lockdown tales activity:
finger lock
the truth behind the story
The well-known tale Finger Lock is an example of a legend being associated with a certain family. The MacCrimmon family in the folktale really existed, and The Finger Lock is a famous tune played by pipers to this day. The first audio recording of the story was made in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, in 1955, by Andra Stewart, who said 'that was ma father told me that, an' he played that tune on the pipes.'
It is interesting to imagine who was the first person to make up the story. Whoever it was must have known the story of Cinderella. Just like Cinderella, in Finger Lock the youngest son Johnnie is treated badly by his older siblings, but both characters win in the end - she the prince, he the competition! Can you find any other stories like Cinderella? There are over 300 versions worldwide.
The MacCrimmons were a family of pipers of piobaireachd or ‘pibroch’, a particular kind of classical Highland pipe music. Another word for it is ceòl mór, which means 'big music', while the faster reels and jigs are termed ceòl beag, or 'little music'; pibroch is slower and rather stately. Donald Mor MacCrimmon, who lived around 400 years ago, is said to have composed many tunes, and lots of the pibroch music that is played now is attributed to him, although nobody knows for certain. The Finger Lock may well have been one of them. The MacCrimmons were hereditary pipers (meaning that their skills and their paid roles as pipers were passed on from generation to generation) to the clan MacLeod of Dunvegan of Skye.
THE COMPETITON
Since 1967, the MacCrimmon Memorial Piobaireachd Competition has taken place every year at Dunvegan Castle. Pipers compete to win the 'silver chanter'. Competitors only play tunes that can supposedly be traced back to the MacCrimmon family, including The Finger Lock.
Here is a recording of The Finger Lock played today:
It is interesting to imagine who was the first person to make up the story. Whoever it was must have known the story of Cinderella. Just like Cinderella, in Finger Lock the youngest son Johnnie is treated badly by his older siblings, but both characters win in the end - she the prince, he the competition! Can you find any other stories like Cinderella? There are over 300 versions worldwide.
The MacCrimmons were a family of pipers of piobaireachd or ‘pibroch’, a particular kind of classical Highland pipe music. Another word for it is ceòl mór, which means 'big music', while the faster reels and jigs are termed ceòl beag, or 'little music'; pibroch is slower and rather stately. Donald Mor MacCrimmon, who lived around 400 years ago, is said to have composed many tunes, and lots of the pibroch music that is played now is attributed to him, although nobody knows for certain. The Finger Lock may well have been one of them. The MacCrimmons were hereditary pipers (meaning that their skills and their paid roles as pipers were passed on from generation to generation) to the clan MacLeod of Dunvegan of Skye.
THE COMPETITON
Since 1967, the MacCrimmon Memorial Piobaireachd Competition has taken place every year at Dunvegan Castle. Pipers compete to win the 'silver chanter'. Competitors only play tunes that can supposedly be traced back to the MacCrimmon family, including The Finger Lock.
Here is a recording of The Finger Lock played today:
Here is another video when a pibroch tune has been updated and other instruments have been added. And the pipes are played by Calum MacCrimmon, who explains things really well. What a family, still going strong!
more magical music tales
There is another story in our Lockdown Tales about a violin, called First the Dance then the Feast, about a man who didn’t think he could play the instrument but to his amazement (and with a magical helper, like in Finger Lock), discovered that he could. The effect was to make everyone who treated him badly dance without stopping while he played, until they were exhausted and begging for mercy!
things for you to investigate
There are four more stories in our library of tales that involve music, can you find them? Why do you think music features in so many stories?
Can you think of a famous poem or story where someone plays a pipe, which leads children away from their town and up a mountain?
There is a famous opera by Mozart called The Magic Flute. Can you find out who in this story was given a magic flute, and why?
In Greek mythology, Orpheus was a musician and poet who charmed animals into submission whenever he played the lyre (a kind of harp). He is another character whose legend has often been supposed to lead back to a real person, although scholars have argued about this for centuries.
Can you think of a famous poem or story where someone plays a pipe, which leads children away from their town and up a mountain?
There is a famous opera by Mozart called The Magic Flute. Can you find out who in this story was given a magic flute, and why?
In Greek mythology, Orpheus was a musician and poet who charmed animals into submission whenever he played the lyre (a kind of harp). He is another character whose legend has often been supposed to lead back to a real person, although scholars have argued about this for centuries.
The Dallas Museum of Art in America used to exhibit this incredible mosaic, which is nearly two thousand years old, titled 'Orpheus Taming Wild Animals'. The mosaic has now been returned to Turkey, its country of origin. (Image copyright Dallas Museum of Art)
activity challenge
Make a list of all the stories or poems you have discovered that involve music, both from the Lockdown Tales Library and outside the collection. Then, write one line for each one on separate pieces of paper. Shuffle them around and put them in an order that pleases you, to form a poem. You can do this with other people and make a collective group poem, or do it on your own.
Try to fit each line of words into six 'feet'. A 'foot' is the smallest repeated rhythm in a poem, like when you listen to music and you can hear the repeating drum beat 'tap-tap'. Try to make it like the below example, with every second syllable stressed - the loud syllable. If you are aiming for six 'feet', you should be able to count 12 syllables in each line of words:
Try to fit each line of words into six 'feet'. A 'foot' is the smallest repeated rhythm in a poem, like when you listen to music and you can hear the repeating drum beat 'tap-tap'. Try to make it like the below example, with every second syllable stressed - the loud syllable. If you are aiming for six 'feet', you should be able to count 12 syllables in each line of words:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
di-dum di-dum di-dum di-dum di-dum di-dum
[ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ][ 5 ][ 6 ]
di-dum di-dum di-dum di-dum di-dum di-dum
[ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ][ 4 ][ 5 ][ 6 ]
This type of poetic 'metre' (which just means rhythm) is called iambic hexameter. An 'iamb' is a foot with two syllables, like above, and 'hexameter' tells you how many feet there are in the line - hex, meaning six. Your poem might begin like this:
My magic tune won me the prize: it's Finger Lock!
You'll dance, and dance until you drop! Then feast a lot!
Good luck! and do send your finished poems to us. We'd love to see them!
My magic tune won me the prize: it's Finger Lock!
You'll dance, and dance until you drop! Then feast a lot!
Good luck! and do send your finished poems to us. We'd love to see them!
Photo from conner395
