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The Music of Scotland – Scottish Dances and Instrumental Forms
THE MUSIC OF SCOTLAND
SCOTTISH DANCES AND
INSTRUMENTAL FORMS
Strathspey
A Scottish dance characterised by dotted rhythms. The strathspey
usually features the Scotch-snap (a short note on the beat followed by a
long note).
Look out for the following musical features:
• 4 beats in the bar
• Slow tempo
Dotted
rhythms
and
Scotch
Snaps
•
• The melody begins with an upbeat (anacrusis)
This unit of work covers the most important musical features and concepts associated with
Scottish Music. It will involve listening to, performing, and composing music.
Tullochgorum is an example of a Strathspey
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES
Music and dance has always been an important part of Scottish culture.
Songs and instrumental pieces were generally passed on from one person to another
orally. This means that the music would not have been written down and there may several
different versions of the same song varying from one area of the country to another.
SCOTTISH DANCES AND INSTRUMENTAL FORMS
There are a number of different Scottish dances, and instrumental forms, including:
• Waltz • March • Strathspey • Reel • Jig
Waltz
A dance with 3 beats in the bar.
Look out for the following musical features:
• 3 beats in the bar
• Dotted rhythms
The
melody
begins
with
an
upbeat (anacrusis)
•
The Dark Island is an example of a Waltz. Although regarded by many as a
traditional Scottish song, this was actually composed by Iain MacLachlan as the
theme to a 1962 television series called The Dark Island, set on the island of
Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides.
March
SAMPLE PAGES – N5 MUSIC
Music was often composed and performed for:
• special occasions such as weddings or funerals
• to accompany working in the tweed mills or on the farms.
• ceilidhs, where people would dance, sing songs and tell stories.
Reel
A fast Scottish dance in either 2/4 or 4/4 time. A Reel generally features an even
flowing rhythm and is usually played after a Strathspey.
Look out for the following musical features:
• 4 beats in the bar
• Fast tempo
• Even flowing quavers
• The melody begins with an upbeat (anacrusis)
Balquidder Lassies is an example of a Reel.
Jig
A fast dance in compound time. A Jig is often written
in 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8.
In compound time he beat is a dotted note which
divides into three.
For example 6/8 = two dotted crotchet beats in a bar
and each beat can be divided into three quavers.
Scotland the Brave is an example of a March.
Test yourself on
Scottish dances and
instrumental forms at
www.brightredbooks.net/
N5Music
Performing Skills: Self-reflection
Instrument/Voice
How good are my performing skills overall?
How accurate am I when performing?
N5_Music_sample.indd 20-21
Learn more about
Scottish dances at
www.brightredbooks.net/
N5Music
Lannigan’s Ball is an example of a Jig.
Title of Music
20
Look out for the following musical features:
• 6/8 time • Fast tempo • The melody begins with an upbeat (anacrusis)
A piece of music with 2 or 4 beats in the bar, originally composed for soldiers to
march along to.
Look out for the following musical features:
• 4 beats in the bar
• Dotted rhythms on the second beat of every bar
• The melody begins with a downbeat (i.e. it starts on the first beat of the bar)
Two things I am good at…
1.
2.
Two things I could do better…
1.
2.
Remember that a Waltz
has three beats in the bar
whereas a March has four.
A Strathspey is quite slow
and features dotted rhythms
and Scotch snaps, whereas a
Reel is faster and has an even
flowing rhythm. A Jig is in
compound time.
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The Music of Scotland – Scottish Vocal Music
THE MUSIC OF SCOTLAND
SCOTTISH VOCAL MUSIC
GAELIC PSALM
A psalm is a musical setting of a text from the bible. The Gaelic churches had their own
distinct way of singing psalm tunes, still used in some areas today. When the psalms
were originally introduced, few people would have been able to read music and there
would have been very few copies of the words. Therefore, the first couple of lines would
have been sung by one person (the Precentor) then the congregation would join in.
MOUTH MUSIC
Mouth music usually had words or syllables which were nonsense or humorous.
Some elements of mouth music may have originated as memory aids or alternatives
to instrumental forms such as bagpipe music.
The psalms are often very slow, unaccompanied and the congregation would add their
own ornamentation (extra notes in the melody).
CELTIC ROCK
WAULKING SONG
One of the most common forms of work song was the waulking song. Waulking was
the process of shrinking tweed by wetting the tweed then thumping it on a board with
feet or hands which made the tweed stronger and more waterproof. This work was
traditionally carried out by women. The waulking songs were very rhythmic, with strong
accents (to accompany the thumping of the tweed) and often in a call and response style
(i.e. the soloist and group would alternate).
SCOTS BALLAD
A ballad is a song that tells a story. The ballads were often quite long (in comparison
with other songs). They were strophic in form (that is they had several verses and
chorus sung to the same music). Scots ballads were often composed to tell the stories of
historical events, places or people associated with Scotland.
BOTHY BALLAD
As well as songs for work, there were also songs about work. An example of this is the
bothy ballad. A farm bothy was a small dwelling in the North-East of Scotland where
farm workers lived while working on the farms. The bothy ballads were songs about
the farm, the work, the farmer himself or the poor conditions the farm workers lived in.
They would generally be sung unaccompanied.
Let’s look at an example of a bothy ballad:
This is a style of music that mixes folk or traditional music with rock music.
SAMPLE PAGES – N5 MUSIC
Much of the music composed in Scotland was for a specific purpose or special occasion.
Many songs were composed to accompany work.
In the 1970s, the group Runrig produced music often described as a blend of folk and
rock music. The lyrics of the songs often focus on Scottish locations, history, politics
people. Some songs also make references to agriculture and land conservation.
In the 1980s, the group Capercaillie combined Scottish folk music with traditional
Gaelic songs and modern songs. They often mixed Gaelic songs and music with modern
production techniques, combining traditional lyrics and tunes with modern techniques
and instruments such as synthesisers, drum machines, electric guitar and bass guitar.
ACTIVITY
Listen to Toss The Feathers by the Corrs at www.brightredbooks.net/N5Music
As you listen, try to identify the following:
• The instrument being played by the members of the group.
• Which aspect of the music are traditional or folk like?
• Which aspects of the music are more Rock or Pop?
Understanding Music – Project
Choose a piece of music, or song, associated with Scotland.
Make sure you have access to an audio recording of the piece, and a copy of the sheetmusic.
Use the table below to gather information about your chosen piece of music or song:
Title of piece or song:
The Muckin’ o’ Geordie’s Byre
Style:
At a relic aul’ croft upon the hill,
Roon the neuk frae Sprottie’s mill,
Tryin’ a’ his life tae jine the kill
Lived Geordie MacIntyre.
He had a wife a swir’s himsel’
An’ a daughter as black’s auld Nick himsel’,
There wis some fun-haud awa’ the smell
At the muckin’ o’ Geordie’s byre.
Name of composer, performer or band:
Concepts in the piece or song
Melody / Harmony
Rhythm / Tempo
N5_Music_sample.indd 26-27
Texture / Structure / Form
Signs, symbols and terms (i.e. in the music score or notation)
Social and cultural influences
26
Remember that Waulking
Songs would traditionally
been sung by women,
whereas the Bothy Ballads
would have been sung by
men. Mouth Music uses
nonsense words while
Gaelic Psalms are religious
pieces. Scots Balllads tell the
stories of historical events,
places or people associated
with Scotland.
Timbre / Dynamics
Learn more about
Bothy Ballads at
www.brightredbooks.net/
N5Music
Test yourself on
Scottish vocal music at
www.brightredbooks.net/
N5Music
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