Key signature: Cmajor
Submitted on June 15th 2007 by ceolachan.
This tune has been added to 20 tunebooks.
Also known as A Starry Night For A Ramble, Breamish, The Breamish, A Starry Night In Shetland, Starry Night, Starry Night In Shetland, Starry Nights, Starry Nights Of Shetland.
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: Starry Nights Of Shetland, The
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: waltz
K: Cmaj
|: G2 |
e4 c2 | G2 A2 G2 | F6 | B4 A2 | G4 B2 | d4 G2 | e6- | e4 G2 |
e4 c2 | G2 A2 G2 | F6 | B4 A2 | G3 B de | f2 A2 B2 | c6- | c2 d2 e2 |
f2 A2 f2 | f2 A2 f2 | e2 G2 e2 | e2 G2 e2 | e2 c2 e2 | g2 f2 e2 | d6- | d4 G2 |
e4 c2 | G2 A2 G2 | F6 | B4 A2 | G2 B2 de | f3 A B2 | c6- | c4 :|
K: Dmaj
|: A2 |
f4 d2 | A3 B A2 | G4 B2 | c4 B2 | A4 c2 | e4 A2 | f6- | f2 d2 e2 |
f4 d2 | A2 (3BcB A2 | G4 B2 | c4 B2 | A3 c ef | g2 (3BcB c2 | d3 e d2 | d4 ef |
g3 B g2 | g2 B2 g2 | f3 A f2 | f2 A2 f2 | f2 de fd | (3aba (3gag f2 | e3 f e^d | e4 A2 |
f4 d2 | A2 B2 (3ABA | G4 B2 | c4- cB | A2 Ac ef | g2 B2 c2 | d2 de dc | d4 :|
"The Starry Nights Of Shetland"
Here's another Shetland tune, a waltz...
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by ceolachan
Shetland Appreciation & Ronnie Cooper Week ~ two of his often joined with this
"Ronas Voe"
Key signature: G Major
Submitted on June 11th 2007 by ceolachan.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/7336
"Sunset Over Foula"
Key signature: D Major
Submitted on June 13th 2007 by ceolachan.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/7348
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by ceolachan
Discussion: Ronnie Cooper Waltzes...
# Posted on May 25th 2007 by Bren
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/13853
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by ceolachan
"The Starry Nights Of Shetland" ~ other dots & ABCs
Dots ~
Eric Foxley's Music Database
http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~ef/music/index.htm
Nottingham Folk Music Database ~ Waltzes
http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~ef/music/tunes/waltzes.htm
"Starry Nights of Shetland"
http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~ef/music/tunes/waltzes.pdf/starry.nights.pdf
Riddell Fiddles: Traditional fiddle teaching for the young and old
http://www.riddellfiddles.co.uk/
~ teaching ~ Tune Sets ~
Music Scores: "The Starry Nights of Shetland" ~ .pdf
Paul Hardy's Session Tunebook
"The Starry Nights of Shetland"
http://www.hardy.34sp.com/music/tunebooks/pgh_session_tunebook_paged.pdf
ABCs ~
“Sunset Over Foula” / “Isles of Glentness” / “Starry Nights of Shetland” ~ medley
"Ali Bain & Phil Cunningham: The Ruby"
http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/mirror/MosheBraner/SunsetOverFoula.abc
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by ceolachan
The Starry Nights Of Shetland
I've also heard this called A Starry Night For A Ramble.
In Northumberland, a variation of this tune is called Breamish. The Breamish is the name given to the upper reaches of a river known further down as the Till, which eventually joins the River Tweed.
