strathspey@strathspey.org:1349

--bakere--

Re: Fiddle Technique and SCD Music

March 18, 1995, 9:46 a.m. (Message 1349, in reply to message 1323)

On Thu, 16 Mar 1995 xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxxxx.xx wrote:

> I have a couple of books (_A Guide to Bowing_ by J. Scott Skinner and
> _The Caledonian Companion_ by Alastair J. Hardie) which stress the
> importance of bowing technique in Scottish Fiddle music.
>
> Skinner and Hardie use hooked bowing a lot, particularly in strathspeys.
>

The hooked bowing Hugh mentions results in a very pointed and Northeast-
sounding style.  I use the technique, but rather sparingly, for SCD-style
strathspeys.  There are a wide variety of ways to bow any given measure   
of a strathspey, and I could easily fill a full day's workshop with a
discussion of them.  Briefly, when working over a strathspey (learning
for the first time or practicing) I look for melodic motifs that suggest
particular bowings to me; I think of the style of origin of the strathspey
(Cape Breton, Highland, 18th c: Gow, Marshall, Mackintosh; 19th c., Skinner,
Milne; 20th c: is it a real strathspey or march with snaps used as a
strathspey?)  (Sorry, the punctuation has got out of control.)  Also I 
consider the the tune's relationship to dance.  What style of dance?  
(SCD, Highland group dance, Highland solo dancer, solo step 
dance, group step dance, hard shoe dance, Cape Breton dance set,
Cape Breton listening set, tunes for listening, etc.)  If for
SCD, what are the dancers doing at the moment?  (Allemande?  Down the
middle and up?)  This can make a HUGE difference in the way I bow it.
At a dance, I play _to_ the dancers.  Bowing for strathspeys is not
just a matter of slurs, separate bows, hooks, and links.  Accents and
emphasis are of great importance, and interact with the system of
separates and slurs and up and down bows.

> However, at a couple of music workshops, I have heard that bowing is not
> too important.

What kind of music workshop was that?  On the other hand, maybe I'd
prefer not to know!  Actually, I think whoever it was probably meant
something more like, "In Scottish fiddling, there is generally no 
need to use one dictated set of bowings for any particular tune."

> I would like to hear from the Scottish Country Dance
> musicians out there about how important technique is on the fiddle.  Is this
> part of the reason scottish music is so unique?

My playing for SCD involves serious technique.  But it is not
necessarily classical technique.  I use a variety of technical
tools.  Not all of them are used by classical musicians.  And there
are technical tools commonly used by classical musicians that I
almost never use in SCD playing.

While the right hand (bowing) is very important in SCD playing,
the left hand can be equally important.  Besides simply fingering
the melody, I use various left-handed techniques to do the following:
ornament the melody; create virtual accents (by means of timing
rather than force); imply a harmony line while _also_ playing the
melody.  Left-handed "accents"  serve to reinforce or act in 
counterpoint with the emphasis created by the bowing.  It's a 
very complicated interaction, yet if well done, the results do 
not _sound_ complicated.  Practice with both left-handed and 
right-handed techniques will eventually enable a musician 
to use a variety of them in the full swing of a dance.

>
> As a beginner fiddler,

Great!  Keep up the fiddling, Hugh!

It's a good idea to listen to a variety of Scottish fiddle recordings.
That will give you a broad perspective on Scottish style and some
ideas to try out on your own.  It's even better to see those fiddlers
performing live, if possible, because then you can watch as well
as hear what they do.  Better yet to go to workshops, where you can
hear, see, and ask questions.  Best of all to take a few lessons with
a fiddler whose style you admire and whose teaching you enjoy--
then you can hear, see, ask questions, and get individually-tailored
coaching.

> I'd really like to hear from Barbara and Elke and from others.

Thanks!  I'm sorry this is just quickly thrown together, and I 
apologize for being vaguely technical without stopping to explain 
my meaning clearly.  I'm completely swamped at the moment, and
I actually logged in tonight with the intention of temporarily 
unsubscribing from the List, as I'm leaving very soon for a trip abroad, 
and I dread the idea of dealing with three-weeks' accumulation 
of unread Strathspey mailings when I return.  But this topic 
literally invited my attention.  I'd like to discuss it in a more 
detailed and organized manner, if other dancers aren't bored by 
it--but after I return from Japan!

Elke 


Elke Baker
Scottish Fiddle Music
xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx