Dargason – Basic Lesson
Here is a lesson on how to play a 16th-century dance tune called Dargason. I recently learned it for the Diego’s Umbrella holiday album.
Learning chunks
A part, first quarter
A part first quarter
Intervals
D0-2
D3-A0
↓
Bits
D2-0-0-0
D2-3-A0-D3-2
↓
1st quarter: D2-0-0-0 2-3-A0-D3-2
Note: if you still struggle to play the 1st quarter with flow, then return to smaller pieces: bits and intervals.
A part, second quarter
A part second quarter:
Intervals
D1-3
D3-A0
↓
Bits
D3-1-1-1
D3-A0-1-0-D3
↓
A part second quarter: D3-1-1-1 3-A0-1-0-D3
A part, third quarter
A part third quarter
Intervals
D0-A3
↓
Bits
A3-3-2-1-0
↓
A part third quarter: D2-0-0-0 A3-3-2-1-0
A part, fourth quarter
A part fourth quarter
Intervals
D1-E0
E0-A3
↓
Bits
E0-A3-2-1-0
↓
A part fourth quarter: D3-1-1-1 E0-A3-2-1-0
Other versions on Youtube:
Further Practice
Practice the song at your own pace with this drone track.
This tune is in the key of D so we can practice it with a D drone:
Start by playing the D major scale with some fun variations.
Full Tabs, Audio & Sheet Music
A Part:
First quarter: D2-0-0-0 2-3-A0-D3-2-1
Second quarter: D3-1-1-1 3-A0-1-0-D3
Third quarter: D2-0-0-0 A3-3-2-1-0
Fourth quarter: D3-1-1-1 E0-A3-2-1-0*
*End on D2 when you finish the tune.
“Low fiddle mix” play-along track
The fiddle is quiet in the mix. If you get lost, stop and listen. Otherwise, when you play it will feel like you are playing solo with the guitar, organ and beat.
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Thanks Jason, looking forward to Hootenanny tonight. Will be racing home from work. Any chance
You can transcribe the sheet music into Alto in the same key? Or can you recommend an app I can use. I have used Muscore but find it tedious. Thanks
Hi Steve, great to hear you plan to join the group today. I like your suggestion, will add it to our request list.
Often, I will write it out by hand, either right on the same sheet music (where it looks like double stops), and/or I’ll write it out on a new blank sheet music page. One can write up rough sheet music in these ways, to get the basics down. I’ll show some examples of how I do this at today’s Hootenanny and can share photos of this on Hootenanny page later on.
I’ve used musescore and also find it can be tedious, though from utilizing the shortcuts they recommend, and continuing to practise, it can speed up 🎵 😀
Jason uses sibelius. There’s also soundslice which offers great play-along track options.
thanks
In the full tabs, there appears to be an extra note on the first quarter–shouldn’t it end on D2? I’m loving this song!
Hi – yes I think the last note should be D2 but only if you are done playing and not repeating. That appears to be how Jaso’n plays it in the video. I do struggle with how to “end” the song without it sounding like you are left hanging, so thanks for pointing this out! D2 sounds like a good note to end on.
Good call @fiddlefoot and @kellymhanson. I’ll update the tabs…
Hi Jason, I found the “learning success sequence and “low-fiddle” mix very very useful. And thank you so much for finding and posting the Dance Discover dancing Dargason. I love ii….makes me want to try the tune on the whistle 🙂
Thanks again,
linda
Awesome. Thanks for letting me know. I’m going to keep experimenting with this in new lessons. Cheers…
hey thanks! I like to learn in phrases….it makes more sense to me, I can get the tune in my head and I can get the rhythm better than note by note.
Thanks for letting me know. I’m going to keep experimenting with this in new lessons.