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by nicholas
The Breamish
Here is my take on The Breamish:
T: The Breamish
M: C
L: 1/8
R: Waltz
K: D
Ad|:f4 d2|A4 F2|G6 |B6 |
|D4 c2|e4 g2|f6 |d4 Ad|
|f4 d2|A4 F2|G6 |B6 |
|A4 c2|e4 f2| d6|-d4 ef|
|g3 f g2|B2 d2 g2|f3 e f2|A2 d2 f2|
|e3 ^d ef|g2 B2 c2|=d2 c2 B2|A2 d2 f2|
|g3 f g2|B2 d2 g2|f3 e f2|A2 d2 f2|
|e3 ^d ef|g2 B2 c2| =d6|-d4 :|
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by nicholas
The Breamish
The above is the version in the Northumbrian Pipers' Second Tune Book, which I decided to crib from after hearing Kathryn Tickell playing the tune on her album "The Northumberland Collection" - it was practically the same on the album as in the book.
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by nicholas
"The Starry Nights Of Shetland" ~ AABB
I've also seen transcriptions of this melody as AABB ~ but I'll use nicholas's transcription for the example, that damn D was bothering me. It can't be right...
~
T:The Starry Nights Of Shetland
C: Ronnie Cooper
T: The Breamish
M: C
L: 1/8
R: Waltz
K: D Major
|: Ad |
f4 d2 | A4 F2 | G6 | B6 | A4 c2 | e4 g2 | f6 | d4 Ad |
f4 d2 | A4 F2 | G6 | B6 | A4 c2 | e4 f2 | d6 | -d4 :|
|: ef |
g3 f g2 | B2 d2 g2 | f3 e f2 | A2 d2 f2 | e3 ^d ef | g2 B2 c2 | d2 c2 B2 | A2 d2 f2 |
g3 f g2 | B2 d2 g2 | f3 e f2 | A2 d2 f2 | e3 ^d ef | g2 B2 c2 | d6 | -d4 :|
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by ceolachan
~ | d6- | d4 :|
Endings and slurs, a minor correction...
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by ceolachan
Starry night - second part
I play a second part for this (possibly from one of the Folkworks Books) - I'll dig it out and put in here.
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by spindizzy
That I gotta see spindizzy, and Ben and Dow too I expect. I look forward to the addition...
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by ceolachan
Ooh! Yes please!
... but only if I can play it simultaneously with the tune on fiddle ...
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by benhall.1
Second part
Here goes (It's played against a DMaj version - so I've put that up to though it's close enough to the one above.
I wasn't from a Folkworks book but handed out in a workshop. The sheet says Arr. Nick Hopkinson and Gerry Murphy.
This is a very bare bones version - and thus suitable for me as a flute novice
Main tune in D
C: Ronnie Cooper - arr. N Hopkinson and G Murphy
L: 1/4
M:3/4
R: Waltz
K: D Major
|: A | f2 d | A B A | G2 G | c2 B | A2 c | e2 A | f3 | -f2 A |
f2 d | A B A | G2 G | c2 B | A c e/f/ | g B c | d3 | -d2 :|
|: e/f/ | g B g | g B g | f A f | f A f | f d f | a g f | e3 | -e d e |
f2 d | A B A | G2 G | c2 B | A c e/f/ | g B c | d3 | -d2 :|
T:Starry Night in Shetland -Harmony Part
C: Ronnie Cooper - arr. N Hopkinson and G Murphy
M:3/4
L: 1/4
R: Waltz
K: D Major
|: A | A2 A | f g f | B2 B | e2 d | c2 B | A2 G | F2 A | A2 A |
A2 A | f g f | B2 B | e2 d | c A c | B A G | F3 | -F2 :|
|: =c | B2 B| B2 B | A2 A | A2 A | A B A | f e d | c3 | -c B A |
A2 A | f g f | B2 B | e2 d | c A c | B A G | F3 | -F2 :|
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by spindizzy
Double-stop that Ben!
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by ceolachan
a good tune, you often hear it played in Dmaj around here, the harmony part you've provided spindizzy, is the one I know and is played a lot around my area
# Posted on June 15th 2007 by snowyowl
We T(that is, me and a bunch of fiddlers) play this tune in D thus:
X: 1
T: The Starry Nights of Shetland
M: 3/4
L: 1/4
R: waltz
K: D
A|f2d|A(BA)|G2G|c2B|A2c|e2A|(f3|f2)A|
f2d|A(BA)|G2G|c2B|Acd/e/|f(Bc)|d3|d2:|
e/f/|gBg|gBg|fAf|fAf|fdf|agf|(e3|e2)A|
f2d|A(BA)|G2G|c2B|Acd/e/|f(Bc)|d3|d2:|
# Posted on June 16th 2007 by DonaldK
P.S. Sorry about the lack of gaps.
