A New Jig: “Well Away” (Score & Sound File)

February 18, 2008 on 10:23 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Score & Sound File, Solo Piping, Technique | 2 Comments

I knew I’d been away too long from these pages when it took me 20 minutes to track down the once-memorized dunaber login and password. Thanks to the notes on my trusty Blackberry: found.

Here’s a jig I made not too long ago, “Well Away”. It’s in my newish book (5) and one I imagine is OK. It’s of middling technical difficulty in the big scheme of jigs (is there a big scheme of jigs? Can you imagine!). If “Cork Hill” is at the easy end and “Donald MacLennan’s Exercise” at the tricky end, “Well Away” is in the middle.

The most challenging part in playing this tune is probably in the area of rhythmic control, especially in the last part. Admittedly this part “riffs” on the second part of Donald MacLeod’s “Glasgow Police Pipers” and, maybe, Colin Magee’s “Troy’s Wedding”. I’d like to think it’s still orginal enough and not unduly derivative (note to self/you: in composing tunes avoid “derivative” at all costs).

On the mp3 recording here (see below – click the arrow) I play first quite slow and open and follow up with a rendition of moderate tempo. I’ll try and do more of these tunes (score with sound file) if there’s any interest.

I think I’ll add “Well Away” to my competitive jiggy repertoire.

Sorry about the title. I could’ve done better. The true story on the name – 3 out of 10 on the “Lame-o-meter”: I was stuck with a printer’s deadline and had a number of tunes still embarrassingly nameless.

I hope you find interesting.

M.

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