Scottish Fiddle

Scottish Fiddle

Shetland fiddling

Duke Ellington said that there are only two types of music which possess swing; one is jazz, the other Scottish music. He had almost certainly been listening to musicians from Shetland. Despite their tiny size and population, these island have a distinctive, vibrant and influential style of traditional music with the fiddle at its heart. The Shetlanders have drawn on a range of musical sources, from the virtuosic if rather formal Scott Skinner to the lilting style of the Irish, the "ringing strings" of Scandinavia and the country and swing of America.

The Shetland Reel

The fiddle has played a pivotal role in Shetland society for centuries. Up until the start of the 19th C the Islands had their own unique fiddle, the Gue- an instrument with two horsehair strings, played upright, and perhaps related to the Welsh Cwrth, the Icelandic Fidla, the Norse Gigla or the Eskimo Tautirut.
The best known fiddle tunes are reels. They are usually played fast, and may be ornamented by little triplets known as "shivers" and by the occasional droning of open strings-giving a bright ringing sound reminiscent of the hardangefele of Norway. Traditional reels are often in simple repeated 4-bar sections, suitable for accompanying the dancing of the 16-bar Shetland Reel. Examples include If I get a bonny lass and Jeannie shock da bairn.. The backing, often on piano or guitar, uses a rich vocabulary of passing chords and running bass lines more often seen in jazz. There is a distinctive and highly infectious swing to Shetland reels, and Willafjord, for example, is a tune full of syncopation. To quote Tom Anderson. "If du imagines some een gaen wi wan fit ida stank an de idder een a broo an gaein a lunk as dey go alang, dat's da kind o' syncopated rhythm du haes to get whin du plays dis een!" (If you imagine someone walking with one foot in a ditch and the other on a hill, and giving a skip as they go along, that's the sort of rhythm you have to get when you play this one!)

Many of the tunes played today are recent compositions, though some are ancient, dating from the Norse occupation (up till 1469)- referred to as "Auld Reels" or "Muckle Reels". Older still, perhaps, are "Trowie tunes" said to have been learned from Shetland's faeries.

Slow airs and waltzes are another feature of Shetland music, requiring a rich tone and vibrato on the fiddle, with some double stopping and sliding of notes reminiscent of American fiddling. Two particularly beautiful airs are Da Slockit Light and The Silvery Voe.

The acknowledged master of Shetland fiddling was Tom Anderson, who before his death in 1991 collected and documented a great deal of the fiddling tradition, as well as being a prolific composer. He was the first leader of the Shetland Fiddlers Society (informally known as Da Forty Fiddlers), and in 1983 he started Shetland's Young Heritage, a group which has done much to ensure a healthy future for the Shetland fiddle.Shetland's Young Heritage

It has been said that today, in no small part due to the influence of Tom Anderson, as many as 10% of all Shetland schoolchildren are learning traditional fiddle. He also taught many of today's leading players including Catriona McDonald and Aly Bain. Aly in turn has been a great inspiration to many through his broadcasting and his work with Boys of the Lough. His TV series Down Home gave a fascinating insight into the links between Shetland fiddling and many of the American styles including cajun, western swing and bluegrass.

Catriona Mcdonald is one of six fiddle players who make up Blazin' Fiddles, a band whose members between them virtually the full range of Scottish fiddling. Their name comes from the regretable 19th Century practice of fiddle burning encouraged by the Church; a tune that all fiddlers should learn by way of retribution is Deil stick the minister!

Willy Hunter was another influential player who wrote many fine tunes, including Leaving Lerwick Harbour.

Willie Hunter with pianist Violet Tulloch

Mainland Scottish fiddling has quite a different character; the reels are played slower, there are more jigs, and the strathspey, with its unique and somewhat unpredictable "snap" rhythm is a distinctive feature. Ornamentation comes mainly from the right hand.

