Scottish piper (not Big John).
“Big John McNeil” is an old Scottish dance tune. Peter Milne (1824-1908), a well known dance music composer and fiddler, wrote the melody.
It was apparently inspired by a Scottish dancer named John McNeil. The tune is also sometimes called “Lord Ramsey” (or “Lord Ramsey’s”).
The Tune
This melody is commonly played in A major, which is what I’ve got here. It’s played A-A-B-B.
The ‘A’ part may be a good finger stretcher for some, but the ‘B’ part lays out on the first two strings, and flows well under the fingers.
Listen to “Big John McNeil” for mandolin
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Keeping it Simple
I also tried setting this tune in the key of ‘G’, which got rid of that 2-4-6 finger stretch on the 4th string, but I just didn’t feel the second part flowed as well. So, it stayed in the key of ‘A’.
Otherwise, that can be a tricky little passage if you’re lifting your fingers and bouncing around on those low strings, trying to reach the right notes.
For the first three bars, you can pretty much keep your index and ring fingers planted (2nd fret E-string, 6th fret G-string), and just bring down your middle finger when you need that F#.
I hope you enjoy playing “Big John McNeil”.
Please feel free to leave comments below.
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