Scotland is internationally known for its traditional music, often known asScottish folk music,[1] which remained vibrant throughout the 20th century and into the 21st when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music. Traditional Scottish music comprises a variety of different styles such as ballads, reels, jigs, and airs.[2] Traditional Scottish music is closely associated with thebagpipes which is credited as having a prominent role in traditional music originating from the country.[3] The bagpipes are considered an "iconic Scottish instrument" with a history dating back to the 15th century.[4] Other notable Scottish instruments include thetin whistle, theaccordion and thefiddle.[5]
The origins of Scottish music are said to have originated over 2,300 years ago following the discovery of Western Europe's first known stringed instrument which was a "lyre-like artifact", which was discovered on theIsle of Skye. The earliest known traces of published Scottish music dates from 1662. John Forbes ofAberdeen published the earliest printed collection of music in Scotland which ultimately became recognised as the first known published collection featuring traditional Scottish songs.[6] Modern contemporary Scottish musicians within popular genres of rock, pop, and dance includeCalvin Harris,Paolo Nutini,Amy Macdonald,Lewis Capaldi,Shirley Manson,Lulu,Sheena Easton,Susan Boyle,KT Tunstall,Emeli Sande, andNina Nesbitt. Successful bands originating from Scotland includeTravis,Texas,Simple Minds, theBay City Rollers,The Jesus and Mary Chain,The Fratellis,Glasvegas, and theCocteau Twins.
Music in Scotland is celebrated and recognised in a variety of different methods such as music festivals and award ceremonies. The countries major music festival,TRNSMT replaced the formerT in the Park, and is held annually in July inGlasgow Green. Other music festivals includeCeltic Connections,Eden Festival,Glasgow Summer Sessions, theSkye Live Festival, and theRoyal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Scottish music is celebrated through awards such as theScottish Album of the Year Award, theScots Trad Music Awards, theScottish Alternative Music Awards, and theScottish Music Awards.
Stringed instruments have been known in Scotland since at least theIron Age. The first evidence oflyres was found in theGreco-Roman period on theIsle of Skye (dating from 2300 BCE), making it Europe's oldest surviving stringed instrument.[7][8]Bards acted as musicians but also as poets, storytellers, historians, genealogists, and lawyers, relying on an oral tradition that stretched back generations in Scotland as well as Wales and Ireland.[9] Often accompanying themselves on theharp, they can be seen in records of Scottish courts throughout the medieval period.[10] Scottish church music from the later Middle Ages was increasingly influenced by continental developments, with figures like 13th-century musical theorist Simon Tailler studying in Paris before returning to Scotland, where he introduced several reforms of church music.[11] Scottish collections of music like the 13th-century 'Wolfenbüttel 677', which is associated withSt Andrews, contain mostly French compositions but with some distinctive local styles.[11] The captivity of James I in England from 1406 to 1423, where he earned a reputation as a poet and composer, may have led him to bring English and continental styles and musicians back to the Scottish court on his release.[11] In the late 15th century, a series of Scottish musicians trained in the Netherlands before returning home, including John Broune, Thomas Inglis and John Fety. The latter became master of the song school in Aberdeen and thenEdinburgh, introducing the new five-fingered organ playing technique.[12]
In 1501, James IV refounded the Chapel Royal withinStirling Castle with a new and enlarged choir and it became the focus of Scottish liturgical music. Burgundian and English influences were probably reinforced when Henry VII's daughter Margaret Tudor married James IV in 1503.[13] James V (1512–42) was a major patron of music. A talented lute player, he introduced Frenchchansons andconsorts of viols to his court and was patron to composers such asDavid Peebles (c. 1510–1579?).[14]