As in Shetland, the fiddle in mainland Scotland has always had great importance, and it is inextricably woven into the history, myth and legend of the country. One of the most famous tales is that of James MacPherson- a noted highland swordsman, fiddler and raider of lowland farmsteads and cattle. After many adventures and brushes with the authorities, he found himself sentenced to hang in the town square of Banff, accused (rightly!) of "masterful bbangstrie and oppression". The local sheriff, knowing that a stay of execution was on its way from Aberdeen, had the execution brought forward by an hour. Realizing that the game was up, MacPherson asked for his fiddle, which he had with him at the time of his arrest, and played from the gallows a tune he had composed in the jailhouse. The watching crowd, though no doubt impressed by his courage and the quality of his playing at such an hour, were largely unsympathetic, and when he asked "who will take this fiddle from my hand?.." there were no takers. He angrily broke the fiddle over his knee and then went boldly to his fate. The tune "MacPherson's Rant was later given words by Burns ( a fiddle player himself, who knew a good tale when he heard one), and remains popular even today.

It is said that in 1561 over 500 local Edinburgh fiddlers came to Holyrood to play for Mary Queen of Scots. Unlike in Ireland, there has long been a high level of musical literacy among Scottish fiddle players, so that there is a long record of published collections of tunes. Several distinct regional styles can be distinguished.

The West Coast style of Scottish fiddling is much influenced by the pipes: after the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion many aspects of Scots culture (particularly piping) were outlawed, and many of the pipers took up the (marginally) more respectable fiddle. Frequent use is made of the myxolidian mode (using a flattened seventh), which is indeed a bagpipe scale. Gracenotes and other ornamentation also imitate the bagpipe style. One of the most characteristic ornaments is the "birl" or shiver (already mentioned in connection with Shetland fiddling). It can be annotated as two semiquavers followed by a quaver, or two demisemiquavers followed by a dotted quaver. On the bagpipes a single note cannot be rapidly repeated, so it is broken with a note of a different pitch. In Ireland (particularly in the north, where there is a marked Scottish influence on the fiddling, this ornament is called a "treble". The birl is played near the tip of the bow, with a rapid flick of the wrist. Marches and jigs make up the majority of the repertoire, though there are also many beautiful slow airs, thought to be based on ancient gaelic songs.

The North East style, more elegant and featuring many slow strathspeys, has been heavily influenced by its greatest exponent, James Scott Skinner (1843-1927). Starting at a young age as a traditional fiddler, he then received a classical music education and rapidly developed into an outstanding performer and prolific composer.

In both fields he stressed showy technique and elegance, deliberately overshadowing the traditional "country" fiddlers of the day. He crowned himself the Strathspey King and performed in a concert setting, in full Scottish regalia, before huge audiences. Not a modest man, his memoirs include such gems as "I have no intention of wearying my readers with details of my life's output of original music which, frankly speaking, has been colossal." He was part of a movement which sought to clean up and gentrify Scottish fiddle playing. He disapproved of what he saw as excessive and indescriminate use of ornamentation; he attacked the practice of playing a birl followed by the same note again as a "quaint but senseless feature of the past ages...lacking in dignity and showing...poverty of invention". Whether a self-obsessed parody of Scottish culture or a hugely talented ambassador for traditional fiddle playing, he was extremely popular in his day, and thirty thousand people mourned his passing in Aberdeen in 1927. Skinner has certainly left a valuable legacy in his influence on the East Coast style of fiddling, and in his huge output of published tunes; it is said that 600 of his compositions are still regularly played, including the notoriously difficult hornpipes The Mathematician (leaping in and out of third and fifth position) Madam Neruda (with its series of leaping staccato arpeggios) ; the reel East Neuk of Fife , the strathspeys The Laird of Drumblair and Bonnie Lass O' Bon Accord, not to mention "The President"- a "violin solo with variations"- almost symphonic in its complexity. Few fiddlers (myself included!) will venture beyond the first bar- I suspect that was the point!

