Here’s a set of tunes in 3/2 time. These are sometimes known as triple hornpipes or 3/2 hornpipes in the English and Border tradition. To learn more about this type of tune Pete Stewart has written a scholarly article which can be read on The Lowland And Borders Pipers’ Society website. If this type of tune really catches your imagination then John Offord has published a book called ‘John of the Green, The Cheshire Way” which includes 250 tunes from the English tradition, the majority in 3/2 time.

Tunes in this time signature are not uncommon in the Scottish manuscripts and publications of the 18th century and some have survived in the repertoire to this day. This set includes three of the most well known.

Below are links to the tune set (click to view or alt+click to download).
ABC File – PDF File
Playable notation is at the bottom of the page.

• Wee Totum Fogg. A setting in Amix from the 1980s has become pretty common but the setting here stays closer to those from the 18th century. The top octave notes have been folded down to fit the pipes. Some of the other names for this tune include ‘Wee Willie Grey’ and ‘Rusty Gulley’. Matt Seattle wrote an article on the tune for The Lowland And Border Pipers’ Society.
• Pawkie Adam Glen. Adam Glen was reputed to be a piper who died while playing his pipes in the front line at The Battle of Sherrifmuir in 1715. According to The Dictionaries of The Scots Language, pawkie means ‘wily, sly, cunning, crafty’.
• Go To Berwick Johnnie. Arguably the best known of the 3/2 tunes in Scotland, this has been on the go for at least 330 years and published many times. This four part setting seems to have become the standard.