TheScottish Reformation, directly influenced byCalvinism, was generally opposed to church music, leading to the removal of organs and a growing emphasis onmetrical psalms, including a setting by David Peebles commissioned byJames Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray.[12] The most important work in Scottish reformed music was probablyA Form of Prayers, published in Edinburgh in 1564.[15] The return in 1561 from France of James V's daughterMary, Queen of Scots renewed the Scottish court as a centre of musical patronage and performance. The Queen played the lute andvirginals and, unlike her father, was a fine singer.[16] She brought many influences from the French court where she had been educated, employing lutenists and viola players in her household.[17] Mary's position as a Catholic gave a new lease of life to the choir of the Scottish Chapel Royal in her reign, but the destruction of Scottish church organs meant that instrumentation to accompany the mass had to employ bands of musicians with trumpets, drums, fifes, bagpipes and tabors.[16]
The outstanding Scottish composer of the era wasRobert Carver (c. 1485–c. 1570) whose works included the nineteen-part motet 'O Bone Jesu'.[13] James VI, king of Scotland from 1567, was a major patron of the arts in general. He rebuilt the Chapel Royal at Stirling in 1594, and the choir was used for state occasions like the baptism of his son Henry.[18] He followed the tradition of employing lutenists for his private entertainment, as did other members of his family.[19] When he came south to take the throne of England in 1603 as James I, he removed one of the major sources of patronage in Scotland. The Scottish Chapel Royal was now used only for occasional state visits, as when Charles I returned in 1633 to be crowned, bringing many musicians from the English Chapel Royal for the service, it began to fall into disrepair.[18] From now on the court in Westminster would be the only major source of royal musical patronage.[18]
There is evidence that there was a flourishing culture of popular music in Scotland during the late Middle Ages, but the only song with a melody to survive from this period is thePleugh Song.[20] After theReformation, the secular popular tradition of music continued, despite attempts by theKirk, particularly in the Lowlands, to suppress dancing and events likepenny weddings.[21] This period saw the creation of the ceòl mór (the great music) of the bagpipe, which reflected its martial origins with battle tunes, marches, gatherings, salutes, and laments.[22] The Highlands in the early seventeenth century saw the development of piping families, including theMacCrimmonds, MacArthurs,MacGregors and Mackays ofGairloch. There is also evidence of the adoption of the fiddle in the Highlands, withMartin Martin noting in hisA Description of the Western Isles of Scotland (1703) that he knew of 18 players in Lewis alone.[23] Well-known musicians included the fiddler Pattie Birnie and the piperHabbie Simpson.[21] This tradition continued into the nineteenth century, with major figures such as the fiddlersNiel andNathaniel Gow.[24] There is evidence ofballads from this period. Some may date back to the late Medieval era and deal with events and people that can be traced back as far as the thirteenth century.[25] They remained an oral tradition until they were collected as folk songs in the eighteenth century.[26]
The earliest printed collection of secular music comes from the seventeenth century.[27] Song collecting began to gain momentum in the early eighteenth century, and as the Kirk's opposition to music waned, there was a flood of publications, includingAllan Ramsay's verse compendiumThe Tea Table Miscellany (1723)[21] andThe Scots Musical Museum (1787–1803) by James Johnson andRobert Burns.[28] In the late nineteenth century, there was renewed interest in traditional music, which was more academic and political in intent.[29] In Scotland collectors included the Reverend James Duncan andGavin Greig. Major performers includedJames Scott Skinner.[30] This revival began to have a major impact on classical music, with the development of what was in effect a national school of orchestral and operatic music in Scotland, with composers that includedAlexander Mackenzie,William Wallace,Learmont Drysdale,Hamish MacCunn andJohn McEwen.[31]
After World War II, traditional music in Scotland was marginalized but remained a living tradition. This marginal status was changed by individuals includingAlan Lomax,Hamish Henderson andPeter Kennedy through collecting, publications, recordings, and radio programmes.[32] Acts that were popularised includedJohn Strachan,Jimmy MacBeath,Jeannie Robertson andFlora MacNeil.[33] In the 1960s, there was a flourishingfolk club culture andEwan MacColl emerged as a leading figure in the revival in Britain.[34] They hosted traditional performers, including Donald Higgins and theStewarts of Blairgowrie, alongside English performers and new Scottish revivalists such asRobin Hall,Jimmie Macgregor,The Corries and theIan Campbell Folk Group.[32] There was also a strand of popular Scottish music that benefited from the arrival of radio and television, which relied on images of Scottishness derived fromtartanry and stereotypes employed inmusic hall andvariety. This was exemplified by the TV programmeThe White Heather Club which ran from 1958 to 1967, hosted byAndy Stewart and starringMoira Anderson andKenneth McKellar.[35]
