Scotty Fitzgerald’s jig

I like the quirkiness of this jig, with the ‘scotch snap’ in it. I’m also fond of jigs with second endings like this - four bars worth.

This jig is also played in the key of A…

Yes, if you wanted to you could carry through the ‘snap’ to the last bar of the A part. I have a lot of fun with this tune and sometimes for contrast take that as I’ve written it - ‘slow-quick’…

My memory was gnawing at me on this one. I knew I had another transcription or two of it somewhere, there was a note on the transcript in ‘G’. I’ve actually found it in a couple of places so far, including arranged and edited by Paul Cranford in his publication: "Winston Scotty Fitzgerald: A Collection of Fiddle Tunes", ISBN 0-9691181-7-1, at the bottom of page 71, where it is called "Scotty Fitzgerald’s Jig" and is notated in the key of A and attributed to Sandy MacIntyre, 1962, another fine Cape Breton fiddler.

http://www.cranfordpub.com/

I also have a transcription of the tune in ‘A’, similar to this collection, that is without that ‘snap’ and which I’ll append later.

I first learned this tune in the 70’s in the key of ‘G’ and as "Hugh A. MacMaster’s", one we played regularly for dance. Here is another transcription of it in ‘A’, another key I’ve also played it in. The book Fitzgerald collection above offers another transcription with a few differences from this one. It’s a great book and well worth owning.:

K:A
|:E|ABA c2 d|eag fed|cBA EAc|d2 B B2 c|
ABA c2 d|eag fed|cBA EAB|c2 A A2:|
|e|c’3 cae|aga e2 d|cBA aec|d2 B B2 e|
c’3 cae|aga edc|dcd bag|a3 a2 e|
c’3 cae|aga e2 d|cBA aec|d2 B B2 d|
cde Ace|def Bba|gfe dcB|A3 A2||

Wouldn’t you know it, Part 2, bars 1, 5 and 9 should read:

|c’3 c’ae|

I should remember that (‘) is not an accidental and doesn’t carry within the bar… This I can probably blame on ‘dyslexia’, or hope so, rather than just ‘age’…

This tune is in Sandy MacIntyre’s book (with the snappy title Traditional Scottish, Irish & Cape Breton Fiddle Music for the Beginner to Advanced Fiddler) on page 9. It’s in A. Presumably another fiddler changed the key to G so they didn’t have to go out of the safety zone (i.e., first position). Chicken.

The fiddle isn’t the only instrument on the island, G works a little bit more comfortably in a mix, for example with flute or pipes…

Sandy MacIntyre writes in the slleve notes to his CD "Island Treasure Vol.1":
‘Scotty’s usual magic and mastery shone through brilliantly as it always did the day he put bow to strings and played this tune for the first time. It was one of my most memorable and rewarding moments when he commented, "That’s a great jig, Sandy."’
There’s a good version of this tune by Howie MacDonald on "Live at Mabou Hall", though it is not given in the tune listing.

Hey Donald, how about a transcription of that?

Unfortunately, on listening to the CD "Island Treasure Vol 1" ,the quote I gave above from Sandy MacIntyre seems to refer to a totally different jig. He must have written more than one Scotty Fitzgerald’s Jig! It must have been love.

C, I’ll post Howie’s version in the next couple of days.

This is a version in A, as played by Howie MacDonald. It’s pretty close to the original score (in terms of basic notes) of Sandy MacIntyre (apart from anacruses), except that in bar 7 of the B part Sandy has |dcd bge|.
I’ve tried to notate some of the ornaments but some I can’t quite work out and I’m not sure how to notate glissandi.
X: 1
T: Scotty Fitzgerald’s Jig
C: Sandy MacIntyre
O: Cape Breton
N: as played by Howie MacDonald
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
Q: 3/8=126
R: jig
K: A
|:ABA c2d|eag fed|cBA EAc|TB3 B2c|
ABA c2d|eag fed|{d}cBA EcB|[1 [A3A3] [E3A3]:|[2 [A3A3] {e}a3|
{a}c’2z a3|aga e2d|cBA EAc|B3 B2e|
{e}c’2z a3|aga ecA|dcd bag|a3 {a}e3|
{ea}c’2z a3|aga e2d|TcBA aec|B3 {Bc}[d3e3]|
cde Ace|def Bba|gfe dcB|A3 A2E||