Sleep Soond Ida Mornin

Reel, A Dorian, traditional Shetland
Also known as: Sleep Sound in the Morning; Sleep Soond in da Morning

A quick and rousing Shetland reel. The melody imitates the crowing of a rooster, which has wakened many sleepers. Sleep sound in the morning, indeed!

This tune comes from Shetland Island traditions. Shetland is a group of islands that is part of Scotland, with a Celtic and Norse cultural heritage.

Recordings

• Video – Aly Bain & Tom Anderson: Jack Broke Da Prison Door / Donald Blue / Sleep Soond Ida Mornin’ / Lasses Trust in Providence / Bonnie Isle O’whalsay — from the album The Silver Bow: The Fiddle Music of Shetland. (Sleep Soond starts at time 1:14 in this recording.)
• Video – Tracey Muir: Sleep Soond Ida Moarnin’ – solo fiddle, with backing on cello and double bass
• Video – Abby Newton: Cropies’s Strathpey / Spootiskerry / Sleep Soond in da Morning / Lassestrust in Providence – from the album Crossing to Scotland featuring Abby Newton on cello, with Alasdair Fraser, Kim Robertson, and Paul Machlis. (Sleep Soond in da Morning starts at time 3:35 in this recording.)

Sheet Music

As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference. The version here, cross-checked from several sources, comes primarily from The North Atlantic Tune List.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Willafjord Reel Set: Spootiskerry (G) / Willafjord (D) / Sleep Soond Ida Mornin (A Dorian)
• Da Full Rigged Ship / Da New Rigged Ship / Sleep Soond Ida Mornin’
• Da Slockit Light / Willafjord / Da New Rigged Ship / Sleep Soond Ida Mornin’.

References and Resources

For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.

• More Recordings
  • Video – Celtic Frets: Scottish Reel on Tenor Banjo: Sleep Soond Ida Mornin’ (Lessons, Sheet Music and Tabs Available!) – tenor banjo solo
• Books
  • Book – Tom Anderson and Pam Swing: Haand Me Doon Da Fiddle – University of Stirling, 1979. Out of print, but downloadable as PDF file.
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Fiona Cuthill: Sleep Soond in Da Morning – Fiona Cuthill, Glasgow Fiddle Workshop lesson – video demonstration of the tune played on fiddle, slowly and fast, showing bowing and fingering
• Additional Resources
  • Article – Jonathan Lay (TrailJams): Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell
  • Web page – The Session: Sleep Soond Ida Mornin’ – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and more
  • Web page – North Atlantic Tune List: Sleep Soond Ida Mornin – sheet music, ABC notation, recordings
  • Web page – The Traditional Tune Archive: Sleep Soond I’da Moarnin’ – sheet music, ABC notation, archival information
  • Article – Wikipedia: Shetland – an introduction and overview of Shetland