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Today we’re looking at a hornpipe titled “Off To California,” another fiddle tune that was passed down over the years that has no documented origin. It was collected and published by at least two different people in the 19th century, one in Oregon and one in California.
It has a lot in common melodically with tunes that come out of New England like “Fireman’s Reel,” and like most folk music in the States, it all traces back to the Old World in one way or another.
“Off To California” Playing Tips
A hornpipe is a type of Irish dance tune. Like a reel, they’re in 4/4 time, but they tend to be played at a slower tempo and with different emphasis.
Reels are written in 4/4 time, but they usually have more of a 2/2, or cut time, feel. They’re played so quickly and such emphasis is placed on the upbeats (1 and 3) or the downbeats (2 and 4), that the listeners (and the dancers) hear a measure of the song as ONE-two, ONE-two or one-TWO, one-TWO.
Hornpipes are generally played at a slower tempo, and they are usually played with a bit of a swing – often called a “dotted rhythm” – where you draw out the notes on the beat slightly and shorten the notes in between. So while a measure of a hornpipe is written like this:
You actually play it like this:
The rhythm syllable phrase for the dotted-eighth-sixteenth pair is TIM-ri. So while the straight time measure would be read:
TA ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti
A hornpipe will have have this feel:
TA TIM-ri TIM-ri TIM-ri
Sometimes the dotted feel is subtle. Sometimes you really lean into it. It all depends on your personal style or the style of the group you’re playing with. If you’re struggling to figure out how to accomplish this feel, the best thing to do is listen to examples and play along with them the best that you can.
“Off To California” always feels a bit longer to me than other folk songs, even though it’s the typical two 8-measure sections. This is likely due to the fact that each section has an alternate ending that results in an extra 3 measures and a fifth line on the page.
If like me, you feel a bit cramped with the whole tune on one page, I’ve included a two-page arrangement as well with a download button below the embedded PDF.
1-Page “Off To California” Low G Sheet Music Download
2-Page “Off To California” Low G Sheet Music Download
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