Scott Skinner

Scotland has a long history of fine fiddlers, one of the earliest and best known being Niel Gow(1727-1807).

Niel Gow was born in the Perthshire village of Strathbraan, in 1727, and initially trained in his father’s trade of weaving. However, at an early age he showed great aptitude for the fiddle, and by 18 was able to demonstrate his prowess by winning an open competition in Perth. He was already well known for his powerful and highly distinctive bowing style, to the extent that the judge, a blind fiddler, specially chosen so that he would not give favouritism to the young lad, was able to state that he “would ken his bow hand among a hunder players”. The year of the competition was 1745, the year of the Jacobite uprising. The Duke of Atholl, who was to become a lifelong friend and patron of Niel Gow, was one of many among the Scottish nobility who opted not to back the uprising, but hurried off to London to avoid any trouble. The Duke’s brother William opted to stay, and hired Gow for a grand ball in honour of The Young Pretender when he stayed there on his march to Edinburgh; the fiddler may also have been among those Atholl tenants conscripted or persuaded to join the march; if so he was also among the many to abandon it in short order, thereby avoiding the final massacre at Culloden. Over his lifetime Niel Gow enjoyed the patronage of three succeeding Dukes of Atholl, and was guaranteed a steady supply of work at balls and dances both near and far. He performed in a small band , often with a second fiddle player, and with his brother Donald on cello. They would often walk miles to perform at some great house, drink rather too much, and then stagger home in the wee hours; referring to such a journey home he would complain that “it wasna the length of the road but the breadth o’ it” that worried him ( since he had a hard job keeping in a straight line!)
He was highly respected by all classes not only for his fiery playing and his memorable and prolific compositions, but also for his sense of humour, and his honest and straightforward manner. Robert Burns, who visited him in 1787, described him as “A short, stout-built honest Highland figure, with his greyish hair shed on his honest social brow; an interesting face, marking strong sense, kind openheartedness mixed with unmistrusting simplicity”. Niel Gow is often credited with inventing, or at least popularising the famous “Scotch Snap” which has become perhaps the trademark feature of Scottish fiddle playing, and was famous for his “updriven bow”, a style which emphasised the upbow in reel and strathspey playing more than the downbow.
Among his most famous compositions was the beautiful air “Niel Gow’s lament for the death of his second wife”, along with the reels “Farewell to whiskey ” (written in dismay at the failure in the barley crop in 1799), and “Mrs McLeod’s Reel”
He died in 1807 at the ripe old age of 80; his tombstone, with a humour befitting the man, read “Time and Gow are even now; Gow beat time, now time’s beat Gow”.

Niel Gow’s legacy lay not just with his reputation and his published tune collections, but also with his sons, two of whom led fashionable bands in Edinburgh. Nathaniel Gow, the fourth son inherited all his father’s genius as a composer, (he is credited with such classics as The Fairy Dance, Gallowglass and so on), and went on to be a highly successful publisher in his own right.

Niel Gow

Other 18th Century Scottish fiddlers who were also composers included William Marshall, Robert Mackintosh, Captain Simon Fraser and James Oswald.

Scottish Fiddling in the 20th Century

The fiddle continued to be popular through the 20th Century, with Strathspey and Reel Societies being established in most Scottish cities. Meetings of such groups see large numbers of fiddlers playing unison, written arrangements of tunes. The fact that the majority of players read music (as is perhaps not the case among traditional players in Ireland), and the relatively sparse use of fingered ornamentation in the Scottish genre makes such unison playing a practical possibility. Fiddlers rallies have become popular- occasional or one-off events where even larger numbers of fiddlers (often up to 100) get together to play, and one such rally was the starting point for the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra. This ambitious project, launched in 1980, sees up to 150 amateur players of all ages performing before a conductor in concert halls throughout Scotland and abroad. Many, however, weaned on the traditional Irish pub session, with its marked informality, find such rallies, societies and orchestras anathema. Slightly less formal are the fiddle clubs which have sprung up throughout Scotland (where there are now over 50) and also in the US and Canada.

