We will be working on jigs - Cavers of Kirkcudbright by Mike Vass and the Coming Dawn, a tune of mine. Cavers has some great syncopations which really force us to be very precise and focused on our rhythm. So we will do a lot of work to make sure that we nail that groove in the melody. That will set us up for working on locking in the syncopations in the chord changes for the rhythm section. Putting those things together will make for an exciting sound. Some of those same ideas can be carried over into our interpretation of The Coming Dawn. Both of these tunes remind us how in all Celtic music we always have to be prepared to ‘go beyond’ the outline of the music on the written page to find the rhythmic essence of these tunes.
Snug in a Blanket is a tune you have been working on. If we have time, we’ll try adding a harmony part. It’s not a classic ' parallel harmony’ part where the harmony follows the shape of the melody but maybe up a third. Instead, this is a kind of harmony that has a shape of its own, a kind of counterpart riff with a strong rhythmic identity of its own. So once again, even in this harmony part, rhythm is our theme.
The parking lot for the Music School is off of Fayette St.
Everyone please arrive in time for a prompt 1 p.m. start.
Following a break for stretching, refreshments, and visiting, we resume with our regular tune circle.
We always try to have extra copies of the music for newcomers, however ear-players are welcome as well.
Questions? NHScottishMusic@gmail.com
Keith Murphy
Keith grew up in Newfoundland where traditional song and fiddle music remain an important part of the local identity. His mother was born near Aberdeen, Scotland and was a lifelong Scottish dance enthusiast and dance teacher for many years. Accordingly, Scottish dance and its music was an important part of Keith’s upbringing. In later years, Keith became immersed in Irish music while living in Toronto as well as the music of Quebec. The excitement of the American contra scene in the early 1990s drew him to New England where he began playing with various high profile contra dance bands including Nightingale and Wild Asparagus. Throughout this time, he composed many dance tunes which now number close to 150 and are compiled in the Black Isle Music Collection. He has also been a noted folk singer and concert performer in many, many configuraitons and has four solo recordings of songs and many ensemble recordings.