CHAPTER 4: Dulcimers in the British Isles since 1800 > Dulcimers in Scotland

The great Scott, and McNally on the Clyde

JIMMY COOPER - interviewed by Alan Ward - 7 of 11

During the War we parked our vehicles one night and went into this pub. I think it was the Balloch Mile in Dennison. And sitting on the table was a dulcimer. And I hadn't looked at it for many years. (It was) the great Scott of Glasgow - but I didn't know that then... he must have been away round with the bonnet or something. And I started playing it and he came running in. He says 'Oh you'd make a great dulcimer player!' I said 'I flung it under the bed a year ago!' So we had a bit of a confab, you know different tunes - could you play that... play the next thing. It was quite interesting.

But I also knew a few dulcimer players in Glasgow. I never heard any of them that were awful advanced, y'know. They would play maybe single notes and things like that, but I never heard any that could really make a job of it. Course there used to be a dulcimer player on the boats. I didn't hear'm - I was too young then - the boats that went up the Clyde during the summer had a dulcimer player. MacNally was his name... he was reckoned to be really the best, but then there weren't an awful lot of good players.