Highlights of Last June's Boston Scottish Fiddle Club Meeting

For each tune, whoever wrote it played the tune all the way through once, then played an intro so the rest of us could join in. It was fun and challenging to play newly minted music. It was also refreshing to see how encouraging members were of each others' efforts.

Along the way, Ed gave some pointers on writing music. He suggested simplifying tunes as much as possible - for instance, letting the A or B part (or both) repeat rather than writing the whole thing out again just to accommodate a slight rhythmic variation. In a few cases he proposed alternate time signatures that seemed to reflect the feel of the tune more accurately. Finally, he talked about the mechanics of writing music, such as the proper placement of time and key signatures.

We had a busy session after dinner, followed by an open mike at which we heard remarkable performances by some of our younger members. Nathan Silva played bagpipes. Julia and Alanna Tryder played a duet on fiddle(s), as did Karen and Debbie Billmers. And Neil Pearlman played "The Saints Go Marching In" on trumpet while Terry Traub accompanied him on piano. Finally, in honor of Memorial Day, Rich Dillon read "Before the Summer," a poem by E.A. Mackintosh, who died during World War I. People continued to play after the open mike was over, and they were still going when I left at 10p.m.

- Phyllis Lindsay

May Musings

We certainly were fortunate to have our Fiddle Rally performers join us at the next day's session [i.e., after the Fiddle Rally-]. Even an accordionist could enjoy new and useful enlightenment.

Some particular revelations come to mind. J.P., pointed out that a good fiddler needs a strong upper body and fingers, not just to support the instrument, like say an accordionist, but to protect the joy, strength, and conviction that is Cape Breton fiddling.

Others may have noted, now or previously, that a good fiddler requires strong legs in order to maintain the beat. How many concert violinists could maintain that energy for an entire concert?

Finally, we had the great opportunity to compare Scottish and Cape Breton fiddle styles. J.P. Cormier amazed us all with his bowing. Then Charlie McKerron impressed us with his pyrotechnic fingering. One wonders what Dr. Frankenstein could create by grafting J.P.'s right hand with Charlie's left onto a Charles Atlas body?

But, come to think of it, if one has read Mary Shelley's novel, one can see that the consequences of experiments such as these normally are doomed to failure. Maybe, that is why we have such rewarding diversity.

Some Thoughts and a Short Review

At the Sunday afternoon workshop of the Rally weekend, Charlie McKerron requested J.P. Cormier to teach us all a tune that is part of the Mail Behind the Bar "family" of tunes. We all learned to play it by ear following J.P.'s lead; next, Ed Pearlman handed out a copy of this tune with the name Itinerant Potato Farmer, the name as J.P. knew it.

A nice rendition of this can be found on Frank Ferrel's CD Yankee Dreams. Frank calls this tune Dave McNeil and credits composition to Donny LeBlanc. Ferrel plays this tune as a slow reel before speeding on into the traditional Maid Behind the Bar followed in turn by Jerry Holland's Brenda Stubbert's reel- another closely related tune. This set of three tunes seems like variations on a single tune and is highly effective on this CD.

All in all, the Yankee Dreams CD [on the Flying Fish label] is quite a nice production of what Frank Ferrel subtitles "Wicked good fiddling from New England." On it are tunes from Scotland, Ireland, and New England.

Notes from a Non-Player

But looking behind that personal connection, I can say that being a listener member of the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club makes perfect sense even if you don't have a family fiddler. Being able to sit in a room full of people playing music with enthusiasm, devotion, and skill is akin to sitting at the table in the kitchen of a musical family during an afternoon of playing music. Rubbing elbows with musicians in the line for the potluck supper or chatting with musicians during breaks allows me to participate in conversations about the music I enjoy as much as they do. I feel I learn from them when I listen and sometimes discuss musical points.

Of course, not all conversations that take place at Fiddle Club meetings are about music. Life enters the club meetings as it does at the office, at church, or at home. Babies and teenagers, deaths, moves, careers, illnesses, home improvements, sports games, money, vacation and the like all get their conversational attention in those idle moments.

But to return to my listener status, I feel the non-players, the listeners, and the dancers, the supporters and the watchers who also belong to the Fiddle Club have something to teach as well. They affirm the pleasure which the musicians feel when playing while experiencing pleasure themselves. They show those musicians appreciation and understanding just as surely as the musicians acknowledge each other and their friendly audiences. The non-players interact with the musical chemistry present during a meeting, adding ingredients to the great concoction created every time music and listeners get together. The result may never be the same, but the results is usually good and certainly complex.

I have been a member of the Fiddle Club since 1990. I have witnessed as a listening member the richness of the music, music playing, music dancing, music listening, and music appreciation. This richness passes through us all reaching into the past and stretching into the future with a bond as strong as life.

-Sharon Walker Mastenbrook

New England Scottish Fiddling News Briefs

• August 2, 1997- About 15 Fiddle Club musicians performed at the Tam O'Shanter Highland Games at Stonehill College in Southeastern Massachusetts. The players and the audience had a great time. Led by Ed Pearlman, the group was joined by Tony Cuffe on guitar/song, and dancer Laura Scott.
• September 12-13, 1997- Local players did very well at Scottish fiddle competitions at the Loon Mountain Highland Games in New Hampshire. Hanneke Cassell won the U.S. Scottish Fiddle Championships; Anne Hooper came in second. Laura Risk won the New England championships, and Julia and Alanna Tryder took first and second place in the New England novice category, or was it Alanna and Julia?