i know this is gratuitous, but as i said, i'm excited. i never thought i would be able to manage a strathspey, never mind laird of drumblair. larry nugent played it the other day at a session, and i decided that i wanted to learn it too. it only took me two or three hours to learn, while surfing the internet.
it used to take me a couple days to learn a simple reel. it's a nice affirmation for all the work i've been putting in. of course, i have to thank james kelly, for teaching me how to break down a tune, and play through it, especially triplets and such. i dont like name dropping--i'm nothing special, i just pay the man money--but i figure give the man his due!
anybody else play it? i'm just amazed that anybody was able to transcribe it--i would never have been able to figure out what notes were in the triplets by ear. check out the myspace of the guy who posted the tune here: http://www.myspace.com/martintourish .
any body got any other good strathspeys they would recommend?
That's fantastic. It's also really encouraging as I'm trying to learn the melodeon and it's taking me ages to learn one tune. A good teacher is clearly a real asset. Being able to say that it takes hours instead of days to learn a tune is a place I would like to be! Must do more practise...
Must be quite a job to learn a strathspey on concertina or melodeon, strathspeys fall easily under the fingers for a fiddle, I wonder how that would be for other instruments?
I would love to be gratuitous like Daiv but.......
My fiddle playing/learning has hit a brick wall again for the second time in three years. I have had the fiddle expertly set up with new sound post etc and everyone says its a great instrument which leaves just me as the problem.
So I would love to be feeling a bit of Daiv''s excitement
actually you can hear a very young Dermot Byrne playing Lady Lyle on youtube - search for Dermot Byrne and you'll be amazed... I think the youtube page calls it a different name.
HENK--it's pretty difficult. i learned it in Bb, because i think that's the key that tommy peoples is playing it in (probably tunes his fiddle up a half step), so i could play along. Bb is not a normal key, it's a lot of cross fingering. it would probably be easier in A, but then again, i dont have to deal with all that bowing you guys have to deal with.
DONOUGH--i've been there. a lot. push through it. i find that's the best place to be. if everything is always going right, that means you're not going anywhere. my uncle says its a cycle, first you play better than your ear, so you think you're great, and then your ear gets better, and then you think you stink. so that means your ear got better, so you just gotta get up to the level of your ear, so then it will all happen again.
KEYS--i have been playing the concertina 4 years, as far as i can reckon. i have been working on the tune some more today, and my left hand hurts! the left hand has a lot of b flat, third finger a, and second finger c. it seems the whole hand lays on strange buttons, on my weakest fingers. i take lessons from noel hill once a year at his concertina camp in the midwest (america); i will be going for my fourth time next year. noel really taught me to push myself, and of course how fingering, phrasing, and ornamentation work on the concertina. james kelly has really taught me how to take it up to the next level, by getting my rhythm rock solid.
that dermot byrne recording is amazing. thank you for sharing!
Donough - I agree with everything 'daiv' said -- at any rate it matches
up to what I have experienced
plus - it might be something very simple, like using the right fingers
in the right way in your bow grip during various strokes or
whether you are driving the stroke from the right set of muscles.
Or maybe you clamp down too much with your chin.
Or maybe you're not practicing enough at a slow tempo.
Or maybe you're trying use too much ornamentation, or the timing of
the ornaments is off
You might try making a video of yourself and see if anything looks
weird compared to other fiddle players you've seen
The usual key, and the key Tommy plays the laird in, is A. Don't think I'd like to attempt it in Bb. It's also played as a reel called Angus Campbell (I think that's it's name, it's been 30 years since I played in a Scottish Country Dance Band).
when i try to play it in A, it sounds out of tune with tommy's playing. i'm sure he's playing it in A, but it sounds like his fiddle is tuned up a half step, for brightness.
so the next step is to learn it in A, cuz it is (of course) the usual key. it's a pity, because i think it sounds better in Bb.
i'm excited
i'm excited
i'm excited cuz i just learned laird of drumblair on the concertina. http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/170 , http://youtube.com/watch?v=fEFlZLA4Trc . i cant play it as fast as tommy (almost!) but i'll get there!
i know this is gratuitous, but as i said, i'm excited. i never thought i would be able to manage a strathspey, never mind laird of drumblair. larry nugent played it the other day at a session, and i decided that i wanted to learn it too. it only took me two or three hours to learn, while surfing the internet.
it used to take me a couple days to learn a simple reel. it's a nice affirmation for all the work i've been putting in. of course, i have to thank james kelly, for teaching me how to break down a tune, and play through it, especially triplets and such. i dont like name dropping--i'm nothing special, i just pay the man money--but i figure give the man his due!
anybody else play it? i'm just amazed that anybody was able to transcribe it--i would never have been able to figure out what notes were in the triplets by ear. check out the myspace of the guy who posted the tune here: http://www.myspace.com/martintourish .
any body got any other good strathspeys they would recommend?
