Scottish Highland Fiddle Music

Though fiddle playing has a strong place in today’s Highland music scene the fiddle tradition did suffer a decline from around 1900 till the 1980s. The original Highland dances were reels and the music played by the fiddlers mostly related to the dances performed. Puirt a Beul (dance music sung in Gaelic] is probably the closest link to a lost Highland style. The Highland style of Scottish fiddling is much influenced by the pipes The bagpipe influence is very strong in Highland fiddle playing, due to that instrument’s use in the army. There is use of drones and ornamentation in imitation of the bagpipe and Gaelic singing. The grace notes are played fast and in a fiddle imitation of bagpipe grace notes. Many of the tunes use only the notes of the bagpipe scale. Back to Scottish fiddle music