I was playing this set very recently with a group of local fiddle players and was especially taken with the middle one, which I had not heard before. Here is my version on mandolin, octave and guitar. The tunes are Sunset Over Foula, Isles of Gletness and Starry Nights of Shetland. Starry Nights has featured in other threads in the SAW Group but not combined with the other two tunes, so I decided to start a new discussion. My earlier version, paired with The Stronsay Waltz from November 2021 is here: https://youtu.be/ht7XU8BpGmY Notation for all three tunes is readily available online in sites such as Nigel Gatherer's and The Session, so let's hear some other versions of this set, folks. The scenic shots were taken near my home on The Firth of Clyde a couple of days ago.
You recorded a very enjoyable set of waltzes, John. It’s certainly worth to have a look at the sheet music.
Very subtle and relaxed playing John, you make it sound easy! I like the way you’ve got similar feelings moving through each tune, holding them together.
Thanks, Frithjof and Simon. The tunes do go well together and the key changes from D to G and back to D help to create a fine transition between the tunes. There is some distinct quality to those Shetland (and Orkney) tunes and the chord structures can be quite sophisticated. I have now uploaded the notation on to the Thread For Social Group mp3 Postings. The image appears as a black rectangle but by clicking on it you can open the pdf. No abc nor TAB, I'm afraid, as I don't use either. The link below seems also to download then open the pdf if you click on it. https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/a...2&d=1664309677
Just over 2 minutes for 3 waltzes - that's very efficient! As Simon says, they go together so well that they sound almost like a single tune. You have some lovely ringing notes and a nice rhythm there.
At my age I like to keep my dancing well under control, Dennis! Two minutes of waltzing along with a few Canadian Barn Dances (2/4 pipe marches are great for barn dances), Strip the Willow (jigs) and an Eightsome Reel (reels) to get the circulation flowing. Playing the tunes is much easier nowadays than dancing to them.
I do love me a good medley, and you put this one together so well, John. Excellent choices, playing and arrangement.
No need for dancing, John. When I hear Shetland I think of Roseanne Watt's film poems, and a waltz seems to fit in there like the band on the rear deck of the Titanic - "unco", as they call it. Your set is all the more peaceful for it.
Thanks, Bertram, and thanks too for the link to Roseanne Watt. I had never been aware of her and have just had a look and listen to a couple of her videos and they are really inspiring, I think. You have an "unco" way with our Scots words, sir, and are an "unco guid" player yourself, as we know from your postings.
Sorry I am late here John. As per my email I as a bit busy with umm..Whisky... I really like the way the three tunes go so well together and of course your creativity in the choice of instruments never wanes. Very nice. The waves look cold. Let's try and have a good autumn before the winter blasts us.
No harsh transitions, the tunes flow gently one into the next one, you created a masterful medley, John!
A very nice set of 3 waltzes, John. Ginny - Being “busy” with whisky sounds like you’ve been hitting the bottle… Any particular make/type/year…?
Thanks so much Ginny, Christian and John W. To protect Ginny's unsullied temperance reputation I want to reveal that the Whisky taking up Ginny's time and interest is her newly-acquired puppy. Cue here for suitable doggy tunes!
Cue here for suitable doggy tunes! ...and for The Teetotaller Reel
Lots of dog tunes because Ginny has a new puppy! https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/g...001&do=discuss https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/g...460&do=discuss https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/g...507&do=discuss https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/g...833&do=discuss https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/g...912&do=discuss AND THAT OTHER GREAT TUNE, THE TEMPERANCE REEL: https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/g...e=3&do=discuss
Thanks. I had forgotten how much time and energy new puppies take. Although his name is Whisky I feel the need to give the pup a dram or two to get him to sleep through the nite !! Thank you for your homework Simon.
That’s a cool name BTW, rhymes with Minsky, the famous cognitive researcher, computer scientist who worked on AI. But what about the rhyme with Frisbee?
Back to the music. I was taken by John’s playing of these lovely Scottish waltzes – especially the Isles of Gletness. Here is my version on octave, concertina and guitar. Only three photos show the tiny Isles of Gletness. Otherwise, you may watch some images of the Shetland Islands and waves of any ocean. https://youtu.be/p_dytpVzy-0
Very nice tune, fine playing with good rhythm Frithjof, I thought it was David Hansen playing the concertina! Not bad at all.
What Simon said, the concertina is a nice surprise, Frithjof!
A lovely arrangement and fine playing, Frithjof. You get a fine waltz feel in this one.
