Five comments
Scan Tester’s No. 2
Nothing whatsoever do with hospital equipment or IT kit (as you might suppose) but from the anglo-concertina playing of Lewis (Scan) Tester (1887-1972) of Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scan_Tester
His two polkas (called No.1 and No.2) are always taken together and in that order (hence the numeric tag).
Scan Tester’s No. 2
A disturbing number of tunes from my new book "Traditional English Dance Music" (shameful plug) are now appearing on the session.org. How did you manage to see a sneak preview, Mix?
I’m not gifted with ESP and neither do I have access to any international spy network, Nigel!
I’ve known those tunes for years. I never met Scan Tester myself but a friend of mine who did know him brought those tunes with him when he moved to Bristol in the early 1970s. Back in those days, we learnt everything by ear: no internet of course - and hardcopy tunebooks only had Irish and Scottish tunes in them.
I wouldn’t worry though - notwithstanding the existence of sites like this, people still seem to be buying hardcopy tunebooks.
Scan Tester’s No. 2
I wasn’t actually being serious, Mix O’Lydian, but it’s good to see these tunes getting an airing.
I guessed that, Nigel!
And I wish you success with your new book. Interestingly, I’ve noticed that the folks who get tunes out of hardcopy tunebooks are a different bunch from those who pick them up from sites like session.org - and a different bunch again from those who only learn tunes from live sessions.
The more sources, the better. If the tunes get played, they will be kept alive.
- Mix