Global audience for Auld Lang Syne project

Banish lockdown boredom by striking up an old tune in time for Make Music Day.

Musicians and singers of all ages and abilities are being invited to join together from their own homes to mark the occasion on June 21 by performing one of Scotland’s most popular and enduring folk songs For Auld Lang Syne.

The National Lottery through Creative Scotland has launched the Auld Lang Syne Digital Participation project as a way of carrying on celebrating music despite COVID-19 restrictions.

The idea is for people to film their music-making endeavours on camera phones so they can be enjoyed by audiences all over the world, as part of a global Make Music Day event involving 120 countries.

Alison Reeves, the Scotland Development Project manager for Make Music Day UK says: ‘Make Music Day UK has been developing the presence of this global festival which recurs on the June 21 each year since 2017, and we decided early on in lockdown to divert all our efforts into supporting people to take part online. There has been a huge outpouring of Scottish music making on social media over the past months, and the Auld Lang Syne project will capture the wealth and diversity of people playing and singing together from their own homes.

‘The song is sung across the world and the message of friendship is perfect for celebrating how music connects

Hamish Napier has been commissioned to create a special arrangement of the song.

us across our community, nationally and globally.’

Make Music Day UK has commissioned internationally acclaimed Scottish musician and composer Hamish Napier and in-demand drummer Cat Myers to create a special arrangement of this traditional folk song for the project and they want people to join them – homemade instruments welcome too.

Mr Napier said: ‘The lockdown has kept so many apart, but this project has been created to bring us together. It was exciting to be asked to create this new arrangement of one of Scotland’s most famous songs. I’ve been singing it for as long as I can remember at ceilidhs, weddings and other public gatherings. It only has five chords in it: G, A minor, C, D and E minor. You can join in by singing, playing the melody, the chords, drums or bass line. Or get the pots and pans out, dance or juggle. The most important things is to enjoy getting involved, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the song come to life in the final project video.’

Contributions must be sent in by 5pm on Friday June 5 and the videos will be stitched together to create a musical collage, which will be premiered on the Make Music Day UK website and social channels, on Sunday June 21 as part of the festival’s live stream.

Interested? Go to https:// makemusicday.co.uk/ auld-lang-syne/