The Devil In The Kitchen strathspey

Requested by slainte.
A great tune, I love it and I’m happy to post it.
It works well on the flute and on the whistle too.

One of the classic Scottish pipe tunes, and I love to hear it played by proficient pipers or fiddlers.

I tried to learn it several times by myself but cannot imitate that impulsive drive. Are there any good tips to play this kind of bouncy strathspeys?

I found some little inaccuracies in the sheetmusic, and I rectified the ABC.

Listening to strathspeys helps with learning them because of their different rhythm, and tapping your foot to the melody instead of straight 4/4 helps in creating the heavy hold/cut stuff, though it can be confusing sometimes.

This is one of my favorite tunes. I have never paired it up with anything, though. Does anyone put it with anything in sets?

Yankee Fiddler

After “The Devil” I like to play “The Tail Toddle” https://thesession.org/tunes/1484,
one of my favourite scottish reels.

I sometimes play the “Highland Whisky” strathspey before it and a variety of tunes after it depending on my mood. One is another strathspey called “cutty’s wedding”, or any of the following reels: the ale is dear I play sometimes, but there is a tendency in our session for people to move into “Gravel Walk” or “Brenda Stubberts” and usually speed up in the process.

This was originally a fiddle tune composed by Scott Skinner. David Meredith

It’s quite common to see this in a reel version as well, and moving from s to r is quite a common (many would say overdone) trick.

For Slainte, a tip for getting a drive into your strathspeys is to tap your foot on every beat rather then every second beat. This tip comes courtesy of Wendy MacIsaac, a great CB fiddler. I was in a workshop with her and she said that doing this will help you to accent every beat. And another tip is to physically lift your bow off the strings where it permits. Hope this helps!

I’ve been listening to Brenda Stubbert’s playing of this tune, but needless to say, I always feel hopeless while trying to imitate such hard-core CB fiddle playing on the whistle. Anyway, I’ll try the tip. Thanks a lot.

a piper friend has this as a reel Iwill try to get the setting,

This is NOT by Scott Skinner, but he arranged it and published it in one of his books. It was composed by a piper, William Ross, and has the alternative name of “The Prince of Wales Jig”.

In addition to the recordings listed, Dave Swarbrick & Simon Nicol recorded this on “Live at the White Bear” (1981) (since re-released as the compilation “Close to the White Bear” 1998).

Swarb also recorded it as a member of Fairport Convention on “Live Convention” (1974).

In both cases it is twinned with The Jolly Tinker under the name “Fiddlestix”.

On the Fairport recording the medley is attributed to “Pipe Major W. Ross” in addition to the players, though it’s not clear which of the two tunes is by Ross.

In addition to the recordings listed, Dave Swarbrick

I’ve known this as a highland fling played in the North, Donegal and elsewhere. I’d also come across it down South too. It is a favourite, a great tune and there are a lot of ways with it and it is played in several keys.

Here follows a version rescued from the future, suspecting impending doom for the contribution as it is not significantly different:

“The Highland”
Key signature: Adorian
Submitted on October 16th 2006 by cferrie.
https://thesession.org/tunes/6263

R: highland fling
K: Ador ( e minor )
|: gf |
eA (3AAA efgf | eA (3AAA a2 gf | eA (3AAA efge | dBGB d2 :|
|: fg |
aA (3AAA gA (3AAA | aA (3AAA g2 fg |1 aA (3AAA efge | dBGB d2 :|
2 afge fded | BG (3GGG g2 ||

I learnt this years ago in Galway but I’m fairly sure it’s of Donegal origin. I think I may have heard Altan playing it at some stage. I usually play this after the Gravel Walks.

# Posted on October 16th 2006 by cferrie

Here are other ways with it. As can be seen and heard, it has the classic way of the highland fling, 16 bars with a second ending for the B-part, which compliments the various dances it accompanies, the phrasing guiding the dancers through the steps and moves ~

K: E Dorian
|: c>d |
B>E (3EEE B>Ed>c | B>E (3EEE (3ded c>d |
B>E (3EEE (3Bcd d>B | A<FD>F (3ded :|
|: c>d |
e>E (3EEE d>Ec>d | e>E (3EEE (3ded c>d |
1 (3efe B>E d>EB>E | A>DF<A d2 :|
2 e>c (3dcB c>A (3BAG | F>D (3DDD d2 ||

a few alternate takes ~

on the B-part, bars 1 &/or 3 ~ | eE (3EEE dE (3EEE |

K: D Dorian ~ |: c>B | A>D (3DDD A>Bc<B | ~

“there any good tips to play this kind of bouncy strathspeys?”

As always; practice, practice (slowly), practice, etc
-and ‘wait’! 3 years if necessary, more even!

I have heard it called Neilly Boyles highland in the Donegal Rosses

a very brilliant version and a great playing is hearable on the last work by Johnny: “A Winter Talisman”! My favourite!

Just for fun, I like to play it in a set followed by Orange and Blue (https://thesession.org/tunes/2091) and then the Marquis of Huntly’s Highland Fling (https://thesession.org/tunes/9750); I call it my “Fling set” as these are three tunes quite commonly played for the Highland Fling in competitive Highland dance (including in sets together).

Related to all these tunes : Tom Doherty’s, Devil In The Kitchen, Neillidh Boyle’s, Highland, Titanic.