The Classical Music Thread

[Biffer]

Anyone can play music already composed by other human beings.
Even 5 year old kids.
Just takes determination, discipline and commitment.
Typists develope this skill.


The really seriously clever bastards improvise and write their own stuff.

If you can't appreciate what is good and bad in performance then I'm genuinely sorry for you, because there's an aching gap in your humanity that you've can't even sense.

[Mileendmikey]

I’ve discovered classical and opera quite late in life and love the sound of the cello in particular. Apparently it’s the closest instrument in register to the human voice A recent discovery is


There’s also a lovely story behind it ...when Britten died Rostropovich “retired” this from his performance repertoire as apparently he thought he’d never be able to recreate this level of performance with anyone else. I only knew of Britten as a composer but wow he could really play piano too

[dkm57]

Can't believe no-one has mentioned Edvard Grieg yet especially the whole Pier Gynt Suite. Morning is a beautiful piece to start the day to.

[dkm57]

Great thread by the way

[Tichtheid]

I've been doing this 9 week course, Introduction to Classical Music, it's run by one of the profs at Yale. I'm on week 7 at the moment. So far it has talked about medieval music, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and we're on the Romantic era at the moment. There has been a focus on Hayden, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven so far. It is quite time consuming, but it has been really worth the effort, imo You learn about music in the enlightenment, the Holy Roman Empire, how women weren't allowed to speak in church due to a quote in that Bible, so boys had their 'nads removed so they could sing the high parts as Castrati as grown ups and all sorts of groovy things.

https://www.coursera.org/learn/introclassicalmusic


oh and it's free.

[Line6 HXFX]

Anyone can play music already composed by other human beings.
Even 5 year old kids.
Just takes determination, discipline and commitment.
Typists develope this skill.


The really seriously clever bastards improvise and write their own stuff.

If you can't appreciate what is good and bad in performance then I'm genuinely sorry for you, because there's an aching gap in your humanity that you've can't even sense.

Sweetheart I play some of the most complicated guitar shit there is.

It just took determination and desire.

There is no mystery, or magic to music, playing music is all about determination, practice and desire.

Don't pity me, unless I am one of the guitarists that doesn't realise this.

[Biffer]

Anyone can play music already composed by other human beings.
Even 5 year old kids.
Just takes determination, discipline and commitment.
Typists develope this skill.


The really seriously clever bastards improvise and write their own stuff.

If you can't appreciate what is good and bad in performance then I'm genuinely sorry for you, because there's an aching gap in your humanity that you've can't even sense.

Sweetheart I play some of the most complicated guitar shit there is.

It just took determination and desire.

There is no mystery, or magic to music, playing music is all about determination, practice and desire.

Don't pity me, unless I am one of the guitarists that doesn't realise this.

Real quality takes determination, desire and talent. Its that differentiator of the top 1%. I sing classical stuff - if you can't sing it doesn't matter how much effort you put in. If you don't have a feeling for the music, you'll never give a truly great performance.

[Line6 HXFX]

If you can't appreciate what is good and bad in performance then I'm genuinely sorry for you, because there's an aching gap in your humanity that you've can't even sense.

Sweetheart I play some of the most complicated guitar shit there is.

It just took determination and desire.

There is no mystery, or magic to music, playing music is all about determination, practice and desire.

Don't pity me, unless I am one of the guitarists that doesn't realise this.

Real quality takes determination, desire and talent. Its that differentiator of the top 1%. I sing classical stuff - if you can't sing it doesn't matter how much effort you put in. If you don't have a feeling for the music, you'll never give a truly great performance.

Yeah..and all that.
Didn't you ev'ah want to improvise?
Express yourself?

I learned a bunch of paganni caprices, and there is nothing that comes close to improvisation.

[Tichtheid]

Sweetheart I play some of the most complicated guitar shit there is.

It just took determination and desire.

There is no mystery, or magic to music, playing music is all about determination, practice and desire.

Don't pity me, unless I am one of the guitarists that doesn't realise this.

Real quality takes determination, desire and talent. Its that differentiator of the top 1%. I sing classical stuff - if you can't sing it doesn't matter how much effort you put in. If you don't have a feeling for the music, you'll never give a truly great performance.

Yeah..and all that.
Didn't you ev'ah want to improvise?
Express yourself?

