Scottish 18th-Century Guitar Tunes

In this unique collection, multi-instrumentalist Rob MacKillop presents 30 airs and dances from Scotland, Ireland and England transcribed for the modern guitar in open-D tuning (DADF♯AD). Although conceived for fingerstyle playing, most of these traditional, Classical and Baroque pieces are also playable with a pick.


During the mid to late 18th century, a wire-strung instrument which could be described as a cross between a guitar and a cittern appeared in Britain. With the exception of the publications in Edinburgh by Robert Bremmer (c. 1713 – 89), most period writings refer to this instrument as the guittar. In providing extensive historical and performance notes on this music, the author has adopted this spelling. While derived principally from the publications by Scottish guittarists Robert Bremmer and James Oswald (1710 – 69), MacKillop discovered additional Scottish publications and manuscripts in The National Library of Scotland and even more manuscripts in the uncatalogued library of Blair Castle in Perthshire, Scotland.


Written in standard notation and tablature, this book brings a particularly uncommon repertoire to light with an exceptional downloadable recording. Includes access to online audio.