FIDDLES, PIPES and DRUMS Contents

FIDDLES, PIPES AND DRUMS Contents The songs and music in this work book are divided into five sections. Section one looks at the musical traditions and instruments of the Ulster-Scots. The other four sections feature songs for you to sing along with. Some are songs sung by the Ulster- Scots themselves and some are songs written and sung about them. SECTION 1 MUSICAL TRADITIONS • Ulster-Scots Music • Traditional Instruments: The Bagpipes • Did You Know? • Traditional Instruments: Drums • Traditional Instruments: Fiddles • Traditional Instruments: Fifes and Flutes SECTION 2 SONGS FROM SCOTLAND • Ye Banks and Braes o’ Bonnie Doon • Marie’s Wedding • Auld Lang Sang • A Man’s A Man for a’ That SECTION 3 SONGS FROM ULSTER • Flower o the County Down • The Muttonburn Stream • A Prayer • The Wanderer • Greyba Lasses • Big May Fair o Ballyclare • Henry Joy McCracken SECTION 4 SONGS FROM AMERICA • Remember the Alamo • A Scots-Irish Tune • The Scots-Irish • Beautiful Dreamer • The Camptown races • Oh Susanna • The Fortyniners Theme Song Musical Associations Which of these instruments do you associate with the Ulster-Scots? INSTRUMENTS YES or NO PIANO DRUMS GUITAR VIOLIN BAGPIPES HARP FLUTE SAXAPHONE BANJO FIDDLE Perhaps you only think of marching bands on the twelfth of July when you think of Ulster-Scots music but there is a lot more than that. Let’s find out……….. Musical Associations In a moment you will hear six pieces of music played on different instruments. Can you name the instruments playing in each piece? Listen carefully for there will be more than one instrument. TRACK 1 TRACK 2 TRACK 3 TRACK 4 TRACK 5 TRACK 6 Helpful Hint You may hear the same instrument on more than one track. Ulster-Scots Music In the eighteenth century, itinerant harpers moved regularly backwards and forwards across the Irish Sea between Ulster and Scotland. They played for both Gaelic and Anglo-Irish landlords and also for the prosperous Ulster-Scots families. By the end of the eighteenth century harping was in decline as the well-to-do turned instead to European classical music. However the harpers interacted with fiddlers and pipers in Ulster, and some of the features of the Gaelic song tradition were preserved, particularly in the emerging James Christie and his grandson also called James genre of Orange songs. playing traditional fiddle tunes Much of the dance music of Ulster is similar to the dance music of other parts of the British Isles. So there are jigs which came from Ireland, reels and Strathspeys which originated in Scotland, and hornpipes which came from England. You can find examples of all of these tunes in the folk tradition of each part of the British Isles. Most of these were in a standard format of two sections of eight bars each. Strathspeys were normally of four bar sections. The dance music was closely related to the marching tunes played by military bands: usually made up of fifes and drums. These became common with the growth of part-time military organisations including the Irish Volunteers, the Yeomanry and the Militia. The parading tradition was carried on in the 19th century by newly formed groups such as the Ribbonmen and Orangemen. Although these two groups were very different they shared a common reportoire of tunes, in addition to some that were considered ‘party tunes’ such as the Hibernian ‘St. Patrick’s- Day’, or the Orange ‘Lilliburlero’. A range of tunes in hornpipe time developed around the Lambeg drum and fife tradition. This type of music was common to both Loyalists and Nationalists at this time, although nowadays it is almost exclusively associated with loyalist music. Ulster-Scots Music The 'Rhythms O Ulster’ group part of the Ulster-Scots Fiddle Orchestra performing with Fifes and Drums at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Ballina, Co. Mayo, 2004. The evangelical revival which swept Ulster-Scots communities in 1859 caused many to turn away from dance music, which was seen as being associated with alcohol and immorality. It introduced a new selection of hymns and gospel songs in the Ulster-Scots language, which is currently being performed by the County Down band ‘The Low Country Boys’. The Low Country Boys Traditional Instruments The Bagpipes Most people, when they think about bagpipes or hear bagpipes being played, immediately think of Scotland. However no one is exactly sure where bagpipes originated. Pipes are mentioned in the Bible, in the Old Testament and were also played in ancient Greece and Rome so they have obviously been around for a long time. The Miller in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales which was written in the 14th century was said to be skilled in playing the pipes and Shakespeare too makes mention of them. Of course bagpipes were played in