I learned a bunch of paganni caprices, and there is nothing that comes close to improvisation.

It's not a competition.

The likes of Miles Davis or John Coltrane would give the guys a chord sheet, play through the changes and let them produce the most sublime music.

The great classical soloists bring their own interpretation and personality to the music, the orchestra has a personality, just as the conductor does.

The point is to produce feelings and emotions as sounds, no one who is serious about it disses any one else who does this, and certainly not on the trivial matter of genre.

[Biffer]

Sweetheart I play some of the most complicated guitar shit there is.

It just took determination and desire.

There is no mystery, or magic to music, playing music is all about determination, practice and desire.

Don't pity me, unless I am one of the guitarists that doesn't realise this.

Rea quality takes determination, desire and talent. Its that differentiator of the top 1%. I sing classical stuff - if you can't sing it doesn't matter how much effort you put in. If you don't have a feeling for the music, you'll never give a truly great performance.

Yeah..and all that.
Didn't you ev'ah want to improvise?
Express yourself?

I learned a bunch of paganni caprices, and there is nothing that comes close to improvisation.

So is determination and discipline what you need to improvise well? Or does talent come into it?

I’ve never heard anyone talk about the effort someone put into an improvisation.

[Tichtheid]

So is determination and discipline what you need to improvise well? Or does talent come into it?

I’ve never heard anyone talk about the effort someone put into an improvisation.

Improvisation is all down to a gazzillion hours of practice, just like any music performance is.

Improvisation is all about bolting together phrases you have worked on and played over and over, and then slotting them in, sometimes in different sequences.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

It's all "prepared improvisation"

Charlie Parker didn't just walk on to a stage and do it, he worked his arse off

[Saint]

Real quality takes determination, desire and talent. Its that differentiator of the top 1%. I sing classical stuff - if you can't sing it doesn't matter how much effort you put in. If you don't have a feeling for the music, you'll never give a truly great performance.

Yeah..and all that.
Didn't you ev'ah want to improvise?
Express yourself?

I learned a bunch of paganni caprices, and there is nothing that comes close to improvisation.

It's not a competition.

The likes of Miles Davis or John Coltrane would give the guys a chord sheet, play through the changes and let them produce the most sublime music.

The great classical soloists bring their own interpretation and personality to the music, the orchestra has a personality, just as the conductor does.

The point is to produce feelings and emotions as sounds, no one who is serious about it disses any one else who does this, and certainly not on the trivial matter of genre.

Exactly. I can rip it up with the best of them after 3 years at Uni "learning" improvisation, I can also deliver my interpretation of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major. Arguably I'm better laying Tenor Sax over Giant Steps, but they require their own skills and aren' easily replicable, regardless of levels of ability

[Saint]

So is determination and discipline what you need to improvise well? Or does talent come into it?

I’ve never heard anyone talk about the effort someone put into an improvisation.

Improvisation is all down to a gazzillion hours of practice, just like any music performance is.

Improvisation is all about bolting together phrases you have worked on and played over and over, and then slotting them in, sometimes in different sequences.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

It's all "prepared improvisation"

Charlie Parker didn't just walk on to a stage and do it, he worked his arse off

Yes and no (and I'm sorry, but that's genuinely the way it is, and it would take literally weeks to explain how it's both practise and on the spot making shit up)

[Tichtheid]

So is determination and discipline what you need to improvise well? Or does talent come into it?

I’ve never heard anyone talk about the effort someone put into an improvisation.

Improvisation is all down to a gazzillion hours of practice, just like any music performance is.

Improvisation is all about bolting together phrases you have worked on and played over and over, and then slotting them in, sometimes in different sequences.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

It's all "prepared improvisation"

Charlie Parker didn't just walk on to a stage and do it, he worked his arse off

Yes and no (and I'm sorry, but that's genuinely the way it is, and it would take literally weeks to explain how it's both practise and on the spot making shit up)

It is making shit up, but you are not inventing new scales or intervals, you are still playing "all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order"
as EM had it.

[Saint]

Improvisation is all down to a gazzillion hours of practice, just like any music performance is.

