Annotation:Peacock's Tune
X:1 T:Peacock's Tune M:6/8 L:1/8 S:Bruce & Stokoe – Northumbrian Minstrelsy (1882) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G B/c/|d>ed d>cB|gfg d2 B/c/|d>ed dcB|AAA A2 B/c/| d>ed d>cB|gfg d2c|Bcd BcA|GGG G2:| |:G/A/|BAB cBc|dcd ede|fef gdB|AAA A2 d/c/| BAB cBc|def g2 f/e/|dec BcA|GGG G2:|]
PEACOCK’S TUNE. English (originally), Scottish, Air (6/8 or 3/4 time). England, Northumberland. G Major (Bruce & Stokoe, Lerwick): A Major (Cocks). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. "This march ("Peacock's March") and air were both the composition of John Peacock, the celebrated Northumbrian piper, who came to Newcastle originally from Morpeth, and was perhaps the best small-pipes player who lived, although not a scientific performer. He was one of the Incorporated Company of Town Waits in Newcastle, and in 1805 in conjunction with William Wright, published a small oblong book of Tunes for the Northumbrian Small Pipes, of which only two or three copies are now known to exist" (Bruce & Stokoe). Peacock lived from 1754(or 6) to 1817 and was taught by William Lamshaw at a time when the smallpipes were just beginning to decline in popularity. Peacock helped to modernize the instrument, commissioning a set of pipes with four keys from maker John Dunn. The tune was copied from piper Robert Bewick, who probably had it from his tutor, John Peacock, and was among the papers collected by the authors of Northumbrian Minstrelsy for the preparation of the 1882 volume.
The tune was copied by the Melodies Committee of the Newcastle Antiquarian Society, who compiled local tunes from the years 1857-1887, which formed the basis for much of the contents of Northumbrian Minstrelsy (1882)[1].
