My Free Sheet Music Page

Hi – I have recently discovered an excellent music notation package called MuseScore which is enabling me to start putting up decent quality reproductions of my favourite traditional tunes as well as some of my own compositions. Please feel free to help yourself to anything you like.

The first tune that I thought I’d put here is an absolute favourite of mine. It’s called ‘O Gin I were a Baron’s Heir’. I first came across it when watching the ‘Dancing with the Shands’ DVD. The great Sir Jimmy Shand played it in the middle of the programme as a melodeon solo. I find the song beautiful – and melody is a haunting slow air.
O Gin in Bb

Dominique Riviere posted this on his site – it’s a beautiful tune – please play it!

LA PARTIDA accordeon

And this piece is another great tune I learnt from Dom! It’s a beautiful little ‘French Schottische’ tune written by Frederic Paris I believe. Here is my own little version of it.

LeCanal en Octobre

Another great tune and really easy to play is ‘Rural Life’. It’s a waltz written by A. Mackenzie Davidson. I was introduced to the tune by Ian Cruikshanks and his Sc0ttish Country Dance Band. Ian kindly sent me the dots that he used for his recording.

Rural Life

I have recently been introduced to Playford music – here is a beautiful and catchy little tune entitled ‘Grimstock, Playford 1651′ a great tune from the 17th Century. I’ve arranged it for piano or accordion with very simple melody and bass lines in the key of D major. It really needs to be played as a ’round’ with parts. There are a number of part possibilities for it that I will eventually post up here.

Grimstock in D

Orlando Gibbons the 16th Century composer wrote the following little tune, ‘Peace’, which I’ve arranged for D/G melodeon. Its a beatiful tune which cries out for harmony and variations!  Give it a go.

Peace

Well here’s a real favourite of mine – it’s an ancient Irish hymn tune called St. Columba. It’s often played Eb (so I’m really looking forward to getting my new melodeon (an El Rey Vallenato’ in F/Bb/Eb) so that I can play it in that key. However, for the sake of those of us who are somewhat restricted in keys at the moment I’ve pitched it down a semi-tone to D major. So here it is: Columba in D. The words that are often associated with this tune were written by that great hymnist Henry Williams Baker: ‘The King of Love My Shepherd is’ which is another take on the 23rd Psalm.

Here’s the tune ‘Hardy Norseman’. I’d be interested to find out more about this old Norse tune.

Hardy Norseman

Here’s greatest gospel song of all time. It’s word were written by Christian convert John Newton, and the tune is of an unknown origin. Some people suggest that he may have heard the tune being sung by the slave cargo when he was Captain of a slave ship. It’s an ‘amazing’ tune – based on the profoundly pentatonic music of West Africa. Here it is G Major:

Amazing Grace

Jesus of Galilee is another favourite chorus of mine, written by Salvation Army Officer Brigadier J. Osborne. Here is a sound file: Jesus of Galilee and here’s the words and music Jesus of Galilee

Mine, mine, mine was written by A. Hudson & tune was composed by R F Lehman. It’s a great little chorus – having the powerfull combination of simplicity & truth! Mine, mine, mine (words) & Mine…recording Eb Melodeon