Posts tagged Scotland

The unique music of Scotland is easily recognized around the world and has remained a vibrant force to this day while many forms of traditional music worldwide have experienced a loss of popularity to pop music. Even with emigration and the influx of music imported from the rest of Europe and the United States, the music of Scotland has been able to keep the majority of its traditional structure and has even influenced many other forms of music.

Traditional Scottish music even while influential to and being influenced by both Irish and English traditional music is still an art form unto itself and in spite of the increasing popularity of varied international pop music styles it remains a vital and everlasting Scottish tradition. There are numerous Scottish record labels and music festivals as well as Scottish music magazines.

Although many people in the world think immediately of bagpipes when thinking about Scottish music, bagpipes are not unique or indigenous to Scotland. Don’t get me wrong, bagpipes are a very important part of Scottish music tradition but they were actually imported into Scotland around the 15th century from other areas in Europe where they are still played.

The pìob mór, or Great Highland Bagpipe, is the most distinctively Scottish form of the instrument; it was created for clan pipers to be used for various, often military or marching, purposes. Piping clans included the MacArthurs, MacDonalds, McKays and, especially, the MacCrimmons, who were hereditary pipers to the Clan MacLeod.

In modern times bagpipes have even found there way into many songs in pop music with rockers like Rod Stewart who was extremely popular in the late 1970′s and 80′s. He used bagpipes in many of his popular songs. Another more recent artist whose Celtic music has been well received is Enya.

If you haven’t explored this beautiful music form I urge you to do so. Scottish music and in particular the Celtic Music of Enya can be very soothing and stress relieving.