My fiddle teacher says since I’m mainly interested in folk music of various kinds and not classical of any kind, I need to learn rhythms and songs, and save the technique practice for bits and pieces here and there.
Play, he said. Play through, even if I make mistakes. Get the rhythm. Dancers don’t care what notes you play but if you foul up the rhythm, they’ll stop and stare at you in hostility.
Skye Boat Song is more listenable than danceable (although it could be a waltz), but it’s a favorite. I thought this Scottish air was about Catholic Mary escaping the Protestant king. Nope. It’s about Bonnie Prince Charlie escaping to the Isle of Skye after his army’s losses to the English at Culloden in 1746.
Pretty song and fortunately fast enough at 105 beats per minute that my still wobbling bow doesn’t sound too awfully unpleasant. Sort of a nice, built-in vibrato, actually. You probably could even dance to it. If a little slowly.
And so on. On to Irish jigs and reels and hornpipes and maybe a waltz here and there. And aye, on the hornpipes, we’ll bring up the evening watch to dance, say I.
UPDATE: A friend passes on this engaging 30-minute BBC program on the Skye Boat Song, which was written in the 1870s, inspired by a similar Gaelic tune, and variously interpreted ever since. Worth a listen.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 