Although fiddling is not as competitive in Scotland as in Ireland or the US, there is an equivalent to the Irish Comholtas festival/competitions. This is the Gaelic Mod, established in 1891 to preserve and promote Gaelic culture. There is a Royal National Mod, held annually, in a different location each year. Competitions include solo and choral singing and highland dancing as well as playing of the bagpipes, clarsach (harp) and fiddle. Despite having been originally started by a church choir, this hugely popular event has for some reason acquired the alternative title of the Whisky Olympics!

The link with dancing, always important with Scottish fiddling, was maintained through the 20th C with the rising popularity of Scottish country dancing, as exemplified by the Jimmy Shand group. With a typical line-up of fiddle, accordion, piano and drums, such groups perform for social dancing. This probably reached its peak in the 50’s and 60’s when “The White Heather Club”, presented by Andy Stewart, was a regular feature of BBC broadcasting, attracting up to 10 million viewers across Britain. The suffocating effect of accordion and drums left little room for expression or virtuosity on the part of the fiddler, and together with the straight-laced, och-aye-the-noo presentation, this is an aspect of Scottish music that leaves many fiddlers today with a shudder. Personally I have no shame; this year (and every year) on Burns night I’ll be scraping away to the Dashing White Sergeant, eating my haggis and wearing my tartan with the best of them.

The past 30 years have seen great strides forward in Scottish music. The general folk revival seen throughout Europe and America has coincided with a reawakening of nationalist sentiment in Scotland, and the newly independent administration has seen folk music as a handy and distinctive symbol of Scottish pride. Funding has therefore been available for grandiose classical/folk productions such as the accordionist Phil Cunningham’s “Highlands and Islands Suite”, incorporating the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Glasgow Phoenix choir, and a 30-piece Highland Fiddle Orchestra, as well as star fiddle soloists such as Aly Bain and Bruce McGregor.

Contemporary Scottish fiddling

The fiddle has been an essential part of most mainstream Scottish folk bands such as Runrig, Capercaillie and the Battlefield Band. John Cunningham blazed a fine trail with such bands as Silly Wizard and Relativity, whilst Alisdair Fraser is well known for his educational work as well as for the richly textured and panoramic arrangements and compositions of his group Skydance.

Aly Bain

Arguably the most famous contemporary Scottish fiddler is Aly Bain. Born in Shetland in 1946, he started playing at the age of 11, learning the traditional Shetland style from the great master Tom Anderson, and also developing an outstanding and distinctive technique. This includes a beautiful clear tone, a rich vibrato, and a mastery of the bouncing bowing . He has a particular talent for moving and emotional playing on slow airs and waltzes, but his show-stopping party piece is the all-action Hangman’s Reel or Le Reel Du Pendu- a mysterious tune in Norwegian Troll Tuning (AEAC#) featuring left hand pizzicato. After moving to the mainland in his early 20’s, he helped to form Boys of the Lough, a groundbreaking and highly successful group with whom he toured and recorded for over 30 years. He also has a longstanding partnership with ex-Silly Wizard accordionist Phil Cunningham. Among their many achievements together was being chosen to play for the opening of the new Scottish Parliament.
He has always had an interest in fiddle music from outside Scotland, and has presented numerous TV series which have acquired virtually cult status, including “Down Home”, exploring the links between Shetland fiddling and the various branches of American fiddling. This 1985 series featured relaxed and highly entertaining sessions where he played along with such stars as Mark O’Connor, Johnny Gimble and Junior Daugherty. Other series in a similar vein were Aly meets the Cajuns, The Shetland Sessions and The Transatlantic Sessions.
He is described back in his home town of Lerwick as “the best fiddle player in the world, possibly even in Shetland!”