The fusing of various styles of American music with British folk created a distinctive form offingerstyle guitar playing known asfolk baroque, pioneered by figures includingDavey Graham andBert Jansch. Others such asDonovan andThe Incredible String Band abandoned the traditional element and have been seen as developingpsychedelic folk.[29] Acoustic groups who continued to interpret traditional material through into the 1970s includedThe Tannahill Weavers,Ossian,Silly Wizard,The Boys of the Lough,Battlefield Band,The Clutha and the Whistlebinkies.[36]
Celtic rock developed as a variant ofBritish folk rock by Scottish groups including theJSD Band and Spencer's Feat.Five Hand Reel, who combined Irish and Scottish personnel, emerged as the most successful exponents of the style.[37] From the late 1970s on, the attendance at and numbers of folk clubs began to decrease as new musical and social trends began to dominate. However, in Scotland, the circuit ofceilidhs and festivals helped sustain traditional music.[29] Two of the most successful groups of the 1980s that emerged from this dance band circuit wereRunrig andCapercaillie.[38] "An Ubhal as Àirde (The Highest Apple)" by Runrig made history by becoming the first song to be sung inScottish Gaelic to chart on the UK Singles Charts,[39] peaking at number eighteen on the UK Singles Charts.[40] It also became a top five single for the band in Scotland, debuting at number three on the Scottish Singles Charts.[41] At the height of their success during the 1980s and 1990s, Runrig were described byBillboard as one of the "most celebrated" Gaelic language bands in Scotland.[42]
A by-product of theCeltic Diaspora was the existence of large communities across the world that looked for their cultural roots and identity to their origins in the Celtic nations. From the US, this includes Scottish bandsSeven Nations,Prydein andFlatfoot 56. From Canada are bands such asEnter the Haggis,Great Big Sea,The Real McKenzies andSpirit of the West.[43]
The development of a distinct tradition ofart music in Scotland was limited by the impact of theScottish Reformation onecclesiastical music from the sixteenth century. Concerts, largely composed of "Scottish airs", developed in the seventeenth century and classical instruments were introduced to the country. Music in Edinburgh prospered through the patronage of figures including the merchant SirJohn Clerk of Penicuik.[24] The Italian style of classical music was probably first brought to Scotland by the cellist and composer Lorenzo Bocchi, who travelled to Scotland in the 1720s.[44] The Musical Society of Edinburgh was incorporated in 1728.[45] Several Italian musicians were active in the capital in this period and there are several known Scottish composers in the classical style, includingThomas Erskine, 6th Earl of Kellie, the first Scot known to have produced asymphony.[46]
In the mid-eighteenth century, a group of Scottish composers includingJames Oswald andWilliam McGibbon created the "Scots drawing room style", taking primarily Lowland Scottish tunes and making them acceptable to a middle-class audience.[47] In the 1790sRobert Burns embarked on an attempt to produce a corpus of Scottish national songs, contributing about a third of the songs ofThe Scots Musical Museum.[48] Burns also collaborated withGeorge Thomson inA Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs, which adapted Scottish folk songs with "classical" arrangements. However, Burns' championing of Scottish music may have prevented the establishment of a tradition of European concert music in Scotland, which faltered towards the end of the eighteenth century.[24]
From the mid-nineteenth century, classical music began a revival in Scotland, aided by the visits ofChopin andMendelssohn in the 1840s.[49] By the late nineteenth century, there was in effect a national school of orchestral and operatic music in Scotland, with major composers includingAlexander Mackenzie,William Wallace,Learmont Drysdale andHamish MacCunn.[31] Major performers included the pianistFrederic Lamond, and singersMary Garden andJoseph Hislop.[50]
