Music of Bonnie Scotland

So we've reached the end of the term. It's been a blast to learn about so many different cultures, but at least we get to learn more from each other! So in case you didn't read the title, we are going to be traveling to the beautiful country of Scotland! Scotland is located in the northern part of the United Kingdom. It's got a pretty simple flag, too. Scotland is home to many things including the bagpipes, kilts, and Highland cows (which are the cutest in my opinion).

Just like every other country we have studied, Scotland has different regions with different cultures and landscapes. These include the highlands, the lowlands, and the islands. The highlands are often said to be the romantic part of Scotland. Before the 1700s, highland culture was an incredibly important aspect of the lives of its inhabitants. In 1745, the rebels against King William (they were in support of King James), started rising against British rule. They were defeated on Culloden Moor in April of 1746. This marked the end of the Highland way of life. People moved towards the coasts and to other countries like America, Canada, and Australia. However, aspects of highland culture are still present today, like the wearing of tartans. Each clan had a specific pattern of plaid; the men wore kilts (the shorter skirt-like garments) and women wore tartan skirts (these were longer, to cover the legs). Kilts are worn for a variety of rituals, most common at weddings and national/international events. 

Scotland is known for its traditional/folk music. Back before the Rising of the '45, musicians often were sponsored by a patron, typically a monarch or someone of high standing. The patron would pay them and often have songs written about him. The musicians were called bards and were also known to be poets and storytellers. Like musicians now, they sometimes played more than one instrument and sang. Some of the more popular instruments were fiddles/violins, harps, accordions, and bagpipes. There were two general styles of music, Big Music and Little Music. Big music was slower and had more classical aspects. Little Music is the typical jigs and reels you know when you think of Scotland. 

Here's something that would be classified as Big Music. This is a very common folk song called Londonberry Air, though some versions have different lyrics and are titled Oh, Danny Boy. 

Now here is what would be Little Music, which often involves dancing because it's so upbeat. This is a group of Scottish dancers in semi-traditional clothing. 

Let's talk about some more modern artists in Scotland. As we saw in some of the other cultures we studied, musicians in Scotland kept a lot of aspects from traditional music because they loved and cherished it so much. So you get really cool combinations of bagpipes and drums and guitars. I've got a few different artists that I want to show you guys. First off is Manran, with their song Alpha. This song combines the quick, jig-like style with both traditional and modern instruments. You can see in the video that there is a guitar, bass, accordion, fiddle, drum set, and set of bagpipes. 

Next is Highlands of Bamffshire by a group called Blazin' Fiddles. This group consists of 5 fiddle players and they are really amazing! 

There are a lot of folk songs that come from Scotland, such as My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean, Auld Lang Syne, and Loch Lomond. There are countless versions of these songs because they are passed down orally and weren't written down until recently. My personal favorite is Loch Lomond, sung by Mackenzie Tolk. 

The great part about music is there is often dancing! One traditional Highland dance is sword dancing. Two swords are laid perpendicular to each other on the ground and the dancer does a dance over them. The dance was used to see if someone was ready to learn to weild a broadsword, as it requires lots of dexterity and balance. This video is from the Highland Games in Scotland, where athletes, dancers, musicians, and all sorts of other competitors come to participate in competitions and remember Highland traditions and culture. 

That's all I have for you guys! Thanks so much for reading! 

References:

“The Scottish Highlands.” Scotland Info Guide, https://www.scotlandinfo.eu/scottish-highlands/.

“Scottish Music and Festivals.” Scotland, https://www.scotland.org/about-scotland/culture/music/traditional-music.

“Scottish Music: Bagpipes, Ceilidhs & Trad.” VisitScotland, https://www.visitscotland.com/about/uniquely-scottish/bagpipes-traditional-music-ceilidhs/#:~:text=Bagpipe%20music%20has%20strong%20connections,'%20and%20'little%20music.