Improvisation is all about bolting together phrases you have worked on and played over and over, and then slotting them in, sometimes in different sequences.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

It's all "prepared improvisation"

Charlie Parker didn't just walk on to a stage and do it, he worked his arse off

Yes and no (and I'm sorry, but that's genuinely the way it is, and it would take literally weeks to explain how it's both practise and on the spot making shit up)

It is making shit up, but you are not inventing new scales or intervals, you are still playing "all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order"
as EM had it.

There are plenty of guys out "inventing" new scales and intervals today.

And back when Trane was ripping it up over the cycle of Major 3rds, everyone else said he was nuts (because the cycle of Major 3rds is fundamentally nuts and impossible to relate - until he did it, And that was before he started on Love Supreme and breaking down the basics of harmonic theory altogether).

Today it's all about microtonalism, tuning modalities, and fundamentally shifting the base tune on the fly.

If you're genuinely interested, a detailed study of Jacob Collier on Moon River gives a good starting point - but you need A level Music + a reasonable maths/physics background to start off in terms of understanding what's going on (and I'd argue a degree level in jazz music would make life a lot easier)

[Biffer]

So is determination and discipline what you need to improvise well? Or does talent come into it?

I’ve never heard anyone talk about the effort someone put into an improvisation.

Improvisation is all down to a gazzillion hours of practice, just like any music performance is.

Improvisation is all about bolting together phrases you have worked on and played over and over, and then slotting them in, sometimes in different sequences.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

It's all "prepared improvisation"

Charlie Parker didn't just walk on to a stage and do it, he worked his arse off

I know that. But this cretin is suggesting that talent doesn’t come into it.

[Tichtheid]

Yes and no (and I'm sorry, but that's genuinely the way it is, and it would take literally weeks to explain how it's both practise and on the spot making shit up)

It is making shit up, but you are not inventing new scales or intervals, you are still playing "all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order"
as EM had it.

There are plenty of guys out "inventing" new scales and intervals today.

And back when Trane was ripping it up over the cycle of Major 3rds, everyone else said he was nuts (because the cycle of Major 3rds is fundamentally nuts and impossible to relate - until he did it, And that was before he started on Love Supreme and breaking down the basics of harmonic theory altogether).

Today it's all about microtonalism, tuning modalities, and fundamentally shifting the base tune on the fly.

If you're genuinely interested, a detailed study of Jacob Collier on Moon River gives a good starting point - but you need A level Music + a reasonable maths/physics background to start off in terms of understanding what's going on (and I'd argue a degree level in jazz music would make life a lot easier)

Jacob Collier is amazing, the fact that he can hang with Herbie Hancock on harmony says about all we need to know about him.

There was another guy who Hancock mentioned as a mentor, I can't recall his name just now

[Saint]

It is making shit up, but you are not inventing new scales or intervals, you are still playing "all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order"
as EM had it.

There are plenty of guys out "inventing" new scales and intervals today.

And back when Trane was ripping it up over the cycle of Major 3rds, everyone else said he was nuts (because the cycle of Major 3rds is fundamentally nuts and impossible to relate - until he did it, And that was before he started on Love Supreme and breaking down the basics of harmonic theory altogether).

Today it's all about microtonalism, tuning modalities, and fundamentally shifting the base tune on the fly.

If you're genuinely interested, a detailed study of Jacob Collier on Moon River gives a good starting point - but you need A level Music + a reasonable maths/physics background to start off in terms of understanding what's going on (and I'd argue a degree level in jazz music would make life a lot easier)

Jacob Collier is amazing, the fact that he can hang with Herbie Hancock on harmony says about all we need to know about him.

There was another guy who Hancock mentioned as a mentor, I can't recall his name just now

He doesn't "hang" with Herbie - he schools him (and Hancock openly admits it). Jacob has been compared to Mozart, but everyone that does that is wrong - he's this millenia's JS Bach. Bach created the fundamental theory of equal temprament (that;s arguable, but he certainly documented it) that's underpinned western music theory for the last 300+ years, and Jacob's quite merrily ripping all of that up before he's 25 (and at the same time making Stevie Wonder sound better than he did in the 70s)

[Tichtheid]

He doesn't "hang" with Herbie - he schools him (and Hancock openly admits it). Jacob has been compared to Mozart, but everyone that does that is wrong - he's this millenia's JS Bach. Bach created the fundamental theory of equal temprament (that;s arguable, but he certainly documented it) that's underpinned western music theory for the last 300+ years, and Jacob's quite merrily ripping all of that up before he's 25 (and at the same time making Stevie Wonder sound better than he did in the 70s)

Wow!

