James scott skinner biography of christopher

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James scott skinner biography of christopher

Scott Skinner: Fiddler, Violinist, and Composer

Family Background

James Skinner was born in Arbeadie village, in the parish of Banchory-Ternan, Aberdeenshire, on the 5th August 1843. His father William Skinner, a dance teacher, had been a gardener until a shotgun (fired as part of wedding celebrations) took off three fingers of his left hand.

After his accident, he learned to play his fiddle by holding the bow (instead of the fiddle), with his damaged left hand. James’s mother Mary Agnew came from Strathdon, Aberdeenshire. James was the youngest of six children.

William Skinner died in 1845.

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Seven years later, Mary Skinner remarried, so James moved to Aberdeen, where he lived with his sister Annie and attended Connell’s School.

Early days with a cello

Alexander Forbes Skinner (1833–1883) taught his young brother James to play tunes on the violin, and to ‘vamp’, or play a bass line on the cello.

By the time he was eig