# Posted on June 16th 2007 by DonaldK
"The Starry Nights Of Shetland" / "Starry Night in Shetland"
A question of distribution? ( I was getting to this but got distracted ~
) One of the most circulated transcriptions for this tune comes from the following, a book and tape, that was also sold and distributed, including workshop handouts based on this transcriptions, via workshops, festivals and summer camps all over these Isles and North America and beyong:
"haand me doon da fiddle"
Put together by Tom Anderson, Shetland fiddler,
and Pam Swing, a fine and gifted fiddler from the USA
First published in 1979 by the Department of Continuing Education,
The University of Stirling
ISBN: 0-901636-25-8
Tune #21: "Starry Night in Shetland"
At the time they didn't know the composer but that this melody "cam frae from da 'North Isles"... Further guidance on their transcription:
"If du keeps dye fingers doon ida second half as we shaw dee ida music it maks it far aisier ta play." ~ Tom Anderson
Here's that transcription, via handouts and the book, for comparison with the rest, minus finer points, like bowing ~
X: 1134
T: Starry Night in Shetland
S: Tom Anderson & Pam Swing
M: 3/4
L: 1/4
R: waltz
K: D Major
|: A2 |
f4 d2 | A2 B2 A2 | G4 G2 | c4 B2 | A4 c2 | e4 A2 | f6 | f4 A2 |
f4 d2 | A2 B2 A2 | G4 G2 | c4 B2 | A2 c2 ef | g2 B2 c2 | d6 | d4 :|
|: ef |
g2 B2 g2 | g2 B2 g2 | f2 A2 f2 | f2 A2 f2 | f2 d2 f2 | a2 g2 f2 | e6 | e2 d2 e2 |
f4 d2 | A2 B2 A2 | G4 G2 | c4 B2 | A2 c2 ef | g2 B2 c2 | d6 | d4 :|
A repeating tendency amongst most of us is to nudge things toward the norm, and that greater percentage, in tunes and dances, is 32 bars / measures, and for waltzes also 64 bars, or, more typically, a tune with repeats, in this case AABB. Surviving examples in print and recordings also show that Ronnie Cooper and others also played these tunes without the 'usual' repeats, or in some waltzes 'once through', which does fit that other norm of 32 bars. This, and others, works nicely both ways.
I first learned this tune in D as well, but have also played it in other keys, depending on the musicians I was with and willing compromises made...
# Posted on June 16th 2007 by ceolachan
Mind the gap Donald!
# Posted on June 16th 2007 by ceolachan
If you compare the book version to the previous two from spindizzy and DonaldK you'll see that they are in the main by-the-book. There was also a second part in circulation, but I couldn't find that here for comparison...
* spindizzy's take is identical, note-for-note and in every detail.
* Donald's only differs in the following places:
A-part, bar 13: |Acd/e/|
B-part, bars 8 & 13-14: |e2)A| & |Acd/e/|f(Bc)|
Interesting ~ the strength of influence/authority of notation or the preservation of a way with a tune over time?
# Posted on June 16th 2007 by ceolachan
32 ~ or ~ 64 bars / measures?
Before looking at the tune again ~
1.) consider the dance and dancers, the music frames the dance and the changes in a dance and helps the dancers, speaks to them in phrases and changes...
2.) consider the other tunes if you're playing it in a set. To mix in a 64 bar waltz amongst other 32 bar waltzes is to me clumsy and jarring, and if it were for dance and dancers, confusing...