After World War I,Robin Orr and Cedric Thorpe Davie were influenced bymodernism and Scottish musical cadences.Erik Chisholm founded the Scottish Ballet Society and helped create several ballets.[51] TheEdinburgh Festival was founded in 1947 and led to an expansion of classical music in Scotland, leading to the foundation ofScottish Opera in 1960.[50] Important post-war composers includedRonald Stevenson,[52]Francis George Scott,Edward McGuire,William Sweeney,Iain Hamilton,Thomas Wilson,Thea Musgrave,Judith Weir,James MacMillan andHelen Grime.Craig Armstrong has produced music for numerous films. Major performers include the percussionistEvelyn Glennie.[51] Major Scottish orchestras include theRoyal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), theScottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) and theBBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO). Major venues includeGlasgow Royal Concert Hall,Usher Hall, Edinburgh andQueen's Hall, Edinburgh.[53][54][55]
Scotland produced few rock or pop bands of note in the 1950s. During the 1960s, two innovative rock musicians from Scotland became central to the international rock scene –Donovan andJack Bruce. Traces of Scottish literary and musical influences can be found in both Donovan's and Bruce's work.[56][57] Donovan's music on 1965'sFairytale anticipated theBritish folk rockrevival, and his musicianship is said to have pioneeredpsychedelic rock withSunshine Superman in 1966. Donovan is said to be an early influence onMarc Bolan, founder ofT. Rex.[56]Jack Bruce co-foundedCream along withEric Clapton andGinger Baker in 1966, debuting with the albumFresh Cream.Fresh Cream and the launch of Cream are considered a pivotal moment in blues-rock history, introducing virtuosity and improvisation to the form. Bruce, as a member ofThe Tony Williams Lifetime (along withJohn McLaughlin andLarry Young) onEmergency!, similarly contributed to a seminal jazz-rock work that predatedBitches Brew byMiles Davis.[57]
Thanks to accolades fromDavid Bowie and others, the Edinburgh-based band 1-2-3 (later known asClouds), active between 1966–1971, were acknowledged as a definitive precursor of the progressive rock movement.[58]
By the 1970s,Rod Stewart and groups such as theAverage White Band,Nazareth andThe Sensational Alex Harvey Band began to gain international success. The most commercially successful Scottish pop act of the 1970s by sales was theBay City Rollers, who sold over 120 million albums worldwide.[59] Their 1975 single "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)" finished the year as the UK's best selling single.[60]
Pilot, a band formed by former Bay City Rollers memberBilly Lyall, also enjoyed some success. Their 1974 single "Magic" from their debut albumFrom the Album of the Same Name (1974) reached number eleven on the UK Singles Charts[61] and number five on theBillboardHot 100 in the United States.[62] Selling over one million copies, it was awarded agold disc by theR.I.A.A. in August 1975.[63] The song "January" gave Pilot their greatest success in the UK, securing the number one spot in theUK Singles Chart on 1 February 1975.
Several members of the internationally successful rock bandAC/DC were born in Scotland, including original lead singerBon Scott[64] and guitaristsMalcolm andAngus Young, though by the time they began playing, all three had moved to Australia.[65] Angus and Malcolm's older brother,George Young, found success as a member of the Australian bandThe Easybeats and later produced some of AC/DC's records and formed asongwriting partnership with Dutch ex-patHarry Vanda. MusiciansMark Knopfler andJohn Martyn were also partly raised in Scotland.
Scotland produced a number of punk bands which achieved mainstream success, namelyThe Exploited,The Rezillos,The Skids,The Fire Engines, and theScars. In thepost-punk era of the early 1980s, Scotland produced bands likeCocteau Twins,Orange Juice,The Associates,Simple Minds,Maggie Reilly,Annie Lennox (Eurythmics),Hue and Cry,Goodbye Mr Mackenzie,The Jesus and Mary Chain,Wet Wet Wet,Big Country,The Proclaimers, andJosef K. Since the 1980s Scotland has produced several popular rock andalternative rock acts.[66] The growth of indie bands in Scotland during the 1980s was prominent with the arrival of the likes ofPrimal Scream,The Soup Dragons,The Jesus and Mary Chain,Aztec Camera,The Blue Nile,Teenage Fanclub,18 Wheeler,The Pastels andBMX Bandits. The following decade also saw a burgeoning scene in Glasgow, with the likes ofThe Almighty,Arab Strap,Belle and Sebastian,Camera Obscura,The Delgados,Bis andMogwai.
