Katie Scollard’s slide

Really I needed the distraction and if you want to email someone a complaint address it to Ptarm who’s responsible for winding me up this way, but, well, I’m in a delicate state so just about anything winds me up…

So here’s another one starting with a drop down a fifth on the first beat. Mind you, this melody is also known as a ‘Fling’, but I’ll be back with a few more of those in the near future. For now, I’m sticking with slides, a few other interesting ones waiting in the wings, unless I find them already on site, but if so I’ll add my ABCs in the comments.

This is from a musician I admire greatly but for whom I’ve never had the pleasure of knowing up front, or dancing to him live, Terry Teahan. I love his take on things, basic and driving, but with many unique subtleties all his own. His LP is long over due as a CD, for the rest of you not yet warmed by the humour of his dance music. There are a few tracks here and there on compilations, but it is a kick to get a full dose of this man’s wonderful playing, the laughter in his music can’t help but raise you up and draw you out onto the dance floor. While I haven’t met the man or danced to him live, I’ve done my share of making a racket to his recordings, of one form or another… I hope I’ve done him justice here, but I admit to being an imperfect filter. I’ve tried to make the first take as to the bones as possible, and to sort of keep that through the next two takes in other keys… If anyone else has a version of this please add it here in the notes…

There were several other transcriptions made here in the ABCs, different takes and keys, as I’ve done a few times previously, hoping for those not yet together with ABCs and more comfortable with the dots would have them to work with and in other keys. It has also worked for me when teaching the tunes. But yet again, two days in a row, three really, those have been axed by Das OverLord.

Well, bye guys, it has been fun while it lasted. It isn’t worth continuing the contributing when things you do are taken so lightly. That was a few hours worth of work, would you believe. I’m slow. Well, it will benefit me, has benefited me, too bad it was deemed necessary that it be scraped by or resident editor Jeremy… Those other tunes, jigs, highland flings and information, will not follow, not in the current climate of an axe mad editor…

As well, the various versions and keys were for the main part of making it rock, the ears, even if it were just midi… GRRRRR!!! I want t o swear up a storm and yell…

Sorry about the editing, but I think that variations like key transpositions are best to the comments rather than the main body of the ABC.

Good tune.Is it really goodbye ceolachan? Just do what I do and ignore the carping.Water off a duck’s back.

Sorry ‘c’. It must be like staying up the whole night writing an essay and then have your computer crash and lose it all. Been there! :-(

On "Old Time Irish Music in America" by Terry "Cuz" Teahan and Gene Kelly, this is called "Mike Looney’s", named after a Chicago man who would always ask for slides. Katie Scollard was a neighbour to Cuz in Ireland, and he reckoned she was a very fine concertina player. When he visited her decades later with a tape recorder, she had given up the conceretina and had forgotten all her music. "A sure loss to Irish music," mused Cuz. He composed a reel with her name attached to it. The setting I have added is just different enough from ceolachan’s to be of slight interest.

Sorry - not MIKE Looney’s, but TOM Looney’s.

Thanks Nigel.

Mark’s comment from 7 years ago, me too. I’d done a slew of work, including hours and hours transcribing interviews, and I had twice the computer woes. This was at a very important time, preparing work for my final year of a second degree. First, something went wrong with my space at uni, so I transferred everything to my home built computer, a brand new hard drive, and that fried… It was on warranty so I got a replacement, but my work was gone, and I just hadn’t the heart or strength to do it all again. Besides, on top of all this I was a walking zombie, I’d pneumonia. Unfortunately, being slower than usual, I hadn’t yet backed up what I’d spent hours transferring to that new drive. I did chase up some forensic software to try to rescue things, but what I did manage to pull out was a scrambled up mess. That also included resource works I’d spent many hours scanning, digitizing, and lots and lots of digital recordings too, and the complete issues of a magazine an old acquaintance had put his sweat and blood into over many years. I sigh deeply, as it is one of those things that still hurts when I bring it back up to the front for memory’s sake. :-(

Maybe a few new scars but I’m still alive and kickin’… 8-)