Slow is More

[Jody Kruskal]

One of the things that started me on this SLOW is MORE journey was being amazed at the tempo changes listening to VÄSEN play this.

 

However, I’ve discovered that for me, it sounds very cool to play the B section up an octave, and that will take some work to naturalize those squirrelly button positions with my uncooperative pinky.

 

Instead, perhaps my next selection might be Da Auld Swarra Jupie from the Shetlands. Both tunes share a similar sense of a floating tempo that ebbs and flows. I’m sure that Auld Swarra Jupie would also welcome the slow treatment.

 

Check it out here:

https://jodykruskal.com/tune_of_the_month/march_2009.html

[Jody Kruskal]

Da Auld Swarra Jupie makes reference to the motion of water in the sea. That makes it an excellent tune for my SLOW IS MORE tempo research project.

It’s a Shetland lament for sailors lost in the great storms of the 19th century when the fishermen rowed out in six-oared open boats called sixareens. The title refers to a woven shirt worn next to the skin of the sailors back then. If a sailor drowned, often the only way to identify the body was by their clothes.

 

I learned it many years ago from fiddler Paul Friedman who got it from Tom Anderson at a workshop in Scotland. You can read more about the tune here, https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Auld_Swaara

 

 

[Jody Kruskal]

Here is the best ABC I could find.

 

X: 5
T: Da Auld Swaara Jupie
R: barndance

M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
[M:2/4]|:D|GG (3DB,G,|(3DGD (3B,A,B,|G,2 BA/F/|GG (3DB,G,|(3DGD (3B,A,B,|[G,D]G G:|
|:D|G/F/E/D/ (3CEC|(3B,DB, A,>B,|G,2 BA/F/|G/F/E/D/ (3CEC|(3B,DB, A,>B,|[G,D]G G:|
|:D|G/F/E/D/ Gg|ed/B/ d/e/f/g/|a2 BA/F/|G/F/E/D/ Gg|ed/B/ (3dgd|BG G:|

[Jim Besser]

Jody - It occurred to me today that a fast dance tune that works really well slowed down is your own Krazy for Kasha.  Gotta try recording it!

[Jody Kruskal]

Good idea Jim.  I've attached a lead sheet for Krazy for Kasha. BTW, this tune plays nicely on G/D Anglo as written. For ease of play on the C/G it is advised to play just the A section up an octave from what is written in the score.

Krazy for Kasha.pdf

[Cathasach]

I play Donkey Riding in g minor quite slow and it's a lot of fun. Nice and spooky holloween music.

[Jim Besser]

8 minutes ago, Cathasach said:

I play Donkey Riding in g minor quite slow and it's a lot of fun. Nice and spooky holloween music.

I've done that. Donkey Riding is one of those tunes that works in a wide range of styles. I've played it at a brisk contra dance speed for dances, and very slow for Morris.   Another that works like that: William and Nancy. 

[Jody Kruskal]

All Night Long Blues, aka Richmond Blues Performed by Jody Kruskal as part of his SLOW IS MORE research project. Solo G/D Anglo concertina based on the 1928 recording by Foster & Rutherford.

 

 

 

[Jody Kruskal]

 

[Jody Kruskal]

 

Jody Kruskal plays Off To California, G/D Anglo concertina.

 

This fine old fiddle tune has origins that are Irish, English and American.

 

As part of my SLOW is MORE tempo research project, I love to morph tunes by slowing them down until they become something else. Off To California is a classic chestnut, a hornpipe that is often played as a reel but here I have slowed it down by 50% as I doubled the note value. Eighth notes become quarters and now it’s a brisk march suitable for a speedy contra dance at 127 bpm.

 

You can read more than you might want to know about this tune here: https://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/off.htm And here: https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:...)

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

How about a tune that is intended to or is usually played slow instead being played fast?

A sort of Fast tune project?

 

[David Barnert]

11 hours ago, SIMON GABRIELOW said:

How about a tune that is intended to or is usually played slow instead being played fast?

A sort of Fast tune project?

 

 

I said the same thing months ago:

 

On 6/24/2025 at 7:34 PM, David Barnert said:

I keep thinking maybe we should start a thread where we play slow airs, laments and waltzes quickly. 

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Yes, try this one?

Sounds morbid.. The Dead march from Handel's ( Saul)? Speeded up sounds more cheerful!😊I Have to say that I have not done it yet like this myself !

[Jody Kruskal]

Because He Was a Bonny Lad SLOW - Jody Kruskal C/G Anglo concertina and vocals.

 

This is the eighth selection in my SLOW IS MORE tempo research project. I’m playing a Scottish dance tune from the 1800’s, it is favored today by Northumbrian pipers who play it briskly. Here, I’ll be singing this song as slowly as I think I can get away with. The first verse is the only fragment of the song we have, so I wrote four additional verses.

 

Because a he was a bonny lad She bid him "Aye, come back again"

She bid him once and she bid him twice She bid him kiss and come again

 

Because he was such a bonny lad And she so blithe and blooming She bid him once and she bid him twice Now she’s the one a-wooing

 

Because he was such a bonny lad And she being such a beauty To kiss and coo was their delight Performing Cupid’s duty

 

Because he was such a bonny bonny lad So bonny and beguiling A sweet embrace, caress the face Of the bonny lass, a smiling

 

He kissed her once, and he kissed her twice, “Oh, I’ll be back tomorrow” She kissed him once, and she kissed him twice Oh, farewell grief and sorrow

 

 

 

[Matt Heumann]

Beautiful rendition. Yer a beezer!

[Jody Kruskal]

Sail Away Ladies SLOW - Jody Kruskal G/D Anglo concertina.

This is the ninth selection in my SLOW IS MORE tempo research project. 

 

Sail Away Ladies sure gets around. There are many tunes by this title. This one is from Kentucky fiddle legend Kenny Baker as interpreted by fiddler Sam Zygmuntowicz and the New York City contra dance band; Grand Picnic.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2025 by Jody Kruskal

[Jody Kruskal]

Lisa Gutkin (fiddle) and Jody Kruskal (Anglo concertina) play “Springfield” composed by the talented Old-Time fiddler Erynn Marshall in 2008. We are on Lisa’s family porch in the country and as we play, various neighbors walked by… a movable audience that made us smile. Used by permission: https://dittyville.com/

 

This is the tenth offering in my SLOW IS MORE Tempo Research Project. By slowing “Springfield” way down, we aim to unleash it’s potential as more than a charming, sweet and wistful tune, full of longing and affection; and transform it into a foot stomping anthem of… the glories of dynamic slowness.

 

 

 

[Jody Kruskal]