Laura Risk's Teaching CDs

At the New Hampshire Highland Games this year, I picked up two great sets of teaching CDs from Laura Risk. Containing 65 and 82 tunes on each of the 2-disk sets, these CDs cover many of the "big tunes" in the Scottish repertoire, along with a few fiddle tunes from Ireland and elsewhere. The tunes appear twice: first, played very slowly, the second time at tempo. The tunes are fully ornamented, and include accenting pattern ideas, and if you listen carefully, ideas for where to slur.

The CDs are $25 per set, and can be ordered online.

A great resource for the Scottish session fiddler, and highly recommended!

November Fiddle Club Session

We had a great and lively session with the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club. Most of those who came for the workshop and stayed for dinner joined us for the session. As usual, the dominant instrument was fiddle, but we had hammered dulcimer, guitar, bodhran, Celtic cittern, and electronic bagpipes added to the mix as well.

The tunes played were a good selection of the tunes popular among fiddle club regulars. As usual, it was very heavy on the reels, but we had a few other tunes tossed in as well.

Here's a complete tune list, and PVSFC source for each of the tunes:

Welcome Whisky Back Again (not in PVSFC) - HOMEWORK!
Stumpie/Clumsy Lover/High Drive (XIII-1,XIII-4,XIII-2)
Willafjord/Spootiskerry (I-28,II-23)
Battle of Aughrim (V-13)
Mrs. MacLeod of Raasay (III-2)
Middling, Thank You (not in PVSFC)
Off She Goes (XI-34)
Muckin' O' Geordie's Byre (I-4)
Ayr Races (XIII-8)
Sailor's Wife (II-13)
A Tune For Glendale (XI-28)
Stool of Repentance (I-4)
Duke of Fife's Welcome to Deeside (I-1)
Jig of Slurs (III-4)
Drover Lads (I-8)
Tongadale Reel (XII-5)
Da Full Rigged Ship (X-15)
Apple Tree (XI-13) - HOMEWORK!
Skye Gathering (I-17)
Barrowburn Reel/Flowers of Edinburgh/Jackie Tar/Statten Island/College Hornpipe (V-1,III-12,III-15,IV-5, VII-28)
Auld Rosin the Bow (XII-24)
My Love is but a Lassie Yet/Petronella (I-16,I-3)
Da Road to Houll (VII-1)
The Red Haired Boy (not in PVSFC)
Crossing the Minch (III-1)
Braes of Mar/Jenny Dang the Weaver (I-17,III-2)
Loch Leven Castle (I-3)
Hamish Henderson's Refusal/Tam Lin (II-22,XI-5)
Scott Skinner's Welcome to Inverness/Lime Hill/Father Francis Cameron (IX-3,I-21,II-23)
Sarah the Merchant/Smith's a Gallant Fireman (I-2,I-2)
Neil Gow's Lamentation for James Moray, Esq. of Abercarney (XIII-3) - HOMEWORK!
Cairny Mount (II-1)
Hills of Glenorchy (I-22)

Thanks to all for staying and playing!

November Royal Mile Jam

We had a small group again for the Royal Mile session this month, the same cast as October's. Myself (on fiddle and electronic pipes), Doug Scott (on fiddle - his guitar stayed in the case), Chris Turner (on guitar), Jim Stimson (on 12-string guitar), and Stephanie (on mandolin - Stephanie, what's your last name!).

We went through a number of our usual tunes, and I think this time we finally got an assistant manager to put us on the calendar. We'll see next month.

First one to arrive next month needs to tell the staff and help rearrange the tables, so we take up less space for the dinner rush. The more we help them, the more likely they are to let us keep right on playing after the official end time to the session.

Cheers!