Scottish Music

National 3-5

Understanding Music

OutcomesScotland has a rich musical heritage, but what makes it different

from music anywhere else?

In this unit we will look at the main features of Scottish music. At the end of this unit you will be able to identify:

• Traditional dances of Scotland• Instruments used in Scottish music• Different styles of Scottish vocal music

You will then be able to use some of these features when composing a piece of music in a Scottish style.

The Music Of Scotland

Folk songs, dances and piping form the major part of Scotland’s musical inheritance. They give us an insight into the lives and loves, work and wars that shaped our history.

Scottish music often uses the pentatonic scale (5 note scale) e.g. Auld Lang Syne, Skye Boat Song.

Grace notes or ornaments are also found and are used to decorate a melody to make it sound more interesting. These are most commonly found in bagpipe playing. Another prominent feature in Scottish music is the scotch-snap (short note followed by a long note – oo-ya!).

Scottish Instruments

The main instruments associated with Scottish music are:

Bagpipes made from a sheep-skin bag, mouthpiece, two tenor drones, a bass drone and a chanter. The pipes are known for their distinctive drone (long continuous note in the bass)

Fiddle Scottish name for the violinAccordion Hand held keyboard instrument with a left hand

bassClarsachScottish/folk harpBodrahn Hand held drum

Instrumental GroupsThese instruments can be used in

various combinations to create instrumental groups associated with Scottish music. These are:

Scottish Dance BandTraditionally consists of lead

accordion, 2nd accordion, fiddle, piano, drums, (bass).

Pipe BandMade up of bagpipes, snare

drums, tenor drums and bass drum.

Folk GroupGuitar, fiddle, voice. May also

hear a tin whistle or folk flute. The sound will be acoustic.

Celtic Rock GroupElectric guitar, bass guitar,

keyboard, drums and voices.

ConceptsCONCEPT DEFINITION

Pentatonic Scale A five note scale

Bagpipes Scottish instrument made up of pipes and chanter

Fiddle Scottish violin

Accordion Scottish keyboard/button chord instrument used in dance bands

Clarsach Scottish harp

Bodhran Hand held drum played with a beater

Scottish Dance Band

Band consisting of fiddle, accordion, piano and drums

Pipe Band Marching band made up of pipes and drums

Folk Group Fiddle, accordion, whistle, guitar, voice – acoustic instruments

Celtic Rock Group Electric guitars, keyboard, vocals, pipes, drum-kit

Scottish Dance MusicREEL is a fast dance with either two or four beats in a bar (2/4 or 4/4).

It is in simple time which means each beat is split into 2 equal parts.

Task 1 - Listen to this example of a reel. Write down the instruments you hear and the type of group playing.

Sometimes the first bar of the music is preceded by an anacrusis. This is one or more notes appearing before the first strong beat of the melody

Can you find another example of an anacrusis in this piece?

Anacrusis

STRATHSPEY is a more moderate dance than the reel.It is in 4/4 time (four beats in a bar) but it is distinctive because of its use

of dotted rhythms, including the scotch snap. This is made up of a short note followed by a long note (oo-ya!).

Here is an example:

Straight rhythm Scotch snap rhythm

Task 2 - Listen to your teacher playing the excerpt below and circle each example of a scotch snap. (There are 22 so count carefully!!)

JIG is a common dance in Scotland and Ireland. It is the only one of the dances with a time signature of 6/8. This means:

There are 6 quavers in each bar:

Grouped into 2 lots of 3 quavers:

This gives the jig a strong feeling of 2 beats in a bar.This type of time signature is known as compound time (the beat is

heard in groups of 3s e.g. 6/8, 9/8, 12/8).

Jigs are lively dances. They are usually fast. An easy way to spot a jig is to listen to the music and if you can fit hoppity-skippity or strawberry into each bar, then it’s a jig!

Task 3 -What instruments are playing in this example of a jig?

MARCH has a strict 2 or 4 beats in a bar. Marches are often played by pipe bands.

WALTZ is the slowest of the Scottish dances with 3 beats in a bar.Come O’er the Stream Charlie is based on the pentatonic scale. Ths is a scale consisting of 5 notes, missing out the FOURTH and SEVENTH notes of the diatonic scale. So in C major the notes would be C, D, E, G and A.

Task 4 - If the scale started on G, write down the notes of the scale. Do

the same for D as the starting note. Task 5

Some of the bar lines have been

removed. Complete them, remembering

that you should have 3 beats in each

bar.

ConceptsCONCEPT DEFINITION

Reel Fast dance with four beats in a bar

Anacrusis Up-beat before the first full bar of music

Strathspey Moderate dance with four beats in a bar. Uses scotch snaps

Scotch Snap Short note followed by a long note (oo-ya!)

Jig Fast dance in 6/8 time – notes in groups of 3

Compound Time e.g. 6/8 time – notes in groups of 3 (hoppity-skippity)

March Usually with 2 or 4 beats in a bar

Waltz Dance with 3 beats in a bar

Scottish Vocal MusicScottish songs often relate to tragic events, for example the

loss of a fishing boat or maybe the scars of battle. They were often very simple like a lullaby to rock a baby to sleep. Most Scottish songs are sung in Gaelic or Scots.

The songs can be split into 5 different groups:

Bothy BalladsThese songs were sung and composed by farm workers who

live in bothies of the farm. Each ballad told a story about their jobs, their family and their lives in general. It was sung in the local dialect, by men and sometimes accompanied by instruments f they were available.

Waulking SongsWaulking songs are from the Highlands and Islands, sung in

Gaelic. They are sung by women while they worked, shrinking the tweed. They take the form of call and response. You can hear a thumping noise as the workers beat the tweed on the work boards. This is called ‘waulking’ the tweed. The thumping keeps a strong and steady rhythm during the song.

Mouth Music – (Puirt-a-beul)A vocal performance used when no instruments were available to provide

music for dance. Words were often humorous and they were also sometimes improvised – made up on the spot.

Scots BalladA Scots Ballad is a song with the story told through a mixture of narrative

and dialogue. Folk songs, centuries old telling a story about an important event or disaster. These ballads can be quite long compared with other songs.

Gaelic PsalmsPsalms are religious songs sung in churches. These were sung slowly

because of a shortage of text and lack of reading skills. The precentor sings a line then the congregation sing the line back, often very free in rhythm. This creates a very haunting effect. Gaelic Psalms are sung a cappella – unaccompanied.

Other Features of Scottish Music

PibrochPibroch is the classical music of the bagpipes (ceol mor). A solo

piper plays the music in theme and variation form. This means the main melody is heard and then repeated slightly differently, with changes in the rhythm and melody.

Grace notes (embellishments and ornaments) are always featured in pibroch.

VampThe accompanist in a Scottish Dance band plays a vamp on the

piano – left hand plays a bass note and the right hand plays chords, rather like an oom-cha rhythm.

ConceptsCONCEPT DEFINITION

Bothy Ballad Folk song sung by men about their work

Waulking Song Sung in Gaelic by women while waulking the tweed

Gaelic Psalm Improvised song of worship with ‘precentor’ and congregation. (Heard in the Western Isles)

Scots Ballad Folk songs telling stories about everyday life

Mouth Music Vocal improvisation used to accompany Scottish dance

Pibroch Solo pipe music, uses grace notes as

ornamentation Grace Notes Additional notes used to decorate a melody Slow Air Slow, simple melody played like a Scottish song. Vamp Type of chord accompaniment (oom-cha, oom-

cha)