Hello Mr Allan
I live in Bunbury, Western Australia and we are starting up a new Scottish Fiddling group. We have our first meeting in January. We have discovered your website and the free music arrangements which are extraordinary. Thank you so much for making them available. We are new to this but have some very talented musicians (violins, violas, cellos) who have played for symphonic orchestras. We also have newer players who are less experienced.
Would you have any advice you would have time to share with us about the tunes you would recommend we start with? I want to thank you ever so much for all the work you have invested in your web site as well as the Music Trust. It is an absolute treasure trove for us. Kind regards, Nancy Churchill
Reply
Dear Nancy
Thanks for your message. It’s good to hear that Scottish music is alive and well down under. Feel free to play anything from my site. You will also find lots of music on the Highland Music Trust site. We have just retired as Trustees for HMT but have handed it over to another charity The Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland (TMSA) who will keep it going. It’s worthwhile to get some of the HMT classic collections as a source of good tunes. You may also wish to look at the Taigh na Teud publications.
It’s easy to find on the net the music for almost any tunes you want to play – I find the Session very handy, although you have to look out for the most accurate interpretations. I am sure that among your musicians you will be able to find sympathetic arrangers, although I would caution against over-arrangement. It’s important to preserve the rhythms and emotions of the Scottish tradition
Enjoy the music
Eric Allan
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www.arves.org
Cheers,
Bev
Eric
It was very nice to see you both yesterday. Thank you for your time - and the great soup!
Excellent web site Eric - easy to navigate, and loads of fine tunes to download.
All the best,
Pete