Keith W Dunn [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I was wondering about the opinions or factual information of list >members concerning the difference in traditional Scottish fiddle music >and the other genre's of what's now-a-day's called traditional "Celtic" >music. Welcome to the world of traditional Scottish music. Your question has no quick answer. You'll find a lifetime of exploring to do in this area. I'll offer a few points for starters. "Celtic Music" is a marketing term that is used to refer to many different sounds, some of which have little to do with traditional music. Scottish fiddle music has a long and noble tradition with many distinctive characteristics and different "sub-styles." First of all, there's a repertoire of tunes that has been developing for over 200 years. Scottish fiddlers play airs, marches, strathspeys, reels, jigs and hornpipes. While there are tunes that cross over to the Irish repertoire, countless tunes are very Scottish. The strathspey is a distinctly Scottish form. Scottish tunes often include the "Scottish Snap," a dotted pair with the shorter note coming first. This is uncommon in Irish music though you may hear some of this in Donegal. I believe you'll hear more arpeggiated passages in Scottish tunes. Scottish hornpipes are more even than Irish. Scottish fiddler's ornamentation is also different from Irish. You'll hear more bowed triplets in Scottish style and no Irish roles. Most Scottish fiddling styles use more bow strokes (less sluring) than many (though not all) Irish styles. In the history of Scottish fiddling there's a certain amount of connection between fiddle music and "art music." This has affected both technique and composition. Scottish fiddling sometimes shows the influence of Scottish pipe playing, with fiddle versions of pipe ornaments. Scottish fiddling also has a long line of "fiddle composers." We know the authors of many more Scottish tunes then we do Irish. A few of the fiddle composers who have contributed to the repertoire include Neil Gow, Nathaniel Gow, William Marshall and Scott Skinner. The music of Cape Breton represents a relatively preserved from of Scottish fiddle music, transplanted to the New World as a result of the 19th century "Clearances." While Irish styles often involve different instruments playing the melody in unison, in Scottish music you'll usually hear the fiddle playing the melody solo. That's about all I can write for the moment. The bottom line is that Scottish fiddler music "sounds" different. If you listen to enough of it, you'll recognize the Scottish sound without analyzing it. Enjoy. http://www.danmozell.com Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