Now, back to the melody itself. First, repetition already exists in the tune, classic for a regular 32 bar tune ~
1.) The A-part already repeats:
K: D Major
|: A2 |
f4 d2 | A3 B A2 | G4 B2 | c4 B2 |
A4 c2 |[1 e4 A2 | f6- | f4 :|[2 g2 B2 c2 | d3 e d2 | d4 ||
2.) The tune is in this instance AABA, the second half of the B-part repeating the second half of the A-part, 'agreement':
A-part, bars 9-16 ~
f4 d2 | A2 B2 A2 | G4 B2 | c4 B2 |
A2 c2 ef | g2 B2 c2 | d2 e3 c | d4 || ~ or ~ :|
B-part, bars 9-16 ~
f4 d2 | A2 B2 A2 | G4 B2 | c4 B2 |
A2 c2 ef | g2 B2 c2 | d2 e3 c | d4 || ~ or ~ :|
But, it has classic stretch as also found in many 64 bar waltzes, meaning, N = note:
| N2 N2 N2 | & | | N4 N2 | & | N6 | ~ etc., as opposed to say | NN NN NN |
# Posted on June 16th 2007 by ceolachan
Curiouser ...etc
"Interesting ~ the strength of influence/authority of notation or the preservation of a way with a tune over time? "
Perhaps because this tune has got onto the workshop/ tutor book circuit .. I learnt it from the dots, and I haven't had a chance to play it with anyone who didn't
a) go to the same workshop
b) learn it from us workshop attendees
It is starting to evolve slowly when we play it, a few twiddles here and there and some different feels on the harmony, but I went back to the original for the transciptions.
ps to the ABC experts - I looked for the least typing value when I chose L: 1/4, but I see a lot of L: 1/8 here - any rules around for choosing this? Searching and comparisons would obviously be easier if I'd done it at L: 1/8 (sorry
)
Chris
# Posted on June 16th 2007 by spindizzy
Other way round for starters, M first, L second ~
M:3/4
L: 1/8
The 1/8 is more usual because it allows the introduction of little variations, flutters & twiddles here and there more easily than 1/4 does, and minimizes the hated / & /4 for example...
# Posted on June 16th 2007 by ceolachan
Double-stops ...
Well, I've tried the harmony posted above. It's possible to double-stop it. I can't make it sound nice. Not because I can't play it; it's just too fussy. Seems to me like someone has tried overly hard to 'harmonise' every note, instead of seeing what fits nicest with the tune.
Just my opinion ...
# Posted on June 17th 2007 by benhall.1
And mine...
I just somehow knew you'd give it a go... Good on yuh!
Now, how about something more amenable in the way of a harmony on this, but please, keep it to 32 bars...
# Posted on June 17th 2007 by ceolachan
C,
I learned this tune from dots. We tend to play it with "My Cape Breton Home", especially since Catriona MacDonald wed Gordie Campbell.
Chord-wise I use:
|D|D|Em|Em|A|A|D|D|
|D|D|Em|Em|A|A7|D|D|
|G|G|D|D|D|Bm|Em|A|
|D|D7|G|C#7/G#|A|A7|D|D|
# Posted on June 17th 2007 by DonaldK
Well, of course, didn't I mess up my abcs yet again.
So, ceolachan, my |Acd/e/|f should in fact have been |Ace/f/|g.
Just for my sins here's a possible harmony (of sorts):
X: 1
T: The Starry Nights of Shetland - harmony
M: 3/4
L: 1/4
Q: 1/4=176
R: waltz
K: D
F|D2F|FGF|E2E|GAG|CDE|A,B,C|DCD|A,B,C|
D2F|FGF|E2E|GAG|CEG|ADE|F3|F2:|
D|D2G|BGB,/C/|D2F|AFD|D2C|B,2A,|G,B,G,|A,B,C|
D3|=C3|B,3|^G,3|A,GF|EDA|F3|F2:|
# Posted on June 18th 2007 by DonaldK
I'm worse this month mistake wise, here anyway, and today my eyes are almost fused shut with the hell of hay fever. But, for me this and asthma are only at most two months out of the year, others are worse off... Nah, that doesn't make me feel any better...
# Posted on June 18th 2007 by ceolachan