Tab for "Hail Against the Barn Door"

Scott Allen
Scott Allen
@scott-allen
4 years ago
24 posts

Hey Dusty,

I was able to track down a version of "Squirrel Hunters" that Jim Miller tabbed out in tabledit. It's DAD capo'd to A. The B part sounds right on, if it helps you. I'm unsure whether it is permissible to share it here, so I will just tell you it is on dulcimertabs.com. Thanks again for sharing your version and knowledge. I've about got it down!

Scott Allen
Scott Allen
@scott-allen
4 years ago
24 posts

Thank you Dusty!

Dusty Turtle
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
4 years ago
1,765 posts

Scott, I've attached here what I have so far.  The A part is pretty good but I don't really have feel for the B part just yet.  Because the tune is in A mixolydian you can't really play it in a drone style tuned DAd or DAA since the drones should be A and E rather than a D.  In this arrangement, the chordal accompaniment is always found below the melody, so if you just want to play single notes, always play the highest note.

And if you have suggestions for revisions, let me know.  I'm going to keep working on it and if I decide major changes are necessary, I'll re-post here.

pdf




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Dusty T., Northern California
Site Moderator

As a musician, you have to keep one foot back in the past and one foot forward into the future.
-- Dizzy Gillespie
Scott Allen
Scott Allen
@scott-allen
4 years ago
24 posts

I was wrong. The tab I have from Steve's book is "Squirrel Heads and Gravy". I can't believe I never noticed that "Squirrel Hunters" and "Hail Against the Barn Door" are the same tune, as I have loved the tune for years. Gettin' old I guess....Lol! Dusty, I would love to have a copy if you don't mind. Thank you so much!

Scott Allen
Scott Allen
@scott-allen
4 years ago
24 posts

Thank you Dusty. I actually think I have tab for "Squirrel Hunter" in one of Steve Seifert's books, but I will have to check after work. I'll certainly let you know.

Dusty Turtle
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
4 years ago
1,765 posts

Scott, the same thing happens to me all the time.  I hear a piece of a tune and want to learn it but then at some point realize it's way more complicated than I thought.  Once I spend hours tabbing out a long Irish tune, going note by note, and then with about two measure left I realized the melody went way down below the bass string, so it wasn't even possible to play on the dulcimer. I was so frustrated!

I have  tabbed out in a chording style playing across all the strings one of the versions of The Squirrel Hunter that I found in SMN.  It is pretty similar to Hail Against the Barn Door.  If you're interested, let me know. I'd be happy to share it so long as you understand that it's a work in progress.  When I tab out a tune I don't know that well I have to play it a bunch before I get the right feel, and then I adjust the tab based on how it felt under my fingers. I don't quite have the feel for the B part of this tune yet, so the tab will surely evolve.




--
Dusty T., Northern California
Site Moderator

As a musician, you have to keep one foot back in the past and one foot forward into the future.
-- Dizzy Gillespie
Strumelia
Strumelia
@strumelia
4 years ago
2,305 posts

Scott, many are the times when I have been enchanted by some tune only to realize later that it was way more complex than I thought. It's then simply a choice whether I tackle it or choose something a little more straightforward.  nod




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Site Owner

Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
Scott Allen
Scott Allen
@scott-allen
4 years ago
24 posts
Looks like I have bitten off more than I can chew again! Lol. I appreciate your help Strumelia and Dusty!
Dusty Turtle
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
4 years ago
1,765 posts

I've found several SMN versions of Squirrel Hunter or The Squirrel Hunters.  They all differ in the chording and the key signature, but the actual notes are pretty stable. The fact that the chords and the key signature differ is just a function of the fact that the tune's modal and it doesn't fit the conventions of western music notation very well. In the five or six versions I've looked at so far, the first two measures center on E and B notes and then the third measure goes to G before the turnaround in measure 4.  The structure is similar to Red-Haired Boy or Salt Creek.

One challenge on the dulcimer is that the melody requires a G note in two different octaves.  I'm pretty sure I can get the melody going across all the strings in a DAd tuning an using chords to avoid that low D string. In a drone style the tune is more challenging, at least to play it in A.  I suppose you could tune EAD. The E and A would be reverse drones for the key of A and the melody could be played on the melody string starting on the 8th fret, going down to the 3 and up as high as 11 or 12. 

That's a weird tuning, though, isn't it?




--
Dusty T., Northern California
Site Moderator

As a musician, you have to keep one foot back in the past and one foot forward into the future.
-- Dizzy Gillespie

updated by @dusty: 11/21/20 05:28:56PM
Strumelia
Strumelia
@strumelia
4 years ago
2,305 posts

Be aware that there are variations in the tune(s), and also in the key i assume. You may find versions written out in other keys.




--
Site Owner

Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
Dusty Turtle
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
4 years ago
1,765 posts

That's very helpful, Strumelia.  The sheet music for Squirrel Hunter seems to be written in A mixolydian.  It kind fools you, because there are two sharps, so we dulcimer players jump up and celebrate that it's in D or Bm.  But the tune ends on an A.  I'm gonna mess around with it a spell.




--
Dusty T., Northern California
Site Moderator

As a musician, you have to keep one foot back in the past and one foot forward into the future.
-- Dizzy Gillespie
Strumelia
Strumelia
@strumelia
4 years ago
2,305 posts

Some people also call that tune "The Squirrel Hunters" or "Squirrel Hunter".  The tunes might be identical or just very similar, depending on whose version you are listening to. There is a lot of sheet music online for the squirrel version of "Hail...". There might only be small differences to work out between Squirrel.. and Hail.., if you need a start for a dulcimer version..




--
Site Owner

Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
Dusty Turtle
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
4 years ago
1,765 posts

The only thing I found is some banjo tab .  I can't even find sheet music for the tune.   If I get some time in the next week or so I may try to figure it out by ear.  I'll probably start on the guitar before I figure out what dulcimer tuning would work best.




--
Dusty T., Northern California
Site Moderator

As a musician, you have to keep one foot back in the past and one foot forward into the future.
-- Dizzy Gillespie
Scott Allen
Scott Allen
@scott-allen
4 years ago
24 posts

Anyone happen to have tab for this song?