The Donegal fiddle tradition is one of the distinct fiddle traditions within Irish traditional music. The distinctness of the Donegal tradition developed due to the close relations between County Donegal and Scotland, and the Donegal repertoire and style has influences from Scottish fiddle music. For example, in addition to the ”universally known” standard Irish dance tunes, there is an added volume of Scottish and Nova Scotia tunes played, with even some tunes from Shetland and Orkney. This includes standard tune types such as double jigs, slip jigs, reels, and hornpipes. It has been claimed that Donegal musicians play more slip jigs than any other region of Ireland. This is potentially due to the geographical borders/mountains keeping Donegal's repertoire more locally-known for decades. There is also a prevalence of mazurka playing. Mazurkas are historically mainland-European tunes very similar to a waltz, in its 3
4 meter, though generally livelier and with more emphasis being placed on the second beat of each measure. Another uniquely Donegal tune is called the barndance, stemming from the Germanic schottische, also similar to the Norwegian reinlander. The barndance is very similar to a hornpipe, but slower than a reel; typically they are played with less of a hornpipe's “swing” and more of the “drive” of a reel.
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the style of the music played may determine specific construction differences between fiddles and classical violins. For example, fiddles may optionally be set up with a bridge with a flatter arch to reduce the range of bow-arm motion needed for techniques such as the double shuffle, a form of bariolage involving rapid alternation between pairs of adjacent strings. To produce a "brighter" tone than the deep tones of gut or synthetic core strings, fiddlers often use steel strings. The fiddle is part of many traditional (folk) styles, which are typically aural traditions—taught "by ear" rather than via written music.
Step dance is a generic term for dance styles in which footwork is considered to be the most important part of the dance and limb movements and styling are either restricted or considered irrelevant.
Hugh Alan "Buddy" MacMaster was a Canadian fiddler. He performed and recorded both locally and internationally, and was regarded as an expert on the tradition and lore of Cape Breton fiddle music.
The Gaelic College, formally The Royal Cape Breton Gaelic College, is a non-profit educational institution located in the community of St. Anns, Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island, along the Cabot Trail. Founded in 1938, its focus has been on the perpetuation of Highland Scottish Gaelic culture.
A strathspey is a type of dance tune in 4
4 time, featuring dotted rhythms, which in traditional playing are generally somewhat exaggerated rhythmically. Examples of strathspeys are the songs "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" and "Coming Through the Rye".
In the province of Nova Scotia in Canada, Celtic music has played a significant role, both in its traditional forms and fused with other musical styles. Nova Scotia's folk music features traditional tunes brought over from the Scottish Highlands in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as well as localized forms such as Cape Breton fiddle music. In recent years, a wide variety of other musical genres have emerged in Nova Scotia, which has produced several country music stars such as Hank Snow, Wilf Carter, Anne Murray, and Rita MacNeil.
Jerry Holland was a musician and fiddler who lived on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Celtic music is primarily associated with the folk traditions of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and Wales, as well as the popular styles derived from folk culture. In addition, a number of other areas of the world are known for the use of Celtic musical styles and techniques, including Newfoundland, and much of the folk music of Canada's Maritimes, especially on Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island.
Pibroch, piobaireachd or ceòl mòr is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning 'piping' in Scottish Gaelic, piobaireachd has for some four centuries been music of the great Highland bagpipe.
Dan Rory MacDonald was a Canadian fiddler who lived in Cape Breton. He is notable for his composition of many fiddle tunes.
Scottish fiddling may be distinguished from other folk fiddling styles by its particular precision of execution and energy in the delivery, for example, the rendering of the dotted-quaver/semi-quaver rhythmic patterns, commonly used in the Strathspey. Christine Martin, in her Traditional Scottish Fiddling players guide, discusses the techniques of "hack bowing", "the Scotch snap", and "snap bowing". These techniques contrast quite sharply with the most common bowing patterns of Irish fiddling. The style has a very large repertoire consisting of a great variation of rhythms and key signatures. There is also a strong link to the playing of traditional Scottish bagpipes which is better known throughout the world.
Willie Hunter (1933–1994) was a Scottish folk fiddler born in Shetland who played an important part in the rejuvenation of the Shetland fiddling traditions. He began playing at age four, and was taught by Gideon Stove of Lerwick and Geoffrey di Mercado, who provided classical violin training. Hunter played with the Hamefarers Dance Band, the Yell Band, and the Cullivoe Band. His last album, Willie's Last Session, was recorded just eleven days before his death from cancer on 27 January 1994.
Donald Angus Beaton (1912–1981) was a Canadian blacksmith and a Cape Breton-style fiddler.
Brenda Stubbert is a Cape Breton fiddler and composer from Point Aconi, Nova Scotia, Canada. She comes from a musical family, as her father, Robert, and uncle, Lauchie, were both well-known fiddlers. Brenda began step dancing and playing the piano at age five, and started playing fiddle at age eight.
Hugh Alexander “Sandy” MacIntyre (1935–2021) was one of the most respected artists in the tradition of Cape Breton fiddle music.
American fiddle-playing began with the early European settlers, who found that the small viol family of instruments were more portable and rugged than other instruments of the period. According to Ron Yule, "John Utie, a 1620 immigrant, settled in the North and is credited as being the first known fiddler on American soil". Early influences were Irish, Scottish, and English fiddle styles, as well as the more upper-class traditions of classical violin playing. Popular tunes included "Soldier's Joy", for which Robert Burns wrote lyrics, and other tunes such as "Flowers of Edinburgh" and "Tamlin," which have both been claimed by both Scottish and Irish lineages.
Canadian fiddle is the aggregate body of tunes, styles and musicians engaging the traditional folk music of Canada on the fiddle. It is an integral extension of the Anglo-Celtic and Québécois French folk music tradition but has distinct features found only in the Western hemisphere.
William Hugh Lamey (1914–1991) was a renowned and influential Cape Breton fiddler. He was a pioneer in recorded performances of the music. As an avid collector of rare tunes, he amassed one of the most comprehensive and valuable collections of written Scottish violin music.
The Maritime Fiddle Festival is the longest running old-time fiddle contest in Canada. It is also the largest fiddle contest in the region.
