Low whistles in the Blue Lamp session, Aberdeen 2019 (c) Gordon Turnbull
FluteFling NE Tunebook Project: 06 John Keith Lang/ Barrowburn/ Walking on the Moon (Addie Harper Reel Set)
This sixth video in the series features three reels by Wick fiddler, composer and bandleader Addie Harper.
For background to the project of 10 sets of tunes being recorded over 10 weeks, and to see the first video, start here. Alternatively, go straight to the videos on my Youtube channel.
These reel are all very popular in Scottish music sessions and have been widely recorded. All three fit flutes and whistles well.
I can find surprisingly little background about the individual tunes. However, Addie Harper’s obituary from 2002 tells us something about the man.
John Keith Lang is in A but with G naturals, so sits within the bagpipe scale. There are several versions on The Session with some discussion.
The opening phrases are unusual in that they seem to return upon themselves, so can be tricky under the fingers at first. This alone is a reason to keep the music steady — the pace of any tune is always dictated by the pace of the most difficult passage because the tune shouldn’t speed up and slow down. Some people advocate practising with a metronome and if you have never tried it, it is definitely worth experimenting with one.
The Barrowburn Reel is in D and as an arrangement of tunes makes a dramatic change, dropping to bottom D from John Keith Lang. A distinctive feature of the tune is the incorporation of several phases of rising melody, which helps to build tension and anticipation. In the B part there are opportunities to play rolls. More discussion on The Session.
Walking on the Moon lifts the set back up to A again. There’s just a single G# but it can be avoided by taking breath at the point where it occurs.
I came across an anecdote that suggested the tune was inspired by watching the moon landings on TV, in particular the way that the astronauts moved in the low gravity environment. The way that the C naturals in the B part rise into C#s seems to illustrate the slightly unexpected elevation. Fiddlers sometimes slide up to that C# and of course flutes and whistles can do the same.
Ten weeks of videos
Over a 10 week or so period, I am recording and uploading to YouTube a set of tunes from the PDF roughly once a week. The aim is to introduce the tunes, point out some techniques along the way and then play them as a set as I might play them in a session.
As I go along, I’ll take in suggestions to improve the sound and presentation and get back into the way of teaching again. There is an in-built slow down function in YouTube and the PDF is available to everyone, so why not join me on the journey?
FluteFling NE Tunebook Project: 05 Marnie Swanson of the Grey Coast/ Looking at a Rainbow Through a Dirty Window
This fifth video of the NE Scotland Session Tunes Project features tunes by contemporary composers — Andy Thorburn and Calum Stewart respectively.
For background to the project of 10 sets of tunes being recorded over 10 weeks, and to see the first video, start here. Alternatively, go straight to the videos on my Youtube channel.
This fifth video in the project features two tunes from the FluteFling NE Tunebook of Scottish session tunes for flute and whistle. I play these on my Astor flute in D.
This pair of tunes in 3/4 time are both recent compositions by contemporary musicians. Modern compositions are regularly played in sessions and these tunes particularly suit the flute and whistle.
While I have been able to get permission from Calum Stewart to use his tune, I haven’t been able to contact Andy Thorburn to date and have taken the decision to omit playing it in the video.
About the tunes
Marnie Swanson of the Grey Coast by Andy Thorburn
Andy Thorburn is known as a composer and keyboard player in various performing and recording lineups, such as Blazing Fiddles and he often guests on other people’s projects. A resident of Easter Ross in the Highlands, he was inducted to the Tradmusic Hall of Fame in 2014.
Looking at a Rainbow Through a Dirty Window By Calum Stewart
My thanks to Calum for giving permission to include this tune. He’s one of the top flute players of Scottish repertoire and has written many other fine tunes that have entered Scottish session repertoire. He also plays uilleann pipes and low whistle and his website and recordings are recommended. The tune originally appeared on his debut album and at the time of writing, he plans to re-record this tune for a new album.
Take your time. In a session or performance environment, slow it down because you are probably playing faster than you think you are.
Marnie Swanson is not a conventional waltz in my experience — it ebbs and flows, pauses and continues. In sessions I have heard people play it like a straight waltz and I think it loses some of its grace, strength and wistfulness in the process.
Looking at a Rainbow has a stronger rhythm and makes a good contrast as a second tune. It is still a slow tune though, so don’t be tempted to run away with it. Look out for the linking phrases between the parts, which are important in keeping it flowing.