Many thanks, Simon, Christian and John.
Lovely, Frithjof…all 3 instruments contribute to the overall sound produced…first listening for me of the concertina in your hands…nice playing.
Thanks John, a classic Shetland waltzes set. Another one you hear with those is Rona's Voe, a Ronnie Cooper tune I believe.
Thanks, Bren. Aye, Rona's Voe is another wee gem, as is Mid Yell School Waltz. So many great tunes and composers from our northern climes.
Revisiting here Frithjof, I especially enjoy the guitar rhythm.
Beautiful songs and beautifully played by John, and an equally great version of Isles by Frithjof. I missed these waltzes, my bad!
Thanks, Frank and Simon (again).
Bravo, Frithjof! The rhythm and sound quality are ever so good on this one. I'm listening on earphones and very much enjoying the experience.
Here is my interpretation of John's set of Shetland waltzes. I've played "Starry Nights Of Shetland" before and it's in our group repertoire, using Evelyn's arrangement, but I wasn't familiar with the other two tunes. This one came out a bit faster than John played them. All tunes played twice to a tenor guitar arpeggio, the second time with added harmony on my 10-string waldzither/mandola in CGDAE. Different style for each tune. Starry Night also has an added bass line on second tenor guitar, from Evelyn's arrangement. 1. Sunset Over Foula - 0:00 2. Isles Of Gletness - 1:03 3. Starry Nights Of Shetland - 2:11 1921 Gibson Ajr mandolin 1920s 10-string mandola (waldzither) in CGDAE Vintage Viaten tenor guitar (x2) https://youtu.be/7uSu4GPRMEo Martin
A very fine delivery of this set, Martin. Your transitions between the tunes are really smooth and I like the backing you have used here. Thanks for having a go at the set. I will be playing them again this Wednesday evening with one of the fiddle groups I play with, so will be mentioning this version of yours to them.
Your one-man-mandolin-group sounds good playing the whole Shetland Waltz Medley, Martin. The different styles for each waltz make it furthermore entertaining.
Thanks, John and Frithjof, and thanks also to John for coming up with this set in the first place. I was using your PDF to play the lead part and the accompaniment for the first two tunes, and then switched to Evelyn's score for Starry Nights. As you may have noticed, her chords are slightly different. Martin
The backing sounds especially fine on this recording, Martin. It's a kind of augmentation from tune to tune.
Nice playing of the set, Martin…and as noted by John K, the transition between each tune is v smooth.
Thanks, Christian and John W. I've only just noticed that this set (with these three tunes in that order) comes from Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham -- it's on Vol. 2 of their "Best Of" compliation, and presumably also on one of their original albums. Martin
I am revisiting this thread as I have just recorded a new version of Isles of Gletness on its own, this time with mandolin, piano and accordion. The accordion is courtesy of my Yamaha DGX500 piano, using its reasonably accurate accordion preset. I do not possess a real accordion. No guitar in this mix. Pictures from around my home area. I have been having alot of fun with this tune along with some of my local fiddle pals and they are getting quite a taste for Shetland waltzes.
Another lovely waltz, John K…which really benefits from the accordion (played via piano).
Many thanks, John. Aye, the accordion and the fiddle hold pride of place in our Scottish tunes. The Yamaha piano was my late wife's, and I use it from time to time on my recording ventures. The accordion voice is quite good, and there is a musette voice as well. I may introduce it some more.
I listened to this whole thread last year, as a lurker. Thank you for this great addition, John. The accordion is fun, but I think it is also really good to have the piano in place of the guitar from time to time (my own piano playing is too dreadful to ever contemplate). Anyway, this was lovely.
John, this makes me consider getting a MIDI keyboard instead of using the computer keyboard I normally use for GarageBand backing - it might be more ergonomic.
Beautiful playing John with accordion occasionally nudging in there. (That sounds good too). When I saw your vid of the stream, I really had the urge to jump in and swim [wetsuit], or at least paddle, and film underwater. I’ll bet it’s packed with salmon or trout. You’re so lucky to live there. The first four or five notes of this tune remind me of a well known Irish song, though I can’t remember the title, lyrics something like, ‘you can visit all these different beautiful places, something on the Shannon…and the shores of loch Neagh’. I’m learning a bit of fiddle a the moment, and trying to figure out how to play it with the mandolin or octave. Maybe I’ll play it as an accompanying, harmonising instrument. We’ll see how my tinnitus develops I agree Bertram, ergonomics is important. I think it’s all about trying to get the whole body involved in the playing of each note.