Okay, I'll take your point on him, but with the caveat that I've listened to a fair bit of his music that Jamie Callum has played on his show, but I wasn't particularly moved by it.

I'll look deeper into it though, for sure.

[Saint]

He doesn't "hang" with Herbie - he schools him (and Hancock openly admits it). Jacob has been compared to Mozart, but everyone that does that is wrong - he's this millenia's JS Bach. Bach created the fundamental theory of equal temprament (that;s arguable, but he certainly documented it) that's underpinned western music theory for the last 300+ years, and Jacob's quite merrily ripping all of that up before he's 25 (and at the same time making Stevie Wonder sound better than he did in the 70s)

Wow!

Okay, I'll take your point on him, but with the caveat that I've listened to a fair bit of his music that Jamie Callum has played on his show, but I wasn't particularly moved by it.

I'll look deeper in it though, for sure.

Don't get me wrong - some of it isn't necessarily "moving" - more recently he's been doing things more related to rhythm , especially with Djeese 3, not least because it's extremely difficult to break out of Bach-ian musical concepts with Western instruments; and if you move towards non-equal instrumentation such as Indian instruments you run into real trouble with "key" changes which he also mucks about with. Fundamentally it;s some of the trouble that George Harrison had back in the 60s/70s and he simply wasn't smart enough to work round.

But when he does some of his vocal harmonising stuff, with the realisation that he's shifting A=440 between A= 420 and A=460ish, and moving between equal and perfect temperament on the fly, you realise he's reinventing musical theory as we understand it and then some. How much of a long term impact that has in a world where most music appears to be made uo of I IV V is a whole other question

[Tichtheid]

He doesn't "hang" with Herbie - he schools him (and Hancock openly admits it). Jacob has been compared to Mozart, but everyone that does that is wrong - he's this millenia's JS Bach. Bach created the fundamental theory of equal temprament (that;s arguable, but he certainly documented it) that's underpinned western music theory for the last 300+ years, and Jacob's quite merrily ripping all of that up before he's 25 (and at the same time making Stevie Wonder sound better than he did in the 70s)

Wow!

Okay, I'll take your point on him, but with the caveat that I've listened to a fair bit of his music that Jamie Callum has played on his show, but I wasn't particularly moved by it.

I'll look deeper in it though, for sure.

Don't get me wrong - some of it isn't necessarily "moving" - more recently he's been doing things more related to rhythm , especially with Djeese 3, not least because it's extremely difficult to break out of Bach-ian musical concepts with Western instruments; and if you move towards non-equal instrumentation such as Indian instruments you run into real trouble with "key" changes which he also mucks about with. Fundamentally it;s some of the trouble that George Harrison had back in the 60s/70s and he simply wasn't smart enough to work round.

But when he does some of his vocal harmonising stuff, with the realisation that he's shifting A=440 between A= 420 and A=460ish, and moving between equal and perfect temperament on the fly, you realise he's reinventing musical theory as we understand it and then some. How much of a long term impact that has in a world where most music appears to be made uo of I IV V is a whole other question

I'm open to this.

For me Coltrane's India is the greatest piece of music ever written, what came after ALS is difficult but still worthwhile, imo

[Saint]

Wow!

Okay, I'll take your point on him, but with the caveat that I've listened to a fair bit of his music that Jamie Callum has played on his show, but I wasn't particularly moved by it.

I'll look deeper in it though, for sure.

Don't get me wrong - some of it isn't necessarily "moving" - more recently he's been doing things more related to rhythm , especially with Djeese 3, not least because it's extremely difficult to break out of Bach-ian musical concepts with Western instruments; and if you move towards non-equal instrumentation such as Indian instruments you run into real trouble with "key" changes which he also mucks about with. Fundamentally it;s some of the trouble that George Harrison had back in the 60s/70s and he simply wasn't smart enough to work round.

But when he does some of his vocal harmonising stuff, with the realisation that he's shifting A=440 between A= 420 and A=460ish, and moving between equal and perfect temperament on the fly, you realise he's reinventing musical theory as we understand it and then some. How much of a long term impact that has in a world where most music appears to be made uo of I IV V is a whole other question

I'm open to this.

