Bridge the Gap, a sheet music book which contains thirty-nine recently composed tunes by Scottish musician and composer Gordon Shand, is released this month.
New compositions, which include reels, jigs, marches, strathspeys and waltzes, “Bridge the Gap” between Traditional Scottish Dance Music and Contemporary Folk Music, with several of the melodies being ideal for use by Scottish Country Dance or Ceilidh Bands, and others being more suitable for Folk Bands or Groups to include in their playlist. All the melodies are arranged with chord symbols and background information is supplied about each composition.
The BBC recently invited Gordon Shand (and his Scottish Dance Band) to record a session of his original compositions for BBC Radio Scotland’s Take the Floor. The programme was aired on 3rd March 2018.
Several well-known musicians have already expressed great enthusiasm towards Gordon’s tunes:
“A mix of compositions that would suit not just the dance band player but there is something there for everybody. Tunes for box, fiddle, pipes… they’re all there. There are tunes for mixed abilities too, from simple sweet airs to finger twisting reels.”
Phil Cunningham
“It is such an honour to have a tune composed for us by a musician that is so creative and exciting in his approach to traditional music.”
Daniel Gillespie (Skerryvore)
“Gordon is continuing to fly the flag for the Shand name at the very top of the Scottish Dance Music world, not only as one of the accordion greats within the scene, but also as one of Scotland’s most prolific composers.”
Gary Innes (Manran & Presenter of BBC Radio Scotland’s “Take the Floor”)
Gordon, from Dunfermline in Fife, first started composing in 1989 and since then his tunes have been performed regularly by Scottish Dance Bands broadcasting on BBC Radio Scotland’s Take the Floor. His compositions have also been a popular choice for musicians competing at various music festivals, including the 2017 Perth All-Scotland Accordion and Fiddle Festival when the Scottish Dance Band competitors were invited to perform tunes by either Sir Jimmy Shand or Gordon Shand. In 2007 Gordon released his first book of own compositions The Force is Strong and due to popular demand has now released this second collection of tunes entitled Bridge the Gap.
For more information, or to purchase the book, please visit www.gordonshand.com
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