Writing Hornpipes

I'd like to compose a hornpipe for my school band, would anybody be able to tell me how to do this please? Is there a specific structure I should follow, or any rules in which i will need to stick to whilst composing it?

I'd recommend writing it as a simple melody first, maybe for a flute, fiddle, or bagpipes, and guitar chords. Then you can worry about arranging it for band. A hornpipe will be in 4/4 time, with two complimenting sections, each with repeats, sometimes a first and second ending. Each section may be 8 measures long, or some number divisible by four. Your arrangement of course can be much more sophisticated. You can state the hornpipe with or without the repeats, and then go on to harmonize it in different ways, play around with different bass lines, putting it in different instrument combinations. Piccolo/flutes and euphonium are popular instruments in band to give the hornpipe to, but you don't have to follow that precedent.

On this site you can view a ton of hornpipes, use them as model, and create your own melody. Click on the name of the tune, that'll take you to its pages, and you can find more about it, or view the sheet music on it's respective tab.

The Session: Tunes

OK thank you very much :). That will be a great help - i'll go and get my manuscript pad and pen! :)

If you get a melody down, don't hesitate to post it here. :thumbsup: