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"Rocky Mountain Hornpipe" is an old-time breakdown in D Major. The parts are played AABB.
Samuel Bayard (1944) remarks that the apparent "inspiration" of his source's (Emery Martin) tune is a common Pennsylvania melody called "Sweet Ellen". Bayard notes that such adaptations are not at all uncommon in traditional music, that similar re-combinings and re-workings of strains of music may be one of the important factors in American folk fiddle repertories. He states: "No doubt some such re-combinations have been further modified and ended up as entirely new melodies; others, like this one, bear with them the traces of their development. ... 'Sweet Ellen' is not a rare tune in south western Pennsylvania. It is quite possible that a form of its first half was running through Mr. Martin's head, but the second half was unknown to him, or had been forgotten. In order to have a well-rounded and complete tune, therefore, he composed (adapted?) the present second half ... and came quite naturally to the belief that the entire melody was original with him."The source for the notated version is Emery Martin, Dunbar, Fayette County, Pennsylvania on September 29, 1943. The banjo tab has been contributed by John Letscher. The differences between the banjo and fiddle versions are due to the mechanics of the two instruments. The versions would sound good played together. It was printed in Bayard's Hill Country Tunes (1944). |