On Sunday, October 5, 2003, at 04:51 PM, Nigel Gatherer wrote:
Somewhere I saved James Scott Skinner's list of colours which he assigned the various keys on the fiddle. Where did I put it?
I don't know about colours, but here's how he characterized the keys in "A Guide to Bowing":
C major Bold, but piercing. A minor Sad and plaintive. G major Plenty of body. E minor Sterile--thin D major Splendid body B minor Rather sad. A major The Fiddle key F# minor Exquisitely harrowing. E Brilliant but lacking in body; Powerfull in the March "William Tell." F Thinnish. Bb Velvet--very rich and fine. Eb/C minor Weird, fascinating, and beautifully sad.
I think I would have said that B minor is "Wailing," not just "Rather sad." Also, I don't find F to be "thinnish." I guess Em could be said to be thin, but "Sterile?" There are some awfully good Em tunes!
- Kate D.
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