Back to my Pipe Marches again, and this is a first all-Scottish collaboration with Callum Murray who has been posting here recently. We found that we share a great fondness for Pipe and other Scottish tunes and this is one I sent to Callum for possible collaboration. He recorded his mandolin solo then sent it to me and I dubbed the octave and guitar tracks, alternating mandolin and octave in each of the first three parts then playing in unison in part 4. Callum's great feel for the march made it easy to play to his solo track. It was just a case of getting the shoulders swinging in time as we played! The photos are ones Callum provided and depict Luskentyre Beach on the Isle of Harris and Newark Bay near his home in Orkney. We did not have pictures of Kiloran Bay in our collections, not having visited the island of Colonsay.
That’s a very nice collaboration, John and Callum (great to have you here again). I like the landscapes, too. Of course, I was forced to consult a map to recognize of which widely separated parts of Scotland you are talking. Great landscapes wheresoever.
Great collaboration John and Callum. It’s nice to hear such a very Scottish sounding tune. Here’s a Google Earth link https://earth.app.goo.gl/F7AXUa -for anyone who wants to virtually march down to the beach.
Lovely stuff John and Callum!
Lovely duet, and Luskentyre is OK with me (I remember having a dram out of a flask there once).
Great idea, Simon. It was fun to virtually visit the Kiloran Bay while listening to this particular Pipe March.
As I commented on YouTube, your playing styles are so compatible - it's the perfect collaboration, tight like a proper band. It sounds very Scottish, but will be of universal appeal because of its quality. Fantastic job!
Did you guys notice the bicycle that had been left about 300 yards up on the side of the road?
Thanks for kind comments, all. Dennis, it was interesting doing the recording with Callum because it turned out that our styles were very similar. No need for metronomes or other devices as we both seemed to play at the same 6/8 march tempo and our phrasing was very similar. The recurring dot and cut rhythm (dotted quaver followed by semiquaver) and the reverse (Scotch Snap) so loved by our fiddlers are staples of so much of our Scottish dance music and we seem to absorb it as we grow up. Maybe it is in the porridge?
Thanks for the nice comments everyone! It was great fun to collaborate with John and I agree our playing styles fit well together. Hopefully this will be the first of many collaborations we'll do. Haha, I think it must be in the porridge and the Haggis!
Well, that was enjoyable to listen to !
I have changed my diet relatively recently, and porridge is now my staple breakfast. If John's theory is correct, I'll be able to sound Scottish soon!
And you already enjoy a wee dram, and especially the Glen Scotia malt from my home town, Dennis. You are well on the way to sounding Scottish! Thanks too, Brian. Comment appreciated.
Very enjoyable and well played.
Sounds a bit like real pipes, great collaboration!
Such a great tune, I couldn’t resist putting it at the top of my ‘to Record’ list. Voila, thanks for posting this tune. https://youtu.be/gNPdjPvHeFQ
Simon, a good attempt at getting the flavour of a Scottish 6/8 march. I like your interpretation of the dot and cut (the "reversed" Scotch Snap) that you have put in here. Hope our PMs were of help to you!
Simon, that was a fast response. Sounds good.
Yes, many thanks John though I lost a lot of tone on this one while concentrating on rhythm. From what I understand now, numerically speaking, the time is basically (4:2,4:2) like a jig but the fours, for example have a note either just afterwards, like: (DU- - D- , D - - - D -) or (D - - UD - , D - - - D -) among other variants. The U stroke goes either before or after a D. Also ‘basically’ means it isn’t 4:2 -the really authentic stuff is more like 3.8:2.2 !!!! AND the short note, the cut, can get very short. I have a theory, that may be wrong, that the real stuff is (12:6, 12:6) so the cut can be based on triplets ie. (10 2:4 2, 10 2:4 2) something like that! -will see if the metronome can handle that!)
The key, for me, is to have the tune locked in my head, Simon, then I can play it without worrying about whether my rhythm is 4:2 or 3.8:2.2 or whether I am picking in the right direction. Your numbers and DU-- etc go away over my head, and I admire your dedication. The metronome I am happiest with is my left (and sometimes right) foot. My foot is tapping on the first beat of each bar and just kicks in when I start playing (excuse the pun). To each his own, as a wise man once probably said.
Thanks Frithjof. I got all excited about it! I heard John and Callum’s version with the strong Highland flavour and could almost feel a warm summer breeze, and smell the salt and heather in the air. So I tried to play it... and couldn’t. And tried to play it... and couldn’t... So I plugged the rhythm into my rhythm machine, got the most standard jig pick pattern worked out and, voila... six hours later! Yes I was that excited.
Simon, when you talk about getting a strong Highland flavour and feeling the summer breeze and smelling the salt and heather in the air that is what I mean about getting a tune locked into your head. You then find that there is that extra something that goes beyond the notes and their time values. YOU are becoming a part of the tune. This happened for you in this tune.
But it wasn’t in my head. I felt it in my nether regions, John. (Spleen, kidneys etc.)
Really beautiful John and Callum. If it wasn't so early, I'd have me a wee dram... Simon I love the ringing tone you got there !
Thank you, Frankdolin. Is it ever too early for a wee dram? Your good health anyway!
Cheers Frankdolin!
