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Scottish and Irish Fiddling
This year, the RHGCF will have Scottish and Irish Fiddle competitions, each judged by an expert in the field. Generally, Scottish traditional music is more influenced by classical music than Irish is, as the English, with their ties to Europe, occupied Scotland much earlier than they did Ireland. In Scotland, the fiddle was often used as a stand-in for bagpipes, which were banned by the English as too nationalistic, hence the music sometimes has a definite bagpipe sound. Scottish fiddle music is characterized by an ornament called the Scottish snap. The selection of tunes in the Scottish competition must include that distinctly Scottish form called the Stratshspey.
The Scottish Fiddle Competition is sanctioned by Scottish FIRE or Fiddling Revival Ltd., an organization dedicated to the preservation and propagation of traditional Scottish music, which sets rules for competitions such as ours, sanctions judges qualified to adjudicate, such as Dr. Turner, and holds annual National Competitions. The Scottish Fiddle Competition has long been a successful part of the RHGCF, with a good field
Irish music has rolls, bowed triplets and lots of slides. An Irish traditional fiddler is less likely to be reading sheet music than a Scottish fiddler is. The tradition in Ireland has had less classical influence, and so retains more "archaic" elements, yet is very open to innovation. The Irish allows the contestant to choose from among several different types of tunes.
The rules for the Irish competition, set out in the RHGCF brochure, are based on rules used for "Fleadh Cheoil", a music festival sponsored by Comaltus Ceoltoiri Eireann, and on rules used by American string band festival competitions. At this time, there is not a system of regional competitions qualifying winners to go on to national competitions. But there is nothing preventing them from doing so, and we think it will be fun.
There are many similarities between Irish and Scottish Fiddling, and many tunes the two traditions have in common. Both are closely associated with traditional dances, which sometimes were held with the fiddle as the main or only instrument, so the style of playing has evolved to be both rhythmic and melodic. Both continue to heavily influence American old-time and bluegrass music, and fertile crossovers are very prevalent.