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by daiv
Re: i'm excited
"-i would never have been able to figure out what notes were in the triplets by ear."
But you did say it once took you two days to learn a simple reel. Now you have a tune in a couple of hours. Never say never.
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by llig leahcim
Re: i'm excited
Some strathspeys I fancy:
The Iron Man (
composed by James Scott Skinner, just like The Laird of Drumblair).
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/172
Drumnagarry
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/2514
The Quiet Man
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/3163
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Henk Bos
Re: i'm excited
That's fantastic. It's also really encouraging as I'm trying to learn the melodeon and it's taking me ages to learn one tune. A good teacher is clearly a real asset. Being able to say that it takes hours instead of days to learn a tune is a place I would like to be! Must do more practise...
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by clogstepping
Re: i'm excited
Must be quite a job to learn a strathspey on concertina or melodeon, strathspeys fall easily under the fingers for a fiddle, I wonder how that would be for other instruments?
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Henk Bos
Re: i'm excited
Stirling Castle
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Steve Shaw
Re: i'm NOT excited
I would love to be gratuitous like Daiv but.......
My fiddle playing/learning has hit a brick wall again for the second time in three years. I have had the fiddle expertly set up with new sound post etc and everyone says its a great instrument which leaves just me as the problem.
So I would love to be feeling a bit of Daiv''s excitement
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Donough
Re: i'm excited
congrtulations!!! You should be excited! I play the concertina and I would be excited too if I could ever tackle a tune like that. WOW. good job
how long have you been playing concertina?
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by keys05
Re: i'm excited
lady lyle is another nice strathspey - have a look at:
http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/1617
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Brown Creeper
Re: i'm excited
actually you can hear a very young Dermot Byrne playing Lady Lyle on youtube - search for Dermot Byrne and you'll be amazed... I think the youtube page calls it a different name.
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Brown Creeper
Re: i'm excited
Dermot Byrne playing Lady Lyle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Wts70RRLs&feature=related
# Posted on July 15th 2008 by Feargal French
Re: i'm excited
HENK--it's pretty difficult. i learned it in Bb, because i think that's the key that tommy peoples is playing it in (probably tunes his fiddle up a half step), so i could play along. Bb is not a normal key, it's a lot of cross fingering. it would probably be easier in A, but then again, i dont have to deal with all that bowing you guys have to deal with.
DONOUGH--i've been there. a lot. push through it. i find that's the best place to be. if everything is always going right, that means you're not going anywhere. my uncle says its a cycle, first you play better than your ear, so you think you're great, and then your ear gets better, and then you think you stink. so that means your ear got better, so you just gotta get up to the level of your ear, so then it will all happen again.
KEYS--i have been playing the concertina 4 years, as far as i can reckon. i have been working on the tune some more today, and my left hand hurts! the left hand has a lot of b flat, third finger a, and second finger c. it seems the whole hand lays on strange buttons, on my weakest fingers. i take lessons from noel hill once a year at his concertina camp in the midwest (america); i will be going for my fourth time next year. noel really taught me to push myself, and of course how fingering, phrasing, and ornamentation work on the concertina. james kelly has really taught me how to take it up to the next level, by getting my rhythm rock solid.
that dermot byrne recording is amazing. thank you for sharing!
# Posted on July 16th 2008 by daiv
Re: i'm excited
Donough - I agree with everything 'daiv' said -- at any rate it matches
up to what I have experienced
plus - it might be something very simple, like using the right fingers
in the right way in your bow grip during various strokes or
whether you are driving the stroke from the right set of muscles.
Or maybe you clamp down too much with your chin.
Or maybe you're not practicing enough at a slow tempo.
Or maybe you're trying use too much ornamentation, or the timing of
the ornaments is off
You might try making a video of yourself and see if anything looks
weird compared to other fiddle players you've seen
# Posted on July 16th 2008 by Hup
Re: i'm excited
The usual key, and the key Tommy plays the laird in, is A. Don't think I'd like to attempt it in Bb. It's also played as a reel called Angus Campbell (I think that's it's name, it's been 30 years since I played in a Scottish Country Dance Band).
Well done, especially in Bb!
# Posted on July 16th 2008 by woops
Re: i'm excited
when i try to play it in A, it sounds out of tune with tommy's playing. i'm sure he's playing it in A, but it sounds like his fiddle is tuned up a half step, for brightness.
so the next step is to learn it in A, cuz it is (of course) the usual key. it's a pity, because i think it sounds better in Bb.
# Posted on July 16th 2008 by daiv