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It's my turn to present a TOTW again. It's always hard to know what to choose and that list is ever growing....
So here's a fiddle tune that comes from the Shetland fiddle tune tradition. It's called "Spootiskerry", a wonderful name which apparently comes from a spot on the Shetland coast (Shetland is mostly coast of course, but this is about a spot right on edge of the rocky cliffs)
Spoot is Scots for "spout" and skerry / kerry comes from a Gaelic word for rock or coastal reef.
Spootiskerry is the name of the farm where the composer lived. And so perhaps Spootiskerry is a "blow hole" where waves undercut a rocky platform and then spout through a hole like a geyser - but as cold as the 60 deg North latitude would suggest!
Other translations of the name suggest a spoot is a type of shellfish (which presumably spouts water out of the sand - razor clam?? Gaper clam?)
I learned this at a Scottish trad workshop in Helensburgh, designed for guitar bouzouki and other accompanying instruments.
Anyway, to the tune. It is a modern tune, written by Ian Burns (1980s??)
Here is the tune arch page tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Spootiskerry
which includes sheet music.
I have attached a tab below.
There are lots of fiddle versions out there, but I can't find a clawhammer banjo version anywhere. Spootiskerry appears on Cape Breton tune lists, so I checked Ken Perlman's output to see if he had done it - but no.....
There are plenty of GDAE versions, some mandolin, two 3 finger style, but no clawhammer that I can find.
The fiddle version by Patti Kusturok which I played along with is here:
youtu.be/ag7Lm9q9ykM?si=wJEdfrzwoha9V_F-
And a lovely trio here:
youtu.be/TC8sB0EQSSU?si=JhQeZXGInZp7ei7v
Two 3 finger style versions here:
youtu.be/NpqWF-9dDhU?si=wqR5t1xBbfdXoPdc
youtu.be/GtExZrC0als?si=A78_QemkxEhmzBsA
And a tenor banjo.....:
youtu.be/GhTiT1GpzrY?si=nWzqrsW_SbHNmy29
So the clawhammer arrangement in the tab is mine - I hope you like it and I hope you play it.
Please have a go and please upload your versions. I would love to hear them!
Edited by - Andyrhydycreuau on 10/04/2024 00:36:06
quote:
Originally posted by trapdoor2Never heard of it...fine tune! I'll be giving it a go this afternoon. The tab looks good. Your walk thru and play videos are well done!
Thanks Marc, glad you like it. Do share your version if you can record it.
quote:
Originally posted by lapsteelIn North America, the clam that burrows into the coastal sands on the Pacific side is called the Pacific geoduck.
I think that's what over here might be called a gaper. Common, but most people don't even know they exist.....
Why geoduck I wonder?
quote:
Originally posted by lapsteelThey squirt water at you if you walk over sandy areas .
“Fiddlehed” teaches his version of the tune on YouTube.
Yes, I've found it now - https://youtu.be/BedqxkwoanI?si=TpbxjqBQR4MeaTd-
This is good to play along with, nice pace, not too fast.
Thanks for the tip!
quote:
Originally posted by Andyrhydycreuauquote:
Originally posted by trapdoor2Never heard of it...fine tune! I'll be giving it a go this afternoon. The tab looks good. Your walk thru and play videos are well done!
Thanks Marc, glad you like it. Do share your version if you can record it.
I've been working on it for an hour or two. I sent the dots over to our jam's fiddler, he's ready to give it a go at the next jam.
Of course, I had to make it work for me. I liked 2-4 slides on the G string and I tend to use more 5th string. I also simplified the chords for our jam group...as they tend to be confused by 7ths and slash chords.
See attached.
quote:
Originally posted by trapdoor2quote:
Originally posted by Andyrhydycreuauquote:
Originally posted by trapdoor2Never heard of it...fine tune! I'll be giving it a go this afternoon. The tab looks good. Your walk thru and play videos are well done!
Thanks Marc, glad you like it. Do share your version if you can record it.
I've been working on it for an hour or two. I sent the dots over to our jam's fiddler, he's ready to give it a go at the next jam.
Of course, I had to make it work for me. I liked 2-4 slides on the G string and I tend to use more 5th string. I also simplified the chords for our jam group...as they tend to be confused by 7ths and slash chords.
See attached.
Tab looks good to me. I like those 3rd string slides, good stuff. Good luck with your jam group!
It's a great tune. Enjoyed all the versions. I posted a CH version on the BHO in 2014:
banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=
John D
quote:
Originally posted by John DIt's a great tune. Enjoyed all the versions. I posted a CH version on the BHO in 2014:
banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=
John D
Thanks John,
That's a lovely version, thanks for sharing. I like your lower B part especially.
quote:
Originally posted by dbrooksWe have played this tune for Monday night contra dances for years. It's a fun tune to play.
David
Thanks David,
I thought it must be popular with the number of fiddle versions out there. Odd there are so few recordings with clawhammer though.
You consistently choose good tunes, Andy, and offer substantial help in getting to know and learn them. I liked the slide in the second and fourth measures and use it the second time through. My tab is similar to others here, but I added a Galax lick in the sixth to seventh measures and have a few more ASPOs. The title does have a "spooky, scary" sound, but the tune is delightful!
quote:
Originally posted by JanetBYou consistently choose good tunes, Andy, and offer substantial help in getting to know and learn them. I liked the slide in the second and fourth measures and use it the second time through. My tab is similar to others here, but I added a Galax lick in the sixth to seventh measures and have a few more ASPOs. The title does have a "spooky, scary" sound, but the tune is delightful!
It is a lovely tune Janet, and your playing on this is really lovely. Thanks for chipping in with your version.
I hope we get a few more!