Bensusans "The Last Pint" ending

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Don't know which video you are watching, but Pierre's tab, and what I have seen is very close to this, but the 2nd part of the lick, where you have 4 2 0 pulloff on the 2nd string, I would also play cross string, it's the same as the initial cross string lick, just in a different sequence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCfzYH3l_wo
He definitely plays it as a pull-off there, it's quite clear in the video - but I agree with you, it makes sense (as a basic principle) to do it as the first run in reverse. (Maybe he did it that way originally?)

Originally Posted by Doug Young

And the 9 7 9 sequence I would play cross string as well. It all just falls out of a standard DADGAD cross-string D scale:

Right. To be clear (for the OP) the 9-7-9 on 5th string is F#-E-F# (transposed to D), so in cross-string that would be:

|------------
|------------
|------------
|---4-----4---
|------7 ----
|------------

Originally Posted by Doug Young

In any case, for the OP's goal of learning and understanding DADGAD cross-string, this is the essential pattern to learn.

I agree.

To maximise cross-string harp effect, I might translate that final passage in full as:

|-------0-----------------------------------------------------
|-0------------0-----------------------------------------------------
|-----6----6-----0--------------------------------------------------
|---9--------9-----4---4-0-----------0-----------------------------
|--------------------7-----4---0---4----4---0---------------------
|----------------------------9---9--------9---5-4-2-0-------------
                       * *

* The 4-7-4 choice means two notes on the same string here, but maybe that's better than the 9-7-9 three notes on same string he uses.

However, I still like my 7-4-4-0 run for the opening phrase .

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Obviously, it's all scalar, so there are tons of ways to play the scale, and that 5th-6th string stretch begs to be played some other way unless your hands are as big as Pierre's!

Absolutely! IMO at this speed (and on the bass strings) the 4-9-4-9 section doesn't really gain anything from being on separate strings. I'd just do it all on 5th string and the hell with it - something like:

|-------0--------------------------------------------------------------
|-----4---4----------------------------------------------------------
|---4-------4---0------------------------------------------------------
|-7-----------7---4p2h4p0-----------0---------------------------------
|-------------------------4p2p0h2h4----4p2p0----------------------------
|--------------------------------------------5p4p2p0--------------------

YMMV, of course, but when I do it that way it sounds crisper and clearer than when I try and do it his way.

And in fact, as it's really only a cadenza - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadenza - I'd ad lib it anyway. There's all kinds of fancy ways you could rip a scale run at the end of that piece!

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Pierre undoubtedly knows 27 ways to play a D major scale, and may rip off this lick differently each time.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Doug Young

A slightly more accessible version of this tune, BTW, is Pat Kirtley's recording on his Celtic Guitar CD (with a tab book), but he plays a completely different ending, just a different flourish that he added.

Exactly! It's the performer's opportunity to improvise his own twiddly ending. No need to copy Bensusan's own cadenza, let alone finger it exactly the same.
Of course, one learns by copying, but no need to reproduce the original in performance (and better not to).