Fiddle

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History in Scotland
The fiddle (Scottish name for the violin) has been played in Scotland for centuries. Before the modern violin arrived in Scotland around 1700 people played the rebec (some early rebecs had only two strings and were played with a bow) and after that the viol, which had gut strings and a much shorter bow than the ones we use today.

The sound on the fiddle is produced by pulling a bow across the strings and making them vibrate.

The fiddle is played all over Scotland, with some areas having particularly strong traditions, such as Shetland and the North East. The West Highlands also has a distinctive tradition. As well as its role as a solo instrument (often accompanied by piano) the fiddle is found in dance bands, folk groups and other instrumental combinations.

We have some information about historical fiddle players, and a great deal of published music for fiddle, from the 18th century onwards. Many fiddle players learn tunes aurally (by ear) but can often read music too. Since so many published fiddle collections are still used by fiddlers today, it's appropriate to look at the major ones, and the composers associated with them.

Some fiddle composers
One of the earliest collectors of traditional tunes for the fiddle was James Oswald. He collated A Curious Collection of Scots Tunes for a violin, Bass Viol, or German flute, with a thorough Bass for the Harpsichord around 1740. William McGibbon, Alexander MacGlashan, Robert Bremner, Daniel Dow from Monymusk and Angus Cumming from Grantown in Strathspey were all early collectors and writers of traditional tunes and would adapt them for the fiddle.

Simon Fraser (1773-1852) was one of the main collectors of tunes from the Highlands of Scotland and his publications of music are amongst the most treasured in Scotland. Patrick MacDonald (1755-1824) a minister at Kilmore, Argyll was also a very important figure in Gaelic music. His collection has recently been re-published by Taigh na Teud on the Isle of Skye. The Gesto (or ‘Skye’) Collection of Highland Music, collected by Keith Norman MacDonald is also an important collection of Gaelic tunes and songs. It was published in 1903.

Niel Gow (1727-1807) is regarded as one of the greatest fiddlers ever to come from Scotland. He was born and brought up in Inver, Perthshire and it is there that he spent his entire life. Some of his compositions are still among people’s favorites today, including tunes such as Niel Gow’s Lament for the Death of his Second Wife and Farewell to Whisky. These are both slow airs. The slow air is particularly effective played on the fiddle because of the expressive nature of the instrument and the different tones that can be produced on it. At times it can be quite song-like; indeed, it has been said that the fiddle is the instrument that closest resembles the human voice.
Listen to the Slow Air Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of his Second Wife.

Go to the Parts section and download the melody line of the Gow tune and follow it as you listen. There is also a classroom arrangement.

Now listen to the slow air Farewell to Whisky and follow the melody line which is also in the Parts section.

Contemporary with the Gows was William Marshall (1748-1833) whose compositions include Miss Admiral Gordon's Strathspey (to which Robert Burns wrote the song Of a’ the airts the wind can blaw). In the Highlands, the collections of Simon Fraser, Patrick MacDonald and Keith Norman MacDonald are of particular importance. Refer to the Resources section for details of these and other fiddle books.

A key figure of the North-East fiddle tradition was James Scott Skinner (1843-1927) from Banchory. As well as playing traditional fiddle music he was a classically trained violinist and he used this side of his playing when composing new pieces of music for his instrument. Many of his tunes included tricky leaps on the fiddle and when he performed he regularly included a few classical violin pieces in his programme. Skinner was also a dance teacher and is known to have taught and played for Queen Victoria at Balmoral. He wrote hundreds of tunes which can be found in his many collections such as The Miller o’ Hirn, The Elgin, The Logie and The Scottish Violinist.

Listen to this recording of the slow strathspey The Shakins o’ the Pocky (fiddle - Claire Gullan) followed by the jig Drummond Castle which Skinner composed along with Peter Milne. The melody lines for these are in the Parts section.

In the twentieth century, Tom Anderson of Shetland has been important as a teacher and composer. Shetland was the first local education authority to offer fiddle (as opposed to violin) tuition to all Shetland's schools. Two of Tom's pupils who have successful international careers are Aly Bain and Catriona MacDonald. Other popular players and teachers include Angus Grant, Alasdair Fraser and Douglas Lawrence. Some young fiddlers such as John McCusker have also emerged as prolific composers.

Fiddle style
Fiddle styles in different parts of Scotland were more distinctive in the past, but aspects of local styles can still be heard in different areas of the country. Somebody who learned the fiddle in Shetland for instance will not generally speaking play a tune the same way that somebody from the West Coast would play it. Likewise a fiddler from the North East of Scotland probably won’t play a tune in the same way that somebody from the Borders might for instance. However, this is not always the case, since all musicians now have access to the same music - if they wish - through recordings and other mass media.

Shetland Fiddling
In the Shetland style of fiddle playing, many of the tunes are given a particular swing and syncopation created by the bowing patterns used. This can be seen in the Shetland reel Willafjord. Try it on your own instrument using the melody line in the Parts section.

Listen for the accent and syncopation in this performance of another Shetland reel, Da Bonnie Isle o Whalsay played by three fiddles and piano (fiddles - Jenna Reid, Kirsty Cotter, Gillian Frame, Liam Brown, Lori Watson; piano - Karen Conner). There is an arrangement of this tune in the Parts section, which you can try performing as a class.