The recent fertility of Scottish culture has produced many exotic blooms including The Easy Club, playing "Scottish Rhythm and Swing", Martyn Bennett ,who incorporates traditional fiddling and piping into modern trance and dance music, and the magnificent Shooglenifty, who have cornered the market in "hypnofolkadelic acid croft"

Cape Breton
And so, finally to Cape Breton Island. Before you rush to the atlas, let me confirm that you're right, it's nowhere near Scotland! However, some of the finest Scottish fiddling is in fact found here.
It is a widely held view that in the 19th century Scottish fiddling was "cleaned up" by the joint forces of the Church (which temporarily banned it), the Government and Scott Skinner, leaving it elegant and stately, somewhat classical in approach, but with very little of the original ornamentation, bowing and healthy robustness. Fortunately Scots emigrants to Nova Scotia took the original style with them and have kept it alive and kicking to this day. The style is highly ornamented, uses mostly short single bows, and shows the influence both of highland bagpipes and Gaelic singing. It has an energetic, driving rhythm well suited to the accompaniment for dancing, and the fiddlers often sit down and tap their feet as an integral part of the music.

Players like Buddy MacMaster grew up playing strathspeys and reels for square dances, and only towards the end of his career was there sufficient outside interest for him to start recording or doing proper concert work. A 1972 CBC documentary, “The vanishing Cape Breton fiddler”, put forward the idea, hotly contested by some on the Island, that fiddling was dying out. In response a concerted effort was made to revitalise something that had perhaps been taken too much for granted. A Fiddlers Society was established, a fiddle festival, a “ceilidh trail” and since 1996 the Celtic Colours International Festival. Buddy’s niece Natalie MacMaster is one of a growing number of young fiddlers, along with cousins Wendy MacIsaac and Ashley MacIsaac (what the hell, it’s a small place!) who have had the benefit of a Cape Breton cultural revival, and found a ready market both at home, throughout Canada and abroad. Various artists, including Alisdair Fraser, have made successful efforts to re-introduce the Cape Breton style to Scotland, through concerts and workshops. Fraser states on his Driven Bow album of 1988; “Fortunately the fiddle and dance traditions of Cape Breton...provide us with a window which sheds light on the way 18th and 19th C dance fiddlers such as Niel Gow used to play in the highlands of Scotland…Let’s hope that some of the great fiddle and dance tradition that has been absent from Scotland for so many years can be restored”
Apart from the repertoire of reels and strathspeys, there are many stylistic similarities with the Scottish Highland and West coast style. As in the Highlands, players see a rhythmic link with the Gaelic language; it is a great compliment to be told you “have a lot of Gaelic in your playing”, though in the present generation there has been a great decline in use of the language. Open tunings such as ADAE are often used in long medleys of reels in the key of A, whilst DDAE is a good key for airs and strathspeys. Grace notes and drones can be traced back to the piping tradition. One distinctive feature of Cape Breton is that the piano has become an almost inseparable partner to the fiddle, with a busy chromatic and syncopated style.

Natalie MacMaster

Check out my London-based Ceilidh band QUICKSILVER

Chris Haigh is a London-based fiddle player. He plays many styles, but has a large repertoire of Scottish fiddle tunes, which he plays either solo (for private functions) or with his ceilidh band Quicksilver. He has appeared at the Edinburgh Folk Festival, the Glasgow Celtic Connections festival, and five times at the Shetland Folk Festival. He has written and recorded a cd of tunes in Scottish traditional style for use as TV production music; tracks from this album have appeared on programmes throughout the world.

Links:

Article on Neil Gow

Article on Scott Skinner

A synopsis of Peter Cooke's book on Shetland fiddling

Scottishfiddling.org

Scottish fiddle.com (An excellent new resource including sheet music downloads)

Catherine Fraser (Australian based Scottish fiddler)

Linda Rankin (another Scots fiddler based in Australia)

Scotchsnap.com (good online source for Scottish sheet music)

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