In 1990, Scottish bandAztec Camera released a protest song againstMargaret Thatcher and her government entitled "Good Morning Britain", with lyrics referencing the social unrest evident in the country during the 1980s.[67] The late 1990s and 2000s saw Scottish guitar bands continue to achieve critical or commercial success. Examples includeFranz Ferdinand,Frightened Rabbit,Biffy Clyro,Texas,Travis,KT Tunstall,Amy Macdonald,Paolo Nutini,The View,Idlewild,Shirley Manson ofGarbage,Glasvegas,We Were Promised Jetpacks,The Fratellis, andTwin Atlantic. Scottish extreme metal bands includeMan Must Die andCerebral Bore. Successfulelectronic music producerCalvin Harris is also Scottish.[68] The Edinburgh-based groupYoung Fathers won the 2014 Mercury Prize for their albumDead. With the arrival and increasing popularity of musical talent television shows throughout the 2000s, notable Scottish acts includeMichelle McManus (winner ofPop Idol, 2003),Darius Campbell Danesh (3rd,Pop Idol, 2001–2002),Leon Jackson (winner,The X Factor, 2007),Nicholas McDonald (runner-up,The X Factor, 2014) and Susan Boyle (runner-up,Britain's Got Talent, 2009).
Artists to achieve international and commercial success through the 2010s and 2020s includeCalvin Harris,Susan Boyle,Lewis Capaldi,[69]Nina Nesbitt,The Snuts,Nathan Evans,Gerry Cinnamon andChvrches. Boyle topped both the UK Album Charts and theBillboard 200 chart in the United States,[66] becoming the first female artist in history to have a number one album simultaneously in both the United Kingdom and the United States within the space of a year. In 2011, Boyle made UK music history by becoming the first female artist to achieve three successive album debuts at No.1 in less than two years.[70] Her debut album,I Dreamed a Dream (2009), isone of the best-selling albums of the 21st century, having sold over 10 million copies worldwide, and it was the best-selling album internationally in 2009.[71] DJ Calvin Harris currently holds theOfficial Charts Company record for obtaining the most top ten singles in the United Kingdom to be taken from one album. All nine singles released from his third studio album,18 Months (2012) reached the top ten, meaning Harris surpassed the record previously held byMichael Jackson, who held the record with seven singles from one album.[72]
As one of thecountries of the United Kingdom, Scotland does not compete separately in the annualEurovision Song Contest. Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city, hosted the contest in1972 on behalf ofMonaco, the winner of the competition in1971, after the countries participating broadcaster,Télé Monte Carlo, were unable to fulfil the requirements to host the competition and experienced difficulties in finding a suitable venue.[73] In a similar manner,Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was the only short–listed city to host the2023 Eurovision Song Contest, but ultimately lost its bid toLiverpool in England.[74] After finishing second at the2022 contest withSam Ryder, the United Kingdom had been invited to host the competition on behalf ofUkraine, who were unable to stage the event as a result of the Russian invasion in the country and security concerns.[75] Glasgow previously hosted theEurovision Dance Contest 2008 at theSEC Centre in September 2008.[76]
In 2020, speculation had arisen about Scotland debuting at theJunior Eurovision Song Contest in a similar manner in whichWales had participated at theJunior Eurovision Song Contest 2018.[77] A number of Scottish broadcasters –STV andBBC Alba – are eligible to submit a Scottish entry as they holdEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) membership, however, BBC Alba confirmed that, despite engaging in discussion with the EBU about Scotland participating, that Scotland had no plans to enter the junior contest that year.[78] Scottish entry to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest has since been considered a possibility in the subsequent contests, however, as of 2024, Scotland has still to formally debut at the contest.[79]
In 2018, Edinburgh hosted theEurovision Young Musicians 2018 contest at theUsher Hall, which had previously hosted the song contest in 1972.[80] Scotland entered theEurovision Choir 2019, aEuropean Broadcasting Union competition for choral singers. This marked the first time that Scotland had entered a Eurovision or European Broadcasting Union competition separately from the United Kingdom. The choir, Alba, performed three songs inScottish Gaelic;Cumha na Cloinne,Ach a' Mhairead andAlba. The choir competed in the first round and did not advance to the second and final round.[81]
Scotland debuted at the secondFree European Song Contest in2021, a competition broadcast by German broadcasterProSieben as an alternative to the main Eurovision Song Contest which had been cancelled in 2020 due to theCovid-19 pandemic. At the first edition of the contest, Scotland had been represented as part of the wider United Kingdom. SingerAmy Macdonald represented Scotland and finished in 4th place with the song "Statues".[82]
Though often derided as Scottish kitsch, the accordion has long been a part of Scottish music.Country dance bands, such as that led byJimmy Shand, have helped to dispel this image. In the early 20th century, themelodeon, a variety ofdiatonic button accordion was popular among rural folk and was part of thebothy band tradition. More recently,Phil Cunningham (of Silly Wizard) has helped popularise the accordion in Scottish music.