Both tunes have opportunities to use flattement – a kind of ghost trill – to decorate certain notes. It’s used by pipers and Baroque flute players alike and often varies from instrument to instrument. Both Sarah Markey and Calum Stewart use it in their videos.
Ten weeks of videos
Over a 10 week or so period, I am recording and uploading to YouTube a set of tunes from the PDF roughly once a week. The aim is to introduce the tunes, point out some techniques along the way and then play them as a set as I might play them in a session.
As I go along, I’ll take in suggestions to improve the sound and presentation and get back into the way of teaching again. There is an in-built slow down function in YouTube and the PDF is available to everyone, so why not join me on the journey?
The recording of the videos was squeezed into a corner over the Christmas period. (c) Gordon Turnbull
FluteFling NE Tunebook Project: 04 The Road to Berwick / There’s Nae Harm Done Guidewife/ Mrs Brown of Linkwood
This fourth video of the NE Scotland Session Tunes Project features reels composed by 18th Century fiddle composer William Marshall.
For background to the project of 10 sets of tunes being recorded over 10 weeks, and to see the first video, start here. Alternatively, go straight to the videos on my Youtube channel.
This fourth video in the project features three reels from the FluteFling NE Tunebook of Scottish session tunes for flute and whistle. I play these on my Astor flute in D.
William Marshall
William Marshall (1817) by John Moir (1775–1857), from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
William Marshall (1748 – 1833) hailed from Fochabers in Aberdeenshire and is regarded as one of the most important fiddle composers in Scotland, alongside the Gow family, James Scott Skinner and others. Praised by Robert Burns, he worked for the Duke of Gordon and one of his roles was to compose music for the Duke during a golden age of Scottish music.
Aberdeenshire fiddler Paul Anderson has a YouTube project where he goes through every single William Marshall composition once so you can hear how they should sound. His channel is worth exploring, and is recommended for anyone curious about the strong NE Scotland fiddle style.
About the tunes
This set of reels presents some tricky problems for flute and whistle players. I didn’t know any of these tunes prior to this project, and it will take a while longer before they are completely fluent under my fingers.
This is true of course for any newly learned tune and the process for me is also slower when I learn from printed music than if I learn by ear. The next stage is to try playing the tune away from the music. There are a few ways to do this. I tend to keep the sheet music nearby for reference and go over the tune, pausing at any sticky transitions between the phrases, repeating them and slowing down to encourage the fingers to move correctly.
If you are particularly reliant upon the sheet music, try placing the music stand progressively further away from you as you go over the tune. The individual notes become harder to make out, but you will still see the general rise and fall of the melody. Surprisingly, your brain already knows what to do and at one point you will reach the sweet spot where it becomes harder to read the music than it is to remember it. It’s a process of trusting yourself and developing confidence, but definitely worth persevering with as you develop your skill in this area.
The next key stage for me is to move away from visualising the printed music and instead to understand the feel of the tune. This may take a while and the incipits in the PDF can prompt the recall of the opening bars to help trigger the phrases that come next.
Reels are played with a bit of pace, but don’t be tempted to race away with them. All three of these tunes have dotted phrases and keeping them slower allows you to better integrate them into the music. When played faster, there is less time for each note, dotted or otherwise, and the rhythm tends to become ironed out. And of course, speeding up is a common feature of sessions, so practising and learning slower is the opportunity to keep your technique secure
The ascending phrase in the penultimate bar of the B part could become confused with the corresponding bar in There’s Nae Harm Done Goodwife (the second tune). Consider taking time to work on both of these and how they connect to the preceding phrases of their respective tunes.
Also published in 1781, There’s Nae Harm Done Guidewife is also in D and was possibly dedicated to his wife. See The Fiddler’s Companion (a precursor to the Traditional Tune Archive) for some more information. Note that there are a few different spellings of the title — Guidewife/ Guidwife/ Goodwife — the PDF for this project uses two different spellings, for example.
Points to be aware of with this tune:
The opening bars of a tune in a set are important in communicating a change to other musicians and to dancers and should be strong. In the A part this combines octave jumps and snaps with use of the G# key that gives the rising phrase an extra lift. It can be tricky but is effective.
Where a passage presents problems, work on it in isolation. Take each bar on its own and then combine them with others to get them to work together. In this instance, understanding where the tune goes from there will help make this a secure opening.
