, lower: G2-H3-D0-1-2-3-A0-1
A part, first half
A part, second half
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A part, fourth quarter
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B part, first quarter
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B part, second quarter
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B part, third quarter
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B part, fourth quarter
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Supplemental lesson
Other versions
Kevin Burke version from Portland
Full Content
Full tabs, audio and sheet music downloads are available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
Practice tracking
Give thanks
Take a moment to reflect with gratitude that you have music in your life. No matter where you are on your fiddle journey, you get to learn, play, and listen to music. What a wonderful gift!
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Fiddlehead Marg made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
home from vacation, just getting back into the “swing” of things. love this tune. I have missed my Fiddlehed community
this tune is utter delight and just exactly ctly what i needed to practice right now. I cant thank you enough Jason!
Jason,
Really enjoyed this lesson. Thank you.
Very challenging, fun and a beautiful tune.
I’m also a fan of Kevin Burke.