Hiya all.

Here's the other tune I promised.

It's a old timey waltz and I've posted it here rather than in the Scottish Music section.

The tune was composed by Patti Kusturok (aka Lamoureux) assisted by her son Alex in memory of her late mother.

We also repeated the tune in the key of A for the concert which makes for a nice and effective change in my opinion.
However, I’ve only transcribed the G version here.

Attached Files

  Memories of Eva.pdf (Size: 19.47 KB / Downloads: 6)

Here’s a nice wee waltz for you all which I've also posted elsewhre.. Composed by Marie Fielding.

I learned this one for a concert and it is one of the few which I’ve considered worthy enough to adopt.

It can be heard on Marie's  " An Seisiun"  album.

By the way, I've added the ties and slurs as we played it. These suit the fiddle well and I've worked out different ideas on how  to do things on the mandolin. However, please feel to experiment with ornamentation, add tremoloes etc as you see fit.

Attached Files

  Rhona's W.pdf (Size: 17.32 KB / Downloads: 6)

Some of you in the Slow Session Group Wednesday class expressed an interest in hearing the tune which Nigel so kindly composed in honour of my wife's birthday last July. I am very happy to share it with you ... I hope you like it as much as I do

Some of you in the Slow Session Group Wednesday class expressed an interest in hearing the tune which Nigel so kindly composed in honour of my wife's birthday last July. I am very happy to share it with you ... I hope you like it as much as I do

Soldier's Joy



Soldier's Joy was one of the first tunes I learned, and it still seems to me to be the perfect tune. It's extremely widespread, especially across the US, where different settings are myriad. This old time setting is from the playing of Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers. They recorded the tune twice in different settings, the first time in October 1929 with The legendary fiddlers Clayton McMichen and Lowe Stokes and Riley Puckett on guitar. However, the above setting is from the second recording from March 1934 with Gordon Tanner on fiddler, Ted Hawkins on mandolin, Gid Tanner on banjo and Riley Puckett again on guitar. It has some classic old time hallmarks, such as the "anticipated" notes in the A part and the joyous feeling throughout.

Two new tunebooks arrived this morning within minutes of each other, coincidentally. 

The first - A MacCrimmon Collection - is a collection of pipe music compiled by Iain and Calum MacCrimmon, and consists of mostly recent compositions not only by the MacCrimmons, but by the likes of Fin Moore, John Somerville, James Duncan Mackenzie, Duncan Chisholm and more. 

The second - The Aberdeen Collection - is a large collection (250 tunes) of contemporary* tunes by musicians with a connection to the city in question. I found out about it from JAJ, so thanks for that, JAJ.

Both books are presented beautifully, and while I haven't played through any of the tunes yet, I'm looking forward to that with great anticipation. I'll let you know my thoughts when the tunes have marinaded a bit.

* = Well, if you count Hector MacAndrew and James Scott Skinner as contemporary!

In case you didn't know, the class pages on my website are a great source for accessing free sheet music. For example, for my Wednesday morning mixed instrument class, the coming term is dedicated to new tunes by contemporary Scots musicians, and you can download the whole collection from this page in various formats. The book, called The Fresh Baked Collection is full of great tunes by people such as Alistair McCulloch, Fergie MacDonald, Freeland Barbour, Dagger Gordon, Blair Douglas and many more. 


My Upper Intermediate Mandolin class has an interesting term ahead (see this page), with an eclectic choice of music. Away from the usual Scots and Irish tunes, we're exploring music from Sweden, from the Renaissance, from the 1960s and from the pen of Arthur Sullivan. 

Most of this music ends up in my Tunes Section. I aim to provide clear, easy to read notation, and it can all build up into a worthwhile collection. All it costs you is a bit of extra ink in your printer - not even that if you've gone digital!

Hello everyone.... and thank you to Nigel for adding me. 

I am Emma, 
An enthusiastic fiddle torturer...in Tayside.

I have been playing fiddle for a meer six years, and am totally smitten. As a late starter I think perhaps I have committed to this more than anything else in all my days.   

I am predominantly self taught, having never previously played any instrument. I had to teach myself which end to blow into, at the same time as learning to decipher the dots, and with absolutely no background or previous experience of Scottish music I needed to listen and learn....fast!

Fast forward six years, I now go to as many sessions as my health, and marriage, will allow...3-4 a week.   I am at the stage where I can *hear and feel* the music, as well as being fairly proficient dot reader..... the best of both worlds.

So I will rake through the posts and resources, try to learn who you all are, and look forward to 'chatting' later.
cheers 
Pikilily aka Emma T

Bonnie Kate of Edinburgh



A lovely tune which can be found in McGibbon's Collection  (1742) and Oswald's Caledonoan Pocket Companion Vol.5 (1745). In one of my classes I'm doing a mini project on tunes with an Edinburgh connection. This is one of them.

Thought I would try again with the Forum. How about this one for June.


Alexandria Reel  


Hope you like it.

I cannot find any recordings of it on YouTube!!!


Alcluith

Attached Files

  Alexandria Reel.pdf (Size: 219.08 KB / Downloads: 2)