The B part is relatively straightforward, although again, be aware of the penultimate bar and its similarity to The Road to Berwick. Once more, consider taking time to work on both of these and how they connect to the preceding phrases of their respective tunes.
The reel runs easily, almost like some Irish polkas, and has a snapped phrase and a phrase that uses D#, both of which recur within the melody.
The use of D# ties the tune in with musical tastes and sensibilities of the 18th Century. It appears in several tunes of that period and also in the classical music of the time. I have come across some tunes where this has been dropped in more recent times, resulting in more than one version of a tune.
If you don’t have a D#/ Eb key, the tune still makes musical sense and it would be possible to play it with others if they had also understood that the D# is not to be played. However, it would not only lack the lift that the D# phrase introduces but also clash if others were playing the D#.
I mention the Irish connection not because I think that the tune is somehow directly related to Irish music, but because the large numbers of flute players in Ireland makes it easier to find examples of how such phrases might be played. As flute players we can then use our judgement to bring that into Scottish playing where we think it can be effective. If you’re looking for an introduction to Irish flute playing, there are many guides online, but begin with Brad Hurley’s site.
Be sure to check out John McKenna, who was very influential in the early 20th Century. Some of his playing of Irish polkas includes tunes that Scottish musicians would recognise and his breathing and rhythm are of particular interest to flute players in Scotland. Here’s something I wrote about him a few years ago.
More than one version of a tune?
The other lesson here is that there tends to be more than one version of any tune played in traditional music. This could be due to different instruments, regional and individual styles or the folk process shaping it across the years and centuries. As so much of Scottish music has been in print for a long period, different editorial hands have also been involved, sometimes changing a title or making adjustments to suit personal or audience taste and not always in a way that appeals to our times. Sometimes too, there are just plain mistakes and errors that are then copied and repeated.
So, be aware when playing with others, that they may play the tune differently to you. This may be that they have a different version, their instrument is different or their individual style is (e.g. they have been influenced by different musicians).
In sessions, deference is given to the musician that starts the tune and the trick then is to get in step with them by adapting your playing. If they aren’t a confident player, then doing so supports them and avoids dominating their music. Entrainment is how musical communities and styles evolve and develop. There’s there’s quite a science behind it as this study from the University of Durham shows.
There’s also plenty of discussion about session etiquette to be found online, much of it heated.
Ten weeks of videos
Over a 10 week or so period, I am recording and uploading to YouTube a set of tunes from the PDF roughly once a week. The aim is to introduce the tunes, point out some techniques along the way and then play them as a set as I might play them in a session.
As I go along, I’ll take in suggestions to improve the sound and presentation and get back into the way of teaching again. There is an in-built slow down function in YouTube and the PDF is available to everyone, so why not join me on the journey?
Sharon Creasey and John Gahagan at a session in Aberdeen, November 2019 (c) Gordon Turnbull
FluteFling NE Tunebook Project: 03 PM Donald PM Donald MacLean of Lewis/ Bonawe Highlanders
This third video of the NE Scotland Session Tunes Project features 6/8 pipe marches for the Highland bagpipes.
For background to the project of 10 sets of tunes being recorded over 10 weeks, and to see the first video, start here. Alternatively, go straight to the videos on my Youtube channel.
This third video in the series features two Highland pipe marches from the FluteFling NE Tunebook of Scottish session tunes for flute and whistle. I play these on my Burke whistle in D.
These tunes are often mistakenly referred to as jigs due to being in 6/8 time, but they are marches and should be played at a regular, steady pace, not too brisk, but brisk enough to invite moving purposefully. These types of tune are also often played for particular ceilidh dances and that’s what I have in mind as I play them.
PM Donald Maclean of Lewis was written by Donald McLeod, a composer of many fine tunes for the Highland pipes. It’s a finely constructed four part tune where parts 2 and 4 are closely related to each other. G is natural in this tune, which helps it to fit nicely under the fingers. As in all of our sets so far, an octave jump features, this time A-a. On the whistle, you may find that tonguing the higher note will help to make it clearer.
PM refers to Pipe Major, which is a role in a pipe band and not to be confused with a military rank. There’s a celebration of Donald Maclean and Donald MacLeod at the Piping Press web site.
