Chord Req: Bold Fisherman

Subject: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: GUEST,Stewart
Date: 12 Jul 16 - 09:02 AM

Hello fellow Mudcats,

I was wondering if any helpful lifesaver knows the chords to Bold Fisherman? I have been listening to the version by Shirley and Dolly Collins of late and can't quite lay down the chords with my limited; nay, non-existent musical ear. I would be eternally grateful and very happy. Many thanks.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: GUEST,Stewart
Date: 12 Jul 16 - 09:04 AM

I forgot to mention that it is the chords for guitar.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: GUEST, ^*^
Date: 12 Jul 16 - 09:20 AM

My father sang that one, I'm not sure where he got the chords. I'll look around, it went pretty early back in his singing career so it may be in a book somewhere. (This is the one where he goes for ". . . the cod fish and the fierce mackerel"? Something like that - now this will be an earworm until my brain manages to reconstruct the old song I haven't heard since childhood).

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Jul 16 - 09:38 AM

I am unsure?? The version I am referring to has the first verse of -

As I roved out one May morning
Down by the riverside
There I beheld a bold fisherman
Come rowing by the tide
Come rowing by the tide;
There I beheld a bold fisherman
Come rowing by the tide

But there maybe many different versions?

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: Leadfingers
Date: 12 Jul 16 - 06:35 PM

I got this from Young Tradition's melody , and I pick , not strum , so there are lot of single notes rather than full chords - The CMaj7 is just a 5th string E as a bass run down to the Am .
    I would like to know if this IS a satisfactory chord progression for what is normally an unaccompanied song

C   CM7    Am      G         G7
As I roved out one May morning
      C       G G7   C G
Down by the riverside
       C    G    Am         F   
There I beheld a bold fisherman
       U    G7      C
Come rowing by the tide
             G G7 C
Come rowing by the tide;
          G      Am         F
There I beheld a bold fisherman
      G      G7      C
Come rowing by the tide

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jul 16 - 09:25 PM

I'm thinking of

There was a bold fisherman
Who sailed out from Pimlico
To (pursue?) the wild cod fish
and the fierce mackerel.

That's really sketchy, the tune is in my head but I don't play guitar, I'd have to pick it out on the piano.

Dad learned a lot of early songs from albums, from the little Penguin book, and from Burl Ives. Bob Nelson should probably know that one.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: GUEST,Stewart
Date: 13 Jul 16 - 08:01 AM

Many thanks Leadfingers. I'll give it a try this evening. :)

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: The Sandman
Date: 13 Jul 16 - 02:21 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH5lIj5Tgps
you can learn the chords from this, there are no major sevenths in it

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: Leadfingers
Date: 14 Jul 16 - 10:14 AM

Dick - the OP asked for the chords n NOT a blurred video of you playing a concertina ! And I DONT criticise any of YOUR Arrangements !

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: Vic Smith
Date: 14 Jul 16 - 11:05 AM

I cannot judge Dick's video as my computer sound card is buggered until I can get it fixed/replaced, but if it is the version that Terry is suggesting then I think that his comment that this is normally an unaccompanied song is more useful than the chords he provides. The gentle rolling 5/4 time does not come easy to any except the most accomplished of guitarists unless they can break the rhythm up into something other than a regular 3-2-3-2 etc. which I reckon is less than satisfactory.
Might I suggest singing it unaccompanied and trying to find different ways of placing the stresses in each of the 'five-in-a-bars' to give a different emphasis to each and basing your stresses on the flow of the lyrics. You should find that this gives a much more satisfactory result.
Alternatively seek out an accompanist who can provide a linear backing on, say, fiddle or concertina with some double stopping (or occasional chords) and see how that sounds. That may be what Dick is doing - as I say - I cannot tell at the moment.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jul 16 - 02:14 PM

I like your performance, Dick, but I can't figure out chords from it because I'm a singer and only a beginning instrumentalist. This is a good chance for you to teach the rest of us.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: The Sandman
Date: 14 Jul 16 - 07:51 PM