For me Coltrane's India is the greatest piece of music ever written, what came after ALS is difficult but still worthwhile, imo

Funnily enough, I'm not a huge fan of India - for me it's where things started to go down the rabbit hole, but the beauty of music is that we can all hold an opinion and not be wrong

[Fangle]

Another Sibelius piece about the Karelia Peninsula taken over by the Russians: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=adKwG9ZuzFw

[Slick]

I've been listening to a huge amount of classical since this thread was started, thank you.

This from Biffer got me started really

Shostakovich Piano Concerto number 2, second movement. To me, this is one of the most beautiful things evert written.

I must listen to this a couple of times a day on average now, just stunning.

[Tichtheid]

I've been listening to a huge amount of classical since this thread was started, thank you.

This from Biffer got me started really

Shostakovich Piano Concerto number 2, second movement. To me, this is one of the most beautiful things evert written.

I must listen to this a couple of times a day on average now, just stunning.

The Shostakovich Violin Concerto No1, Nicola Benedetti is one of my most-played albums of the last 12 months or so.

[Slick]

I've been listening to a huge amount of classical since this thread was started, thank you.

This from Biffer got me started really

Shostakovich Piano Concerto number 2, second movement. To me, this is one of the most beautiful things evert written.

I must listen to this a couple of times a day on average now, just stunning.

The Shostakovich Violin Concerto No1, Nicola Benedetti is one of my most-played albums of the last 12 months or so.

Yes! Parts of that now have a daily playing also.

[Fangle]

I also listen to a lot of Shostakovich and symphony 10 is on my current list. It takes a number of listenings for me to really get to feel it well but I like the process

[Slick]

Tichtheid, I keep meaning to ask, I think it is yourself that plays fiddle? Can you recommend any good traditional Scottish folk stuff?

[Tichtheid]

Tichtheid, I keep meaning to ask, I think it is yourself that plays fiddle? Can you recommend any good traditional Scottish folk stuff?

I do online lessons with Bruce MacGregor, ex captain of Highland Rugby Club. He founded Blazin Fiddles, their most recent album The Key is worth a listen.

Paul Anderson from the North East is a magnificent fiddle player, especially on the slow Strathspeys and airs, his album The Land of the Standing Stones is terrific.

There is a young guy called, appropriately enough, Ryan Young who has an eponymous album which is good.

Jenna Reid, Lauren MacColl, RANT, Breabach are all good. Going back a wee bit, Shoodlenifty’s Venus in Tweeds

Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain are still at it, they are great, the accordion might be a bit Scottish Country Dance at school PE lessons for some, but I love it.

There is tons of stuff, but that’s a start at least.

Oh incidentally, on the BBC iplayer there is a programme on Alba from Friday night, Feis Rois. That episode was a live performance of Lauren MacColl’s commissioned work on Coinneach Odhar, the Brahan Seer, a 17th century predictor of the future, who is part of the legends of the Black Isle area. It features a couple of members of the bands I just mentioned


Edit, I just realised that is all fiddle-driven music, that might not be what you were after, Fred Morrison’s Outlands album is great, it might be intimidating to listen to a whole album of piping, but it’s not as hardcore as it first appears.

For singers there is no better than Dick Gaughan, his Handful of Earth album even made a Melody Maker album of the year list

[Slick]

Tichtheid, I keep meaning to ask, I think it is yourself that plays fiddle? Can you recommend any good traditional Scottish folk stuff?

I do online lessons with Bruce MacGregor, ex captain of Highland Rigby Club. He founded Blazin Fiddles, their most recent album The Key is worth a listen.

Paul Anderson from the North East is a magnificent fiddle player, especially on the slow Strathspeys and airs, his album The Land of the Standing Stones is terrific.

There is a young guy called, appropriately enough, Ryan Young who has an eponymous album which is good.

Jenna Reid, Lauren MacColl, RANT, Breabach are all good. Going back a wee bit, Shoodlenifty’s Venus in Tweeds

Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain are still at it, they are great, the accordion might be a bit Scottish Country Dance at school PE lessons for some, but I love it.

There is tons of stuff, but that’s a start at least.