Thanks, all. Richard, as you say, it is good to get away from the usual instrument choices from time to time to keep the music and the mind fresh. Bertram, a midi keyboard can be a great asset compared to the computer keyboard. I have a small midi keyboard (an M-Audio Oxygen 8) which I sometimes use to play bass lines, but I use it more as a controller for my Behringer U-Phoria interface. It has a set of controls for all the record and play functions and also 8 knobs which can be assigned to individual tracks - I use it so that I have Volume and Pan controls for each of 4 separate channels. I rarely have more than 4 tracks in a recording. The one thing with smaller midi keyboards is that they do not have touch-sensitive keys whereas my Yamaha piano has a proper weighted keyboard which responds just like a "real" piano. Simon, you mention taking up the fiddle. I have found the fiddle to be the most unforgiving of any of the instruments I have tried to play. I came to it from guitar and mandolin and because I play a lot with fiddlers here at home. I got all the usual advice such as the tuning being the same as mandolin, I knew so many of the tunes already, and so on. I found the lack of frets to be the most restrictive - I just could not get the intonation accurate when I fingered the notes. Holding the fiddle like a mandolin and picking the notes allowed me to pick out passable versions of the tunes but as soon as I assumed fiddle to shoulder and the dreaded bow things quickly fell apart again. My whole perspective changed when holding the fiddle up at shoulder height. I still have the fiddle and sometimes play at home, but I know I will not be using it in public. It is such a beautiful instrument in the right hands, but painful when played badly. Looking forward to hearing your progress, Simon.
Of the three Shetland waltzes, The Isles of Gletness is my favourite, and you really came up with a fine arrangement, John.
I’m happy to listen to a second fine version of Isles of Gletness by you, John. Hopefully more versions are coming in soon.
Two and a half hours of fiddle today John. I agree it's a very difficult instrument to handle. I think I was happy with about 20 minutes of playing. It takes a lot of concentration, and it's quite physically demanding as well. One of the many difficulties I found is that you have to think of about eight things all the same time. In that way it's sort of three-dimensional. Well no complaints from the neighbours so far. But there are two things I'm really going to work on in order to, 'impress my family and friends'. That's intonation, intonation, intonation and vibrato... Yes that thing that probably won't be very useful for the dance music that I want to play! By the way John, I have an accordion if you want to swap it for a fiddle?! -actually you probably won't want to because it's a diatonic accordion, or rather melodeon (inC/G) I think they're called.
Thanks for the offer of an accordion/melodeon, Simon, but not an instrument I want to take up on a regular basis. I already have a couple of fiddles, one French and the other a very old Scottish fiddle made back around 1876 by James Findlay of Padanarm. I picked it up several years ago for the princely sum of £60 in an auction in Glasgow! One of those days when no other fiddle folk were present. I enjoy playing it at home and I live in a detached house, so no neighbours are harmed during the playing of this instrument. Accordions are quite common in this part of the world and are the mainstay along with the fiddle of the majority of our traditional ceilidh and Country Dance bands. An addendum - I was thinking about you taking up the fiddle and wonder what you are doing for notation. I know you work from TAB for your octave and I was recently asked at one of our sessions by a young learner if I could provide him with any TAB for the fiddle. He is already a competent guitarist and uses TAB for this. I told him that the fiddle, being an unfretted instrument, did not work with TAB but rather used finger numbering for learners but that this did not indicate an equivalent fret position but just which finger to use. I know of no notation other than standard for fiddle players, but maybe something exists out there.
" Hopefully more versions are coming in soon." I tried to give this Shetland waltz some honky tonk flair, using double stops, open strings and blue grace notes:
A very personal treatment on this one, Christian and for me it works. The different instruments give the tune a different flavour and honky-tonk is not something I would normally have associated with Shetland music, though the great Shetland guitarist Willie Johnson (1920 - 2007) was certainly influenced by jazz guitarists Eddie Lang and Django Reinhardt in their playing with violinists Joe Venuti and Stephane Grappelli. Willie heard them via short-wave radio broadcasts from the USA on radios built by the great Shetland Fiddler Tom Anderson. Peerie Willie, as he was known (Peerie is a Shetland word for small) became one of the most respected musicians through his long association with Tom Anderson and many other Shetland musicians and brought a new sound to the music in contrast to the traditional piano accompaniment that went along with the music. Well played, Christian!
Thanks, Christian, for answering my call. I like to listen to different approaches to a piece of music. Yours works great for me.