Many associate Scottish folk music with theGreat Highland Bagpipe, which has long played an important part in Scottish music. Although this particular form of bagpipe was developed exclusively in Scotland, it is not the only Scottish bagpipe. The earliest mention of bagpipes in Scotland dates to the 15th century although they are believed to have been introduced to Britain by the Roman armies. Thepìob mhór, or Great Highland Bagpipe, was initially associated with both hereditary piping families and professional pipers to various clan chiefs; later, pipes were adopted for use in other venues, including military marching. Piping clans included theClan Henderson,MacArthurs,MacDonalds,MacKays and, especially, theMacCrimmon, who were hereditary pipers to theClan MacLeod.[citation needed]
Though bagpipes are closely associated with Scotland, the instrument (or, more precisely,family of instruments) is found throughout large swathes of Europe, North Africa and South Asia. The most common bagpipe heard in modern Scottish music is theGreat Highland Bagpipe, which was spread by the Highland regiments of the British Army. Historically, numerous other bagpipes existed, and many of them have been recreated in the last half-century. Also during the 19th century bagpipes were played on ships sailing off to war to keep the men's hopes up and to bring good luck in the coming war.
The classical music of the Great Highland Bagpipe is calledPìobaireachd, which consists of a first movement called theurlar (in English, the 'ground' movement,) which establishes a theme. The theme is then developed in a series of movements, growing increasingly complex each time. After theurlar there is usually a number of variations and doublings of the variations. Then comes thetaorluath movement and variation and thecrunluath movement, continuing with the underlying theme. This is usually followed by a variation of the crunluath, usually thecrunluath a mach (other variations:crunluath breabach andcrunluath fosgailte) ; the piece closes with a return to theurlar.
Bagpipe competitions are common in Scotland, for both solo pipers and pipe bands. Competitive solo piping is currently popular among many aspiring pipers, some of whom travel from as far as Australia to attend Scottish competitions. Other pipers have chosen to explore more creative usages of the instrument. Different types of bagpipes have also seen a resurgence since the 70s, as the historicalborder pipes andScottish smallpipes have been resuscitated and now attract a thriving alternative piping community.[83] Two of Scotland's most highly regarded pipers areGordon Duncan andFred Morrison.
Thepipe band is another common format for highland piping, with top competitive bands including theVictoria Police Pipe Band from Australia (formerly), Northern Ireland'sField Marshal Montgomery, theRepublic of Ireland's Laurence O'Toole pipe band, Canada's78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band andSimon Fraser University Pipe Band, and Scottish bands likeShotts and Dykehead Pipe Band andStrathclyde Police Pipe Band. These bands, as well as many others, compete in numerous pipe band competitions, often theWorld Pipe Band Championships, and sometimes perform in public concerts.
Scottish traditional fiddling encompasses a number of regional styles, including thebagpipe-inflected west Highlands, the upbeat and lively style of Norse-influencedShetland Islands and theStrathspey and slow airs of the northeast. The instrument arrived late in the 17th century, and is first mentioned in 1680 in a document fromNewbattle Abbey inMidlothian,Lessones For Ye Violin.
In the 18th century, Scottish fiddling is said to have reached new heights. Fiddlers likeWilliam Marshall andNiel Gow were legends across Scotland, and the first collections of fiddle tunes were published in the mid-century. The most famous and useful of these collections was a series published byNathaniel Gow, one of Niel's sons, and a fine fiddler and composer in his own right.Classical composers such as Charles McLean,James Oswald andWilliam McGibbon used Scottish fiddling traditions in theirBaroque compositions.
Scottish fiddling is most directly represented in North America in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, an island on the east coast of Canada, which received some 25,000 emigrants from the Scottish Highlands during the Highland Clearances of 1780–1850. Cape Breton musicians such asNatalie MacMaster,Ashley MacIsaac, andJerry Holland have brought their music to a worldwide audience, building on the traditions of master fiddlers such asBuddy MacMaster andWinston Scotty Fitzgerald.
