Sixpenny Money
Ciaran Carson
A tune that was once an ordeal begins to mesmerise Ciaran Carson again; and what Frankie Gavin couldn’t teach Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin and Frankie Gavin
‘Sixpenny money’ is the name of a common jig and part of most traditional musicians’ repertoire. Technically it’s not too difficult to play, and is thus immediately attractive to a learner. I played it enthusiastically for a good many years before I developed a dislike for the tune; it seemed to me that its structure was boringly repetitive even by the standards of traditional music, and going into it the second time round always seemed a kind of ordeal. You longed for it to end. But more of that anon.
I don’t know where I heard the plausible...
