William Jackson: Scottish Harper/Composer/Multi-Instrumentalist
Things that we’re doing now are going to be the tradition of tomorrow.
-William Jackson
William Jackson is one of Scotland’s most well respected and sought after performers and teachers of the Scottish harp. Billy’s humor and graciousness are a constant, as his fans from around the world will agree.
Billy’s musical journey started with classical piano at the age of 11 and when he became interested in traditional music he took up the mandolin. At 15 he started playing the double bass and bass guitar and joined the band Contraband in Glasgow.
What inspired you to play the harp?
When Billy was in London he noticed a lever harp in the window of a store that piqued his interest. He had been listening to harpers Alan Stivell , Derek Bell , and Alison Kinnaird . He didn’t buy that particular harp, but in 1975 he decided to sell his bass and buy a harp.
He played harp, Uilleann Pipes and whistles with the band Ossian for fourteen years starting in 1976. A band that continues to inspire traditional musicians from around the world. Some refer to them as, “The Scottish Planxty”.
Like any other instrument the harp is constantly being developed. It’s like a tree and it grows different branches.
-William Jackson
Billy on traditional music:
There’s this ongoing question about when does a tradition begin? Everything has to start somewhere. Things that we’re doing now are going to be the tradition of tomorrow.
-William Jackson
Arranging tunes and playing the bouzouki
The bouzouki has changed a lot. [It has] tuning that’s good for Scottish music. It’s only been used in Irish and Scottish music since the 1960s. [It] works really well with traditional music. It uses open tuning. Like having a drone on the bagpipe with the melody over it. Dance music would not have been accompanied originally in traditional music. That whole sense of harmony has gone onto the harp. Often when playing dance music on the harp and in a lot of the old harp pieces as well, there is so much going on with the ornamentation and variations you actually don’t have to do tons [with your accompaniment] anyway.” The melody often speaks for itself and the melody’s always telling you what the harmony could be. Scottish tunes are hugely influenced by the Scottish Pipes.
On Uilleann Pipes, you can actually block the chanter on your knee and close all the holes and you can actually make a silence, you can even switch the drones off. But, it’s the melody that is the important thing. The drones can be continuous But the melody could have actual gaps or silences between the notes, so that’s a different style. But, in the Scottish bagpipe to make the second note to make trebles and doubles, you have to use cuts and ornaments to make the rhythm because it’s one long continuous sound there’s no silence. So that is hugely influential in fiddle music and harp as well.
A lot of the old harp music would have a simple melody and a whole series of variations. And that’s kind of the form of the Scottish bagpipe, the Pibroch.
You’re always hugely influenced by every musician you’ve ever worked with.
-William Jackson
On Accompanying a Slow Air
When playing airs it is good to learn what the song is about so your accompaniment matches the mood.
Play something that weaves in and out of the melody.
-William Jackson
On Edward Bunting and The Belfast Harp Festival of 1792
The old Scottish harp tradition is kind of a different situation from the Irish. For a start, Edward Bunting collected a lot of tunes at the Belfast Harp Festival in 1792. That never happened in Scotland.
If you try to imagine what he was actually asked to do which was incredible.
He’s to listen to a dozen harpers playing wire harp over the course of a weekend. He doesn’t have a recording device. He’s trying to write down what they are playing by hand and at the same time maybe keep in mind the harmonies. He’s got to write down hundreds of tunes. So, what he collected was what he remembered. It would be fascinating to hear what was actually being played. And his background would be playing organ or harpsichord or piano.
Then going away and refining what he thinks he heard based on his notes and a left hand based on what he remembers. No recordings. That never happened in Scotland. Nobody sat down to collect Scottish harp music. And the music that does survive would never have been written down originally. Eventually it would have been played maybe on other instruments, on the fiddle, maybe on the pipes.
One of the most well known harpers was Rory Dall. Many tunes are attributed to Rory Dall who was an Irish harper who spent the last 12 years of his life in the west of Scotland. Many pieces were commissioned by wealthy patrons.Fiddle composers would write a tune in the style of the old harp music and say it was an old harp tune. Sometimes the old harp tunes would be used for songs like Robert Burns used for his songs. Like “Ae Fond Kiss”.
-William Jackson
Harp in Music Therapy
Billy is also a music therapist. We talked about how wonderful the harp is for sharing with others in therapy situations and how powerful music therapy can be. He is a multi instrumentalist who started his musical journey learning classical piano, then fiddle, and pipes, among other instruments. He also plays the bouzouki, an instrument in the lute family that is very popular in Greece. It gained popularity in Irish music in the 1960s where it has become a very common instrument to hear in Irish Sessions. Billy often tours and gives harp workshops with his wife, Grainne Hambly as Masters of the Celtic Harp. However during the Covid lockdowns of 2020 they are presenting concerts and workshops online.
Billy uses a variety of instruments in his music therapy, but finds the harp is a perfect instrument to share with someone and for them to feel and sound musical.
Sharing is important because you are telling the person that you are working with, they know this instrument is one of the most important things in your life and if you are willing to share it with them it’s a big statement. Rather than saying, “I want to work with you, but don’t touch this instrument” you’re putting up a fence there. The harp is good from that point of view.
-William Jackson
(This interview was recorded in June of 2020 before the July Somerset Folk Harp Festival that took place online this year. )
LINKS
William Jackson’s Website: wjharp.com
Masters of the Celtic Harp: harpagency.com/artist1.htm
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