The Spoot O' Skerry

This reel was composed by Shetland fiddler Samuel Ian Rothmar Burns (Ian Burns for short) in 1980. Spootiskerry, as it is more appropriately named, is the name of a farm in the Burns family. A "skerry" is a group of rocks which is covered by the sea, but can sometimes be visible depending on the tide. It's often played at a rattling rate by fiddlers, including Stephen Sibbald, the fiddler in the ceilidh band I play in, but it's also nice to take it at a relaxed pace and let the notes sing.

The mandolin was made by my fellow musician, Sussex (UK) luthier Ian Chisholm. If you're interested in commissioning an instrument - guitar, mandolin, bouzouki - from him, his website is:

http://www.ianchisholm.co.uk/lutherie/Lutherie.html

http://www.mjra.net/WillFly/

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Will
• Fly
• Samuel
• Rothmar
• Ian
• Burns
• Shetland
• reel
• mandolin

[stephenjpcooper]

Thanks for this, lovely performance.

I'd not heard the tune before; the relaxed pace is all the better for getting me started with it on fiddle. Now I've got to speed up!

[HenfieldWill]

I play it on fiddle as well (been playing about 7 months now) and I can actually play it faster on fiddle than violin! Important to get the bowing right - short bow, loose wrist and down at the base of the bow - good exercise! :-)

[Pwecko]

Are you playing downstrokes on every note there?

[HenfieldWill]

No - downstrokes mainly on the upper strings (to get the power) and up-and-down on the lower strings - mainly... :-)

[longstelts]

Lovely played tune, thx 4 that. And the Mandolin sounds great!!

W'ere gonna play the tune today in combination with "The Banshee" as a set of 2 on our regular session in Holland Zeddam.

[paintinatube]

Very enjoyable although I like bluegrass music the roots of many songs are here in the UK. You mention a Stephen Sibbald. I met a Stephen Sibbald at Lorient, France in 1992.He was busking on a fiddle. He was about 6 foot 3 .

He was an excellent artist , would this be the same guy? He would be about 40 now.

I would like to contact him. Hope you do not mind my enquiry? paintinatube.

(Alan Richardson)

[ljped]

Fine tune and lovely playing.