15/01/24
Welcome back. Hope everyone had a lovely festive season :).
We have a ceilidh coming up on March 2nd in Halton. More info to come…
Here are a couple of great (yet contrasting) Irish tunes – both are found in sessions around the world, but Cooley’s is particularly well known as a great driving Dorian reel. (sounds great slow too!)
MIDI FILE: Cooley’s ReelTreble
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Cello
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22/01/24
Here’s a tricky little thing from Serbia. Once you get the rhythm there’s not much else to worry about, but…
The harmony is just as important to play as the melody, so feel free to focus on that instead – it’s in a slightly easier range. The tune speeds up gradually from the B section onwards.
A Čoček is a type of dance and Vranjanski relates to the area in southern Serbia – there are loads of tunes with the same title!
Treble
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Ukulele Harmony
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29/01/2024
Here’s a couple of tunes from Scotland as promised. The Mill was made up of a tune that already existed and lyrics that already existed, but were put together by the poet Robert Burns. The other tune is often used as a March, but was written as a Strathspey by the great Fiddler and teacher Donald Riddell CBE – I guess it’s up to us which we use it as ;). Either way, they should work well together. P.S. The first round of video making is happening tonight (they messaged me a few minutes ago), and will focus on instruments and the general layout.
MIDI FILE: The Mill, The Mill Oh!Lyrics
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05/02/2024
Next week is half-term. We’ll be back on the 19th 🙂
Tonight’s tunes are two standards in the Old-time fiddle traditions of the Appalachian mountains, USA, although neither one is from the USA to start with! Soldier’s Joy is played everywhere and everyone seems to have their own version of it. It gets played as a hornpipe in the NE of England, as a reel in Scotland, as a polka in much of the US and so on… One of the rights of passage for many is coming up with your own version. In the ceilidh circuit it’s become so popular as a hornpipe for dances that it has earned the (unfair) nickname of ‘Soul destroyer’. There are various lyrics if you’re that way inclined 😉
The other tune is also one of the most popular Old-time fiddle tunes, but comes from the Scots Irish settlers in Eastern Canada. A very popular tune in Irish sessions.
MIDI FILE: Soldier’s JoyTreble
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19/02/2024
I hope everyone had a great half term! Welcome back with a couple of great Schottisches from France. One of which is played by Blowzabella who are playing this Friday in the hall.
MIDI FILE: Le Vicaire (The Vicar)Treble
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Set List for the 2nd March
26/01/2024
A very well known Muiñeira from Galicia that I first heard as a kid from the Battlefield Band in Scotland. Lots of fun with the minor to major swap. Hopefully the harmony part works and it’s all lovely!
MIDI FILE: Muiñeira de Cabana – Lit. HutTreble
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Here’s a “March” in Waltz time too – for those three legged people out there !
MIDI FILE: Marcha Processional du Corpus de PontevedraTreble
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Here are some cello parts for when we rehearse the 2nd half of the ceilidh set (in no particular order)
WestmorlandPant Corlan yr Wyn
Neil Gow’s Lament
Lilac
Kesh
Horse’s Bransle and Babels
Valse de Morecambe
04/03/2024
Fantastic night on Saturday – everyone was very complimentary about the band and the person who’s birthday it was asked me to thank everyone on their behalf. If you have any expenses please let me know asap so I can reimburse you. Also: we got a £5 tip from someone randomly, which will go towards break time biscuits!
Here’s a couple of lovely tunes from NW England 🙂
MIDI FILE: Arnold’s HornpipeTreble
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Mando
Cello
MIDI FILE: A Northern Lass
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11/03/2024
Following on from the success of La Partida (contemporaneous of this tune: by Carlos Bonnet of Venesuela 1892-1983), and the couple of Tangos we did, here’s a great vals (often swung Waltz), from Buenos Aires. The composer, Enrique Cadícamo (1900-1999) was a poet, writer and composer. As a recognition to his career, he was declared Illustrious Citizen of the city of Buenos Aires in 1987, and Emeritus of Argentine Culture in 1996. Maybe we’ll fill in the rest of South America at some point!
Luna de Arrabal Lit. Moon of the Humble NeighbourhoodTreble
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