Among native Scots,Aly Bain andAlasdair Fraser are two of the most accomplished, following in the footsteps of influential 20th-century players such asJames Scott Skinner, Hector MacAndrew, Angus Grant andTom Anderson. The growing number of young professional Scottish fiddlers makes a complete list impossible.
The Annual Scots Fiddle Festival which runs each November showcases the great fiddling tradition and talent in Scotland.
The history of the guitar in traditional music is recent, as is that of thecittern andbouzouki introduced into Celtic folk music by folksinger Johnny Moynihan in the late 1960s.[84] The guitar featured prominently in the folk revival of the early 1960s with the likes ofArchie Fisher, The Corries,Hamish Imlach, Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor. The virtuoso playing of Bert Jansch was widely influential, and the range of instruments was widened by The Incredible String Band. Notable artists includeTony McManus,Dave MacIsaac,Peerie Willie Johnson andDick Gaughan. Other notable guitarists in Scottish music scene includeKris Drever of Fine Friday andLau, and Ross Martin of Cliar,Dàimh andHarem Scarem. Scotland has also produced several notable electric guitarists, includingStuart Adamson of Big Country (once referred to as "Britain'sJimi Hendrix"), Angus Young ofAC/DC,Jimmy McCulloch ofWings,Manny Charlton of Nazareth,Zal Cleminson of The Sensational Alex Harvey band, andBrian Robertson ofThin Lizzy.
Stringed instruments similar to that of modern guitars have appeared in Scottish folk music for centuries. The Gittern, an ancestor to the modern guitar, featured in medieval Scottish appearing from at least the 13th century and was still around in Scotland 300 years later.[85]
Material evidence suggests that lyres and / or harp, orclarsach, has a long and ancient history in Britain, withIron Age lyres dating from 2300 BC.[7][8] The harp was regarded as the national instrument until it was replaced with the Highland bagpipes in the 15th century.[86] Stone carvings in the East of Scotland support the theory that the harp was present inPictish Scotland well before the 9th century and may have been the original ancestor of the modern European harp and even formed the basis for Scottish pibroch, the folk bagpipe tradition.
Barring illustrations of harps in the 9th centuryUtrecht Psalter, only thirteen depictions exist in Europe of any triangular chordophone harp pre-11th century, and all thirteen of them come from Scotland. Pictish harps were strung with horsehair. The instruments apparently spread south to the Anglo-Saxons, who commonly used gut strings, and then west to the Gaels of the Highlands and Ireland. The earliest Irish word for a harp is in factCruit, a word which strongly suggests a Pictish provenance for the instrument. The surnameMacWhirter,Mac a' Chruiteir, means son of the harpist, and is common throughout Scotland, but particularly inCarrick andGalloway.
The Clàrsach (Gd.) or Cláirseach (Ga.) is the name given to the wire-strung harp of either Scotland or Ireland. The word begins to appear by the end of the 14th century. Until the end of theMiddle Ages it was the most popular musical instrument in Scotland, and harpers were among the most prestigious cultural figures in the courts of Irish/Scottish chieftains and Scottish kings and earls. In both countries, harpers enjoyed special rights and played a crucial part in ceremonial occasions such as coronations and poeticbardic recitals. TheKings of Scotland employed harpers until the end of the Middle Ages, and they featured prominently in royaliconography. Several Clarsach players were noted at theBattle of the Standard (1138), and whenAlexander III of Scotland (died 1286) visited London in 1278, his court minstrels with him, records show payments were made to one Elyas, "King of Scotland's harper." One of the nicknames for the Scottish harp is "taigh nan teud", the house of strings.
Three medieval Gaelic harps survived into the modern period, two from Scotland (the Queen Mary Harp and the Lamont Harp) and one in Ireland (the Brian Boru harp), although artistic evidence suggests that all three were probably made in the western Highlands.
