Music in general is great for bringing back memories of certain events in a person's life. It's usually songs or a piece of music, but what about Traditional music? Do any reels, jigs, hornpipes etc stir the memories for you?
Here are a few tunes that do it for me:
'Shandon Bells' - always takes me right back to the halcyon days of Ceili Dancing in my home town in the 1950s
'The Scholar' and 'the Mooncoin Reel' always reminds me of the first ceili band I played drums with around the same time..
'Kiss the Bride' reminds me of Fiddle player Jimmy Power in The Favourite in London in the sixties. He taught me the tune.
'Mama's Pet' reminds me of a flute player I often travelled with on a London bus to various Ceoltas sessions. Sitting on the top deck, and much to the amusement of the other passengers, he had no hesitation of getting the flute out and playing me 'Mama's Pet' Sorry Johnny, but I never did learn the reel.
Lastly 'The Plains of Boyle' reminds me of the first time I played the box at a ceili dance and got paid for it..
I remember so many tunes from when I was an irish dancer in Glasgow in the 1960's. The set dances in particular all evoke memories: King of the Fairies, Kilkenny Races, The Blackbird, St Patrick's Day, Madame Bonaparte - I remember the tunes and the dances to all of them. In those days, we would get up at the Glasgow Feis (and other feises in London, Dublin and Newcastle) and dance - two or three to the stage at a time - and dance to the music of a filddler or two, or maybe an accordian player as well - I don't remember any flutes or bodhrans and definitely no guitars - and we would signal to them with a flap of our wrists whether we needed them to speed up or slow down.
What's important to me about all of those memories is that it has inscribed this music on my heart. I loved it then and I love it now, almost half a century later.
p.s. we didn't wear make-up or ringlets wings in those days.
I find that a lot of tunes, and not just waltzes and airs and such, bring back lots of memories, but as often about other memories of playing this music, but just other things in life...
Milladoiro is a Galician band which was thriving in the 70's, they played their own compositons as well as tradicional tunes. They were (and are) mighty musicians. I bounce (as opposed to dance, which I can't) every time I hear any of their tunes.
Also, a friend of mine recorded for me a tape of Bothy Band's first recording, and I have great memories from those times each time I hear it. I'm 39 now, so I'm in the age of having memories
As a child of 7 or 8 I remember my mother humming little snippets of tunes now and then. At that age I didn't pay much attention. Now I'm always pleasantly surprised when I learn a new tune and discover it was one of those she used to hum.
Pigeon on the Gate is one that definitely does for me - I remember lying in a cold, wet tent at a school camp with a huge light blasting through the side of the tent. As I couldn't get to sleep, I listened to this tune a number of times but still found it a fairly hard one to learn. The Kesh and the Blackthorn Stick, as hackneyed as they are, also have quite a few memories attached as to when and why I started playing music.
Cronin's hornpipe and the Freize Breeches always bring me back to my kitchen when I was really young, probably about 6. I remember sitting cross-legged in front of the fridge listening to Planxty's "The Well Below the Valley" over and over and over again. Lovely, overplayed Mary's Wedding played on fiddle and Scotland the Brave played on scottish pipes always bring me back to the Highland Games weekend in my old hometown.
There's a lot of traditional songs (mostly Newfoundland) my dad used to always sing that bring me right back every time I hear them.
Traditional music that stirs the memory
Traditional music that stirs the memory
Music in general is great for bringing back memories of certain events in a person's life. It's usually songs or a piece of music, but what about Traditional music? Do any reels, jigs, hornpipes etc stir the memories for you?
Here are a few tunes that do it for me:
'Shandon Bells' - always takes me right back to the halcyon days of Ceili Dancing in my home town in the 1950s
'The Scholar' and 'the Mooncoin Reel' always reminds me of the first ceili band I played drums with around the same time..
'Kiss the Bride' reminds me of Fiddle player Jimmy Power in The Favourite in London in the sixties. He taught me the tune.
'Mama's Pet' reminds me of a flute player I often travelled with on a London bus to various Ceoltas sessions. Sitting on the top deck, and much to the amusement of the other passengers, he had no hesitation of getting the flute out and playing me 'Mama's Pet' Sorry Johnny, but I never did learn the reel.
Lastly 'The Plains of Boyle' reminds me of the first time I played the box at a ceili dance and got paid for it..
# Posted on May 24th 2009 by Free Reed
Re: Traditional music that stirs the memory
I envy all you traddies who grew up with the music. I wish I had.
# Posted on May 24th 2009 by Greg the Piano Tuner
Re: Traditional music that stirs the memory
I remember so many tunes from when I was an irish dancer in Glasgow in the 1960's. The set dances in particular all evoke memories: King of the Fairies, Kilkenny Races, The Blackbird, St Patrick's Day, Madame Bonaparte - I remember the tunes and the dances to all of them. In those days, we would get up at the Glasgow Feis (and other feises in London, Dublin and Newcastle) and dance - two or three to the stage at a time - and dance to the music of a filddler or two, or maybe an accordian player as well - I don't remember any flutes or bodhrans and definitely no guitars - and we would signal to them with a flap of our wrists whether we needed them to speed up or slow down.
What's important to me about all of those memories is that it has inscribed this music on my heart. I loved it then and I love it now, almost half a century later.
p.s. we didn't wear make-up or ringlets wings in those days.
# Posted on May 24th 2009 by shelagh
Re: Traditional music that stirs the memory
I find that a lot of tunes, and not just waltzes and airs and such, bring back lots of memories, but as often about other memories of playing this music, but just other things in life...
# Posted on May 25th 2009 by JosephC
Re: Traditional music that stirs the memory
Milladoiro is a Galician band which was thriving in the 70's, they played their own compositons as well as tradicional tunes. They were (and are) mighty musicians. I bounce (as opposed to dance, which I can't) every time I hear any of their tunes.
Also, a friend of mine recorded for me a tape of Bothy Band's first recording, and I have great memories from those times each time I hear it. I'm 39 now, so I'm in the age of having memories
# Posted on May 25th 2009 by Ramiro
Re: Traditional music that stirs the memory
As a child of 7 or 8 I remember my mother humming little snippets of tunes now and then. At that age I didn't pay much attention. Now I'm always pleasantly surprised when I learn a new tune and discover it was one of those she used to hum.
Mary
# Posted on May 25th 2009 by Antikhntr
Re: Traditional music that stirs the memory
I've heard many a traditional tune that's stirred my memory.
It's stirred my memory of how the tune went.
Free Reed - if you didn't see that one coming, you ought to have! But in my case it's nothing but the truth.
# Posted on May 25th 2009 by nicholas
Re: Traditional music that stirs the memory
Pigeon on the Gate is one that definitely does for me - I remember lying in a cold, wet tent at a school camp with a huge light blasting through the side of the tent. As I couldn't get to sleep, I listened to this tune a number of times but still found it a fairly hard one to learn. The Kesh and the Blackthorn Stick, as hackneyed as they are, also have quite a few memories attached as to when and why I started playing music.
# Posted on May 26th 2009 by camwebby
Re: Traditional music that stirs the memory
Cronin's hornpipe and the Freize Breeches always bring me back to my kitchen when I was really young, probably about 6. I remember sitting cross-legged in front of the fridge listening to Planxty's "The Well Below the Valley" over and over and over again. Lovely, overplayed Mary's Wedding played on fiddle and Scotland the Brave played on scottish pipes always bring me back to the Highland Games weekend in my old hometown.
There's a lot of traditional songs (mostly Newfoundland) my dad used to always sing that bring me right back every time I hear them.
# Posted on May 26th 2009 by dannym