> There are other anomalies. The first tune - God save the King, has some
> numbers below the bass stave that look like figured bass.
By 1799, not bloody likely. I'll take a look at this and see what I can
make of it. (This tune was often used pedagogically at the time, and was
put at the start of a book when treated that way - sure the numbers aren't
fingerings?)
> There are several tunes which hint at the importance of organised military
> response to a threat of war or invasion;
>
> The Berwickshire Yeomanry's March - 1, 2nd and Bass
> The Kelso Volunteers March - 1, 2nd and Bass
> The Kelso Volunteers Quick Step
> The Roxburgh Cavalry Yeomanrys March - 1, 2nd and Bass
> The Scotch Militia
> Newcatle Volunteers Quick Step
There was a boom in writing tunes for upper-class part-time soldiery
like this in the late 1790s. The main point of such forces was internal
repression: they were the guys who did the Massacre of Tranent in 1797.
Cutting down unarmed radical miners was about their speed, they never
faced the French. "The Scotch Militia" is different, as the militia
was a working-class conscript force (resistance to its creation was what
led to the Tranent massacre). My guess is that it was a recruiting tune
or something written to promote the new militia in 1796-7. As such it's
historically important, whether or not it's any good musically.
> It is interesting that all the tunes with both "seconds" and composed
> bass parts are those above.
Some might be arranged from wind band scores, others might be purely
salon pieces intended for the piano. Very few of the band scores of
that era survive and this sort of reduction is about the best guide
we have to what they might have been.
> I really am not sure what to do with these tunes. I do not have the
> ability to render them in abc. My best bet would be to transcribe them
> in a music manuscript package - and expert a MIDI file.
I've done stuff like this. Get the melody line down and I'll take it
from there.
> There are about 10 tunes in all which have seconds or bass lines which
> look intersting. Perhaps I am being over influenced by David Johnson who
> has suggested that the printed bass lines of 18th C Scottish fiddle music
> are no better than would be extemporised by a competent cellist. Perhas
> they are all worth notating.
David's right, but there's a point in having them on paper regardless:
they show that even triadic harmony was more complicated than what
was expected at the time, let alone the fancy jazz-inspired guitar or
accordion chordings popular now. These one-note or bare-octave bass
lines can be very effective and are drastically underused at present.
=================== <http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> ===================
Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To
subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
