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- Kaye McAlpine
Folk Music/Expert Profile
Expertise
My main field of expertise in in traditional ballads - those commonly known as the Child ballads. Those containing executions are my particular speciality, but I am also interested in ballad structure formula, functions and narrative constructs. However, I also have interest in - and academic knowledge of - bothy ballads, and the singing tradition of Scotland - although not Gaelic song. This includes Jacobite song, political song, songs about the trades, and so on. I'm pretty au fait with traditional singers and bands too. And while I enjoy singing the songs, I'm not so sure others might enjoy listening!
Experience in the area
I studied ballads academically, as well as Scottish literature. This extended into Scottish social customs and social history. I was the traditional music reviewer for the Edinburgh Evening News for 4 years, and have several publications to my name. I have been a freelance tutor in outreach courses from Edinburgh University on Scottish Culture and Tradition, including lifecycle customs, broadsheet ballads in Scotland, the traditional ballad and history. I am a freelance writer, have been a guest presenter on Ch4 History Hunters programme, and was a contributor to BBC Radio Scotland's 'Songlines' series on 'The Dowie Dens of Yarrow', and have advised BBC Radio Scotland researchers regarding Scottish songs and ballads from the Borders.
Publications
Books: Forthcoming: The Gallows and The Stake. Published: Compendium of Scottish Ethnology, vol. 10 'Oral Literature and Performance Culture', chapter on The Traditional and the Border Ballad; The Harris Repertoire (Scottish Text Society, co-editor), The Ballad in History (chapter on Border ballads). Journals include Folklore, The Review of Scottish Culture, Scottish Studies, and The Scottish Literary Journal. Music reviews appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News
Education/Credentials
Ph D, M. Phil, BA (Hons)
Average Ratings
Recent Reviews from Users
K = Knowledgeability C = Clarity of Response P = Politeness| User | Date | K | C | P | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| janice | 05/03/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thank you for your response, I will ..... |
| Joe | 01/02/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | lovely hurling thanks |
| John | 08/23/11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| John | 07/28/11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Did lots of work regarding my question ..... |
| Robin | 03/11/11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Even though my song was not found ..... |
Recent Answers from Kaye McAlpine
2012-04-26 Giddy Up Old Dobbin and other songs:
Hello Janice I'm not sure if I can help here - did you hear these in the USA or not? I was at primary school in the 1970s in Scotland, so I'm out of the area and out of the era, although we did have
2011-12-26 The Night Visiting Song:
Hi Joe As far as I'm aware, The Dubliners' version of the song came via the singing of Ray and Archie Fisher - however, Archie Fisher's on record as saying that their version is a composite from recordings
2011-08-18 bert jansch lyrics:
Dear Matt I've had a look about and I see the problem. Don't worry, I know who Bert Jansch is - I've seen him live a few times in the past. To be honest, I'm struggling too ... it's an outside chance
2011-07-28 Mam'selle Marie:
Dear John When I listened to the Paul Robeson one on Spotify the lie you remembered was almost, if not the first, line to the song. Maybe it's a variant. Thanks for the link - and if I find anything
2011-07-23 Mam'selle Marie:
Dear John As my field of interest and expertise is Scottish traditional music, I really can't promise that this is the right song. I don't know very much about US songs, apart from those which are directly
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