International Music Resources by Country: Scotland

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Capital: Edinburgh

Official language: English

Population:  Current estimate—5,484,000; density, 182 per mi² (70 per km²); distribution, 86 percent urban, 14 percent rural. 2011 census—5,295,403

Flag: Scotland's flag has a white X on a blue background. The flag is called St. Andrew's Cross. It has never been officially adopted, but the Scottish people have flown it for hundreds of years.

Chief products: Agriculture—barley, cattle, milk, sheep, wheat. Fishing—cod, crabs, haddock, mackerel, scallops. Manufacturing—chemicals, electronic equipment, food and beverages, and metal products. Mining—petroleum.

Citation (3)

Traditional Music

Traditional music in Scotland is unusual among European folk traditions in that there is a long history of mixed oral and literate transmission of melodies, tunes and songs, and in that much of what is accepted as folk music in Scotland is of known authorship. Traditional music may be heard at a variety of events ranging from the most intimate and informal to the most highly organized and public. Traditional music also forms an essential part of a lively group of dance traditions in Scotland. A standard ensemble of accordion(s), fiddle, piano, bass and drums developed in the mid-20th century to accompany Scottish country dancing. The traditional Céilidh is the most important informal context for music-making. Although rooted in Gaelic culture, céilidhs can be found at homes throughout Scotland, including travellers’ camp sites. Prominent musical characteristics found in the traditional music of Scotland include pentatonic modes, double-tonic tunes, cyclical melodies, and the Scotch snap.

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Waulking Songs

Labour song associated with the finishing or waulking of handwoven tweed in Gaelic areas of Scotland. Tweed waulking was traditionally a communal activity of women, who sang the songs, alternating between a soloist and chorus, to coordinate their physical efforts and to relieve the monotony of their work.

Citation (4)

Hebridean Folksongs

Location : George F. DeVine Music Library

Call number : M1746 .H4

Instrumental Music

The Highland bagpipes, the fiddle and harp are conventionally regarded as the national instruments of Scotland. In addition to this triumvirate, a number of other instruments, notably the accordion, have had an important role in traditional music-making. The Highland bagpipe is pre-eminent in Scotland. Consisting of a nine-note chanter, two tenor drones and a bass drone, this is the instrument of pìobaireachd, of clan society, of British Army regiments, and of community pipe bands The Highland bagpipe has emigrated, along with its players, to many parts of the world, especially the countries of the British Commonwealth; players from these countries still travel to Scotland to perform in competitions. The fiddle is played throughout Scotland, with particular areas of concentration in the north-east and in Shetland, each of which has numerous fiddlers and a distinctive solo fiddle tradition. he repertory of Scottish fiddlers consists primarily of dance tunes (marches, strathspeys, reels, jigs, waltzes and, to a lesser extent, hornpipe) but slower tunes meant for a non-dancing audience are important as well; these include song airs (from both Gaelic and Scots songs), other slow airs and the slow strathspey. Free reed instruments, especially the mouth organ and accordion, are among the most popular instruments of traditional music in Scotland.

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Robert Burns (1759-1796)

Burns was a poet and songwriter. He had little formal education, first at a local school, then from his father, but his appetite for wide reading, and his intense interest in and love for the Scottish countryside and the oral literature and music of its people, gave him an enviable command over two languages, English and Scots, and a deep appreciation of the wide range of sentiment expressed in Scots traditional melody.

Citation: Cooke, P.  (2001). Burns, Robert. Grove Music Online. Retrieved 4 Nov. 2020, from https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000004402.