There is some dispute about the authorship of The Bonawe Highlanders, which was composed by David Bowman, but some sources give PM John MacColl. See this discussion on The Session and the links given to other discussions, and also the reference on The Traditional Tune Archive. In this case I am going with David Bowman, which is backed up by several other websites. As always, treat any information on the web with caution and compare with other sources. I can find no information about David Bowman unfortunately.
The tune itself is firmly in A but features G# in just one phrase that occurs in parts 2 and 4. Part 4 also has G naturals that contrast with the G#. In Part 3, paying attention to the construction of the repeated rhythmic, hypnotic phrase will help the syncopation pop out of the melody. The tune features a Scotch snap — a dotted phrase characteristic of Scottish traditional music (see Wikipedia to learn more). It’s a sure sign that you’re playing the tune too fast if it can’t be heard or played clearly.
Bonawe is on the shores of Loch Etive in Argyll and is the historic site of an early iron furnace. In an Aberdeen session, I was the only person not playing this tune, so I’m glad to have finally learned it.
Ten weeks of videos
Over a 10 week or so period, I am recording and uploading to YouTube a set of tunes from the PDF roughly once a week. The aim is to introduce the tunes, point out some techniques along the way and then play them as a set as I might play them in a session.
As I go along, I’ll take in suggestions to improve the sound and presentation and get back into the way of teaching again. There is an in-built slow down function in YouTube and the PDF is available to everyone, so why not join me on the journey?
David Flett and Marie-Elaine Maguire at the Friday night session, Aberdeen 2019. (c) Gordon Turnbull
FluteFling NE Tunebook Project: 02 Peter’s Peerie Boat / Da Shaalds of Foula/ Da Brig
This second video of the NE Scotland Session Tunes Project stays with Shetland music with a set of three jigs.
For background to the project of 10 sets of tunes being recorded over 10 weeks, and to see the first video, start here. Alternatively, go straight to the videos on my Youtube channel.
Like the reels covered in the first video, Peter’s Peerie Boat is by fiddler Tom Anderson. “Peerie” means “small”. Wikipedia has a helpful overview of Shetland dialect. Other settings of the tune can be found on The Session, where there is also some related discussion.
The tune is in D and begins with a slightly tricky d-D octave drop that for flutes requires good control of the embouchure and breath. This is less of an issue for whistles and in both cases, adopting the middle d fingering o x x x x x will also help the transition. Ensure the flute is warmed up and responsive.
In the second part of the tune there’s a single low C# that will require a key to play. If you don’t have this, the workaround is to simply play the octave c# above. Although that then loses the effect of successive descending phrases, it still makes musical sense and echoes the octave jumps elsewhere in the tune and in the set.
Da Shaalds of Foula is a traditional tune with a few settings in different keys. The title apparently refers to hidden reefs off the Isle of Foula. The ever helpful Traditional Tune Archive has useful notes on these that show it was first collected from the Island of Yell in 1862 and also links to a 1954 field recording of the tune being played by Yell musicians Peter Scollay (fiddle), Lowrie Scollay (guitar) and Alice Manuell (accordion). The recording is from Scotland’s amazing online archive Tobar an Dualchais/ Kist o’ Riches, which everybody should bookmark. There’s a more Nordic-sounding arrangement on this Youtube recording by Faroese band Spælimenninir.
As for the tune itself, it’s very flute and whistle friendly, swinging along with some scope for simple variation in the second part. Again, octave drops feature, this time at the end to help lead into the first part again.
Da Brig is in D, this was apparently written by Friedemann Stickel from Unst, who is associated with several Shetland tunes.
Friedemann von Stickel was a German fiddler who was shipwrecked on Unst in Shetland in the 1770s (or his shipmates got fed up of his fiddling and tossed him overboard…); he ended up staying and marrying a Yell woman. His son was also called Friedemann and became a respected fiddler, composing a number of tunes. One evening he observed a brigantine sail past and was inspired to write “Da Brig”.
Watch out for the jump after the opening phrases and in B part, avoid confusing it with the B part of Peter’s Peerie Boat. Once you’re past the opening bars it becomes clearer. Let’s say, you’re in open water.
Ten weeks of videos
Over a 10 week or so period, I am recording and uploading to YouTube a set of tunes from the PDF roughly once a week. The aim is to introduce the tunes, point out some techniques along the way and then play them as a set as I might play them in a session.
As I go along, I’ll take in suggestions to improve the sound and presentation and get back into the way of teaching again. There is an in-built slow down function in YouTube and the PDF is available to everyone, so why not join me on the journey?