Scotland in ancient times too and with the close links and constant coming and going across the sea between Ulster and Scotland they made their way here too. While many pipes bands play traditional Scottish pipes there is also an authentic Ulster-Scots pipe. The Brian Boru bagpipes may sound very Irish, but they are the authentic Ulster-Scots bagpipes first invented by William O'Rean from Dungannon in partnership with Henry Stark, bagpipe maker to Queen Victoria, in 1908. Henry Starck and William O’Duane began working together at the beginning of the 20th century. They first produced the Dungannon Pipes, a revival of the ancient Irish War pipe. Unfortunately none of these remain in existence. They then went on to produce the Brian Boru Pipe which many claim is “the perfect bagpipe”. The Brian Boru bagpipe History of The Bagpipe Extended Notes The bagpipe is one of the earliest instruments played by man. It probably was first developed in Ancient Egypt with only a simple chanter and drone. Later a bag of skin was attached and a blowpipe added to make a primitive form of what we would recognise as a bagpipe. This was what the instrument played by the Greeks and Romans would have looked like. Eventually the bagpipe spread across Europe and it eventually reached Britain brought by the Celts and the Romans. It was one of the most popular instruments of the Middle Ages and was played by wandering minstrels. It is mentioned by Shakespeare and other English writers and bagpipes were a familiar sight in villages throughout the British Isles at this time. More modern adaptations such as a wider range of notes and the use of a bellows system were developed in Europe. However the instrument became less popular during the 18th century and its use died out in many places. It remained popular however in Scotland, Brittany, Southern Italy and the Balkans. The Highlands In the Highlands of Scotland, the bagpipe overtook the harp as the favourite instrument. It consisted of a bag, chanter, blowpipe and drone until around 1500 when a second drone was added and then a third—the big drone—was added in the 1700s. Each Scottish clan would have it own piper and often a “college” to teach piping. The classical music of the bagpipe (the Ceol Mor or Piobaireachd) was developed under this system. The most famous “college” was at Borreraig in Skye under the MacCrimmons who were the hereditary pipers to the MacLeods of Dunvegan. They trained pipers from all over the Highlands of Scotland. This period came to an end when the playing of the bagpipe was banned in Scotland after the rising of 1745. The colleges were forced to close and for a time it seemed that bagpipe playing might die out in Scotland. However, the ban was lifted before irreparable damage was done and indeed the bagpipe underwent a revival. Highland Societies sprung up to keep alive the ancient tradition and piping competitions were begun. The Lowland Pipes Because the Ulster-Scots came mainly from the Lowland area of Scotland, the pipes they brought with them were not the traditional bagpipes associated with the Highlands. Today, of course, there are many Highland pipe bands in A set of Lowland Pipes Ulster and thenField Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band won the World Championship for the fifth time in 2006. You can find out more about them at their website: www.fmmpb.com/home.htm. The Lowland pipes are similar to the larger Highland pipes but there are three main differences: • The drones are held in a common stock which can be laid over the shoulder but more usually over the right arm. • Air is created by bellows under the arm not by blowing. • The bores (or diameter) of the drones and chanter are narrower which makes the sound more mellow and not so loud so they can be played more comfortably indoors as well as out and therefore can be used to play along with other instruments such as the fiddle or Highland Bagpipes accordion. Bagpipe Score The Campbells Are Coming This is the bagpipe score for a tune called “The Campbells are Coming”. You can listen to the midi file of the tune being played at http://www.ccsna.org/cacmusic.htm Did You Know? Ulster Scottish Pipe Band An Ulster Scottish Pipe Band was formed in 1922 in America. It is one of the oldest pipe bands in the U.S.A. It is mainly a competition band competing at about 10 different highland games throughout America during the year. The band is centred mainly in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The band in 1922 The band today Traditional Instruments Drums A snare drummer from a Scottish Pipe Band Drum Major Alistair Paterson of the Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band who comes from Castlederg. Alistair has been playing the drums since he was nine.

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