Sandy Skinner reel

and no comment on the tune?

Where is it from? Who wrote it? Who was Sandy Skinner?

Perhaps? Until we hear otherwise!

Sandy Skinner was James Scott Skinner’s brother, and the person responsible for giving James his first lessons on the fiddle.
Originally written in 2/4, it is in the Logie Collection. I’ve put it in 4/4. and left out the slurs and the staccato, because you can see the staff notation here:

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/display.php?ID=JSS0809

You can also hear Bill Lamey play it here:

http://archive.org/details/Dr.ShawTheBreemDogSandySkinner

I’ve also left out the opening ‘A’ note, because it doesn’t fit in the metre - halving the two notes doesn’t seem to sound right. Don’t forget to play it with “fire and energy”!

Thank you Weejie 🙂

Here’s a painting of Sandy. Looks like he got there before Natalie MacMaster regarding the dancing and playing fiddle:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/alexander-forbes-skinner-18331883-164623

Thanks indeed for solving this riddle, Weejie! Do you happen to know if the first tune on this recording (“Dr. Shaw”) is already here by a different name?

I doubt if it is here under a different name. It’s also a Scott Skinner composition:

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/display.php?ID=JSS0147&Creator=1&Creator_Manuscript=1

Likewise “The Breem Dog” - the tune and an explanation of what a breem dog is here:

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/display.php?ID=JSS0150

Skinner says: “An ancient o[b]solete warlike implement at Kildrummy for removing dwined whin reets (roots). Barrie’s Breem Dog.” Whoever wrote the notes couldn’t make out the word “dwined” (withered).

Anyway, that’s for when or if the tune is submitted.

All right then…. https://thesession.org/tunes/12536