Dunaber music

A Jig, “Jenny Hazzard”: Score & Sound File

mike — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:05:07 +0000

I’ve had a couple of notes from people looking for “more jigs”. So for the jig hounds here is a 4-parted 6/8 jig, “Jenny Hazzard”, from “Old & New Tunes“, published 1995. I’ve played this in solo jig competitions with success and I’m pretty sure Peel Police Pipe Band played a couple of parts in a competition medley when I was PM in the mid 90s.
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Be Open to Something New (Also Score & Sound File: “The Oyster Wives’ Rant”)

mike — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:50:50 +0000

In honour of St Patrick’s Day, a quote from the great Irish novelist, Jonathan Swift:
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A Competition Strathspey: “The Blue Heron” (Score & Sound File)

mike — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 20:30:13 +0000

This tune comes from my third collection of tunes, “Old & New Tunes” (1995). The Blue Heron is a competition-style strathspey. (more…)

A New Hornpipe: “Sliding into Colintraive” (Score & Sound File)

mike — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:32:47 +0000

Yet another tune from the fifth book, “Music for Everybody”; this time, “Sliding into Colintraive“. This hornpipe is the kind of tune my great teacher, the Aberdonian, George Walker, would call, “hillbilly music”. To George, anything uptempo and easily played on the fiddle would usually fall under the hillbilly category. I remember playing what I could at one Toronto Knock-out final: lots of Cape Breton reels to finish - lots of sweat. George was there and came by as I was putting the pipes away, “Ach, metty, fine playin’ but all that hillbilly music!”
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A New March: “The Valley Train” (Score & Sound File)

mike — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:23:45 +0000

Here’s a very simple 3/4 march you may find interesting, “The Valley Train”, another tune from my fifth book. I should really have called it “The Dundas Valley Train”. That might’ve made the title a little more specific, a little more accurate, a little more meaningful - you know, the markers of good composition!
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A New Jig: “Well Away” (Score & Sound File)

mike — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 02:23:17 +0000

I knew I’d been away too long from these pages when it took me 20 minutes to track down the once-memorized dunaber login and password. Thanks to the notes on my trusty Blackberry: found. (more…)