Scottish Music National 3-5 Understanding Music

Outcomes Scotland 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: Bagpipesmade 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) FiddleScottish name for the violin AccordionHand held keyboard instrument with a left hand bass ClarsachScottish/folk harp BodrahnHand held drum

Instrumental Groups These instruments can be used in various combinations to create instrumental groups associated with Scottish music. These are: Scottish Dance Band Traditionally consists of lead accordion, 2 nd accordion, fiddle, piano, drums, (bass). Pipe Band Made up of bagpipes, snare drums, tenor drums and bass drum. Folk Group Guitar, fiddle, voice. May also hear a tin whistle or folk flute. The sound will be acoustic. Celtic Rock Group Electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, drums and voices.

Concepts CONCEPTDEFINITION Pentatonic ScaleA five note scale BagpipesScottish instrument made up of pipes and chanter FiddleScottish violin AccordionScottish keyboard/button chord instrument used in dance bands ClarsachScottish harp BodhranHand held drum played with a beater Scottish Dance BandBand consisting of fiddle, accordion, piano and drums Pipe BandMarching band made up of pipes and drums Folk GroupFiddle, accordion, whistle, guitar, voice – acoustic instruments Celtic Rock GroupElectric guitars, keyboard, vocals, pipes, drum-kit

Scottish Dance Music REEL 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 rhythmScotch 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.

Concepts CONCEPTDEFINITION ReelFast dance with four beats in a bar AnacrusisUp-beat before the first full bar of music StrathspeyModerate dance with four beats in a bar. Uses scotch snaps Scotch SnapShort note followed by a long note (oo-ya!) JigFast dance in 6/8 time – notes in groups of 3 Compound Timee.g. 6/8 time – notes in groups of 3 (hoppity-skippity) MarchUsually with 2 or 4 beats in a bar WaltzDance with 3 beats in a bar

Scottish Vocal Music Scottish 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 Ballads These 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 Songs Waulking 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 Ballad A 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 Psalms Psalms 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 Pibroch Pibroch 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. Vamp The 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.

Concepts CONCEPTDEFINITION Bothy BalladFolk song sung by men about their work Waulking SongSung in Gaelic by women while waulking the tweed Gaelic PsalmImprovised song of worship with ‘precentor’ and congregation. (Heard in the Western Isles) Scots Ballad Folk songs telling stories about everyday life Mouth MusicVocal 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. VampType of chord accompaniment (oom-cha, oom-cha)