The playing of this Gaelic harp with wire strings died out in Scotland in the 18th century and in Ireland in the early 19th century. In the late 19th century Gaelic revival the instruments used differed greatly from the old wire-strung harps. The new instruments had gut strings, and their construction and playing style was based on the larger orchestral pedal harp. Nonetheless, the name "clàrsach" was and is still used in Scotland today to describe these new instruments. The modern gut-strung clàrsach has thousands of players, both in Scotland and Ireland, as well as North America and elsewhere. The 1931 formation of the Clarsach Society kickstarted the modern harp renaissance. Recent harp players includeSavourna Stevenson,Maggie MacInnes, and the bandSileas. Notable events include the annualEdinburgh International Harp Festival, which in 2006 staged the world record for the largest number of harpists to play at the same time.[88]
One of the oldest tin whistles still in existence is the Tusculum whistle, found with pottery dating to the 14th and 15th centuries; it is currently in the collection of theMuseum of Scotland. Today the whistle is a very common instrument in recorded Scottish music. Although few well-known performers choose the tin whistle as their principal instrument, it is quite common for pipers, flute players, and other musicians to play the whistle as well.
The Irish word bodhrán (plural bodhráin), indicating a drum, is first mentioned in a document translated to English from Irish in the 17th century. The bodhrán originated in southwest Ireland, probably in the 18th century, and was known as the "poor man's tambourine". Made from farm implements and without the cymbals, it was popular among mummers or wren boys. A large oil painting by Irish artist Daniel Maclise (1806–1870) depicts a large Halloween house party in which a bodhrán features clearly.[89] The bodhrán in Scotland and also Cape Breton, the northern mainland of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island is an import from Ireland due to its popularity in the 1960s because of the music of Seán Ó Riada[90]
TheScottish Music Awards,Scottish Album of the Year Award, theScots Trad Music Awards and theBBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award each recognise musical talent in Scotland annually from both Scottish and international artists.
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Scotland has long had a number of festivals that celebrate music of Scottish and international origin on an annual basis.T in the Park (1994–2016) was one of Scotland's largest music festivals,[91] drawing crowds annually during the second weekend of July since its inception in 1994. Featuring a lineup of some of the globe's biggest and most successful artists and bands, it held a special place in the hearts of music enthusiasts. T in the Park was replaced byTRNSMT (2017–present) which similarly takes place in the second weekend of July and is held inGlasgow Green.
Celtic Connections started in 1994 and celebrates Celtic music. It is held annually in Glasgow, for 18 days in January and February. TheRoyal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is performed by international armed forces bands. It is held in August atEdinburgh Castle as part of theEdinburgh Festivals.
Other festivals include theAberdeen and NE Scotland Music Festival,Big Burns Supper Festival,Callander Jazz and Blues Festival,Connect Music Festival, theDarvel Music Festival,Eden Festival, theGlasgow International Jazz Festival,Glasgow Summer Sessions,Let's Rock, theLeith Festival and theSkye Live Festival. The Glasgow Bandstand atKelvingrove Park hosts the annual Summer Nights festival with artists such asKT Tunstall,Anastacia,Sophie Ellis-Bextor,Belinda Carlisle,Rick Astley and The Jesus & Mary Chain being past performers.[92]
Former major festivals includeWickerman Festival,Big in Falkirk,RockNess and Be in Belhaven.
The majority of schools in Scotland offer music education across secondary education and offer distinct music degrees accredited by theScottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) at bothNational 5 andHigher level in which pupils examine the broad practical experience of performing, creating and understanding music.[93] A number of individualmusic schools exist in Scotland, with four designated "centres of excellence" by theScottish Government. Currently, the four "centre of excellence" music schools are Douglas Academy Music School atDouglas Academy,Milngavie, nearGlasgow, Aberdeen City Music School atDyce Academy,Aberdeen,Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd (National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music) atPlockton High School,Plockton andCity of Edinburgh Music School atBroughton High School and Flora Stevenson Primary.[94]
St Mary's Music School is an independent music school inEdinburgh for pupils aged 8–19 years of age.[95] Entry to the school is byaudition and assessment, based on musical ability and potential and regardless of personal circumstances.Scottish Government funding, up to 100%, is available through thestatutory Aided Places scheme to assist with the cost of tuition and boarding fees.[96] TheRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland offers scholarships within the music, arts, drama and film fields,[97] and consistently ranks among the best schools in the world inQuacquarelli Symonds (QS)'s Performing Arts ranking since the latter was established in 2016. The Conservatoire has been in the top 10 five out of six years, reaching 3rd place in 2017[98] and 2021.[99] In 2022, RCS ranked fifth in the world for Performing Arts Education.[100]
... articles about the history of wire string instruments ...
Whatever its faults, [T in the Park] remains the biggest – and best – party on Scotland's cultural calendar.
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