learning chords, is about listening to the melody, so first sing the song unaccompanied until you have the melody off by heart,which was partly the purpose of my recording
whether a video is blurred is irrelevant.IT IS ABOUT LISTENING
next point is that there is often more than one way of harmonising or suggesting chords to a song.
if i were to suggest chords they would be in the key that i sing it which may not be the key that suits the OP.
Joe, I am under no obligation to teach anyone on this forum anything,why should i give up my time to assist people that make comments about blurred videos, and do not seem to understand how in my opinion the song shoukld be accompanied
next i am not sure that a guitar chord arrangement in standard tuning is the best way to approach the song, just my humble opinion
I am playing in G MAJOR, and if i were to use chords, and probably a lot of the time two note chords, I would use the concertina which in my humble opinion on this sort of song allows a more rythmically free arrangement, and is closer to dolly collins arrangement which uses lots of dyads. it is in my opinion fairly simple.. yet dolly collins makes it beautiful.
it starts in g the first line [ning] ends on d modal.
lets take ,as i walked out on a may morning as i walked out just two notes d and g above, then... out on a, it is just a b below melody notes then e f#g, may morning, i just play a low a below the melody.       in my opinion for this sort of song you have to get way from standard chords in standard tuning on a guitar.
this may or may not be sightly different from dollys arrangement,but it captures the essence of what she is doing, and her approach to the accompaniment, it needs a freer accompaniment, than what most people can manage on a guitar in standard tuning

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: The Sandman
Date: 14 Jul 16 - 07:57 PM

it is moving between tonic dominant and sub dominant, and an occasional minor or modal[e modal or e minor without the third[g] note of the chord where i suggested for example a [b] below the [e]note in the first line.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jul 16 - 08:29 PM

Dick Miles says: Joe, I am under no obligation to teach anyone on this forum anything

No, Dick, you are under no obligation. But it would be a nice thing to do. Teaching can be a pleasure for both teacher and student. I'd like to see much more teaching at Mudcat, and much less squabbling. Our primary purpose here, is supposed to be sharing information about folk music.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: The Sandman
Date: 15 Jul 16 - 03:51 AM

yes Joe but feeling inclined to teach someone is more likely if other posters desist from making remarks about blurred videos.
I have given my opinion on the suitabilty of guitar CHORDS in standard tuning for this song, and explained my reasoning, i have also explained how i would approach the first line of this song on my concertina which i believe captures the spirit of dolly collins accompaniment.
my time is precious, i have gigs coming up if the OP WISHES TO JOIN MUDCAT THEY CAN ASK ME BY PERSONAL MESSAGE AND WHEN I HAVE MORE TIME I WILL ATTEMPT TO ASSIST.But there is no way i am assisting people who make remarks about blurred videos, is thaty clear,Joe

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: GUEST,Stewart
Date: 15 Jul 16 - 07:11 AM

The chords suggested above don't seem quite right although I gently strum rather than pick? I couldn't decipher the chords from the accordion playing I'm afraid as my musical ear is not very strong.

Thank you anyway both contributors.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: The Sandman
Date: 15 Jul 16 - 08:56 AM

chords one chords 4 chords 5 and chord 6, in g major that is g major cmajor, d major, and possibly briefly e minor, and with the gretest respect it is a concertina not accordion, they are as different as guitar and mandolin

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: skarpi
Date: 17 Mar 19 - 07:57 AM

Hallo all , I have been listen to the old man playing this song on his Concertina ..and here is my hearing of it .

Intro : G,D,G,D,G,G,Em,C,D,G
Verse : G,D,G,D,G,G,Em,G,D,G
Bridge: G,D,G,G,Em,C,D,G.

now he is playing this in G key , but many play this in C and even open C tuning witch sound ´s great .

when Em is used I could use the 7 in it with no harm done , it is how you hear it I think , but the old man sing the first line of the lyric like this ,

As I walked out on the May morning ....

I may do the lyric here later ....


and yes teach I can , and I will if any one ask me , my knowledge is to use to other ´s , if we don´t then mankind will forget what we are , where we came from ( not from the ape ) you have look deeper to find out that one , and teach the young one´s so they can take the knowledge with them to the future .

Now I could hear this wrong , so if you hear other vise please correct me .

all the best Skarpi Iceland .

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: skarpi
Date: 17 Mar 19 - 10:16 AM

Sorry ....

As I walked out on a May morning ....

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: The Sandman
Date: 19 Mar 19 - 03:54 PM

the whole point of this music in my opinion is to learn it as much as one can by ear,
so whether a videos is blurred is hardly relevant to the concertina which when i am playing ,i am in fact playing as if i cannot see the fingerboard, it is done by feel,
now it is necessary to point out that there are different correct ways of harmonising a tune, at the time i was attempting in my explanation to keep the chords or dyads relatively simple.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: skarpi
Date: 20 Mar 19 - 04:36 PM

well I got it from hearing it , not from sheet ´s ,
good song , will practise and sing text time play in a pub .
all the best Skarpi

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Bold Fisherman
From: The Sandman
Date: 20 Mar 19 - 07:08 PM

thatsthe idea skarpi passing it on by ear singing that is, ear ear