Oh incidentally, on the BBC iplayer there is a programme on Alba from Friday night, Feis Rois. That episode was a live performance of Lauren MacColl’s commissioned work on Coinneach Odhar, the Brahan Seer, a 17th century predictor of the future, who is part of the legends of the Black Isle area. It features a couple of members of the bands I just mentioned


Edit, I just realised that is all fiddle-driven music, that might not be what you were after, Fred Morrison’s Outlands album is great, it might be intimidating to listen to a whole album of piping, but it’s not as hardcore as it first appears.

For singers there is no better than Dick Gaughan, his Handful of Earth album even made a Melody Maker album of the year list

Thanks mate, that's brilliant. I'll dive in and let you know how I go!

[Openside]

My two favourite bits of classical

Ride of the Valkyries - also Regimental March (proper hairs on the back of the neck stuff) and the ‘sawing’ of the violins in Romeo and Juliet.

[Tichtheid]

@Slick, I just remembered, if you have a twitter account you can follow Duncan Chisholm, he is a prolific fiddle player and one of the big names in Scottish trad music.

He often does a run of “tune of the day” in which he posts a video of himself standing by a loch or a ruined castle or some other stunning piece of Highland scenery and playing a tune.

Watching that is a great way to start the day.

[Slick]

@Slick, I just remembered, if you have a twitter account you can follow Duncan Chisholm, he is a prolific fiddle player and one of the big names in Scottish trad music.

He often does a run of “tune of the day” in which he posts a video of himself standing by a loch or a ruined castle or some other stunning piece of Highland scenery and playing a tune.

Watching that is a great way to start the day.

Cheers, I'd actually seen him and used to have a listen each morning at the start of this lockdown. It's actually what got me thinking about learning a bit more. I absolutely love walking into pubs in Edinburgh and hearing the lads and lassies in the corner playing away, but know next to nothing about the music.

[Slick]

Paul Anderson from the North East is a magnificent fiddle player, especially on the slow Strathspeys and airs, his album The Land of the Standing Stones is terrific.

This is bloody great

[GogLais]

I was trying to get into slightly less accessible stuff, for want of a better word and discovered Beethoven's Quartet Opus 127. Quite something.

[Tichtheid]

Paul Anderson from the North East is a magnificent fiddle player, especially on the slow Strathspeys and airs, his album The Land of the Standing Stones is terrific.

This is bloody great

I'm so glad you like it, he is of virtuoso standard when it comes to fiddle playing, it's all about conveying emotion to the listener.

He was ill a wee while ago and had to undergo chemotherapy, hence the short hair and the weight in this video, but his feel for the music is still very much there.
As a "Folkie" this tune is a bit like a Beatles number, it's so well known in my circle of music, from the Gaelic Song to the English-lyric version to it being a pipe tune etc.

I'm not sure it's been done better than this, though.
( Dick Gaughan's version is worth a listen).

[Slick]

Tichtheid, bit of an update.

I'm still really enjoying Paul Anderson and Bruce MacGregor but struggled with Ryan Young - not sure what it is, just can't seem to get into it.

[Tichtheid]

Tichtheid, bit of an update.

I'm still really enjoying Paul Anderson and Bruce MacGregor but struggled with Ryan Young - not sure what it is, just can't seem to get into it.

The Ryan Young is stripped back, just him and the guitarist. I like that, but it's fine to not like it, too.

[Tichtheid]

Tichtheid, bit of an update.

I'm still really enjoying Paul Anderson and Bruce MacGregor but struggled with Ryan Young - not sure what it is, just can't seem to get into it.

Slick, it’s not really pertinent to this thread, but I’m so chuffed for Bruce MacGregor as he comes across as such a nice guy, his laddie Roddy, who plays for ICT has just been selected for the Scotland U21 squad.

[Slick]

Tichtheid, bit of an update.

I'm still really enjoying Paul Anderson and Bruce MacGregor but struggled with Ryan Young - not sure what it is, just can't seem to get into it.

Slick, it’s not really pertinent to this thread, but I’m so chuffed for Bruce MacGregor as he comes across as such a nice guy, his laddie Roddy, who plays for ICT has just been selected for the Scotland U21 squad.

That’s amazing! Shouldn’t be too many questions about his nationality!