George Meikle

As leader of the Lothian Scottish Dance Band, I have played for Scottish Country Dancing for more years than I care to remember. One thing I have always tried to do is to try to play the correct original tune, wherever possible, for any dance on a program. As there are well over 14,000 dances, it is no mean task that musicians face in trying to keep up to date with new dances and tunes. 

Since its foundation, the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) has published a large number of dances in more than 55 books and 30 leaflets. Wherever possible, musicians are encouraged to play the designated original tune for the dance. Keeping track of and building up a collection of music to achieve this end is no mean task.

The idea for “Originally Ours” came about whilst playing for the RSCDS Summer School in 2002. I realized that there had to be an easier way to carry around all the books and leaflets I needed to play for the various classes. I thought it should be possible to incorporate the sheet music for all the original tunes into one manageable book which could be easily carried around. The compilation took about two years to complete and the main aim was to produce a good working reference book. As a result it also includes information on those dances that are medleys, round the room dances, square set dances and those that start with two chords. It also has a comprehensive index at the back of the book which allows any dance title or original tune to be easily found. 

On with the dance, and enjoy playing your music!

George Meikle

Lothian Scottish Dance Band