Hì Horò na Boireannaich – drones in C

The structure of this melody is interesting – the first line is in C major, but the second line is in the relative key of A minor.

The video linked above has the drones tuned to C/G, which emphasizes the major line. Next is the same arrangement but with the drones tuned to A/E/A to emphasize the A minor line:

Hì Horò na Boireannaich – drones in A

It’s fascinating to hear how much the color and texture of the melody change against the different drones. As pipers we don’t often have much control over the harmonic structure of a piece, but in this case the drones provide us with the opportunity to interpret the key entirely. I’ll be looking for more opportunities to experiment with drones in this way.

hi-horo-na-boireannaich Download

Kenneth MacIver’s Singing

This arrangement is based on the singing of Kenneth MacIver. He was from Lewis and lived from 1924-1978. There are several excellent recordings of him in the School of Scottish Studies, and this is the first post of a series covering all of his recordings.

Here he is singing Hì Horò na Boireannaich: https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/101361?l=en

This song is “a humorous bachelor’s song which suggests that men are better off without women.” I’d love to have a transcription or translation of the lyrics to see what sort of humor is involved, but I have not been able to track any down.