Reviving Scottish Fiddling: An Ethnographic Study of Scottish Fiddling Competitions in the United States

Abstract

This paper examines the Scottish fiddling revival in America. Due to its rapid fusion into other fiddling styles, Scottish fiddling did not establish itself as a unique musical genre in the United States. One particular organization, titled "Scottish Fiddling Revival," or "F.I.R.E.," is largely responsible for the revival and has established all of the necessary elements within a revival framework to stimulate and maintain this style of fiddling. The organization sponsors official Scottish fiddling competitions, provides teachers to educate and maintain the style, and fosters a community to interact with the revival. This study examines the revival infrastructure and its implications according to an established framework for the continued development of Scottish fiddling in the United States. economics. This provided possible insight on how the revival in the United States is changing and why. However, he does note that despite any changes musically, the Cape Breton fiddling tradition has remained, on the whole, quite resilient to change musically. Another study by Earl V. Spielman, The Fiddling Traditions of Cape Breton and Texas: A Study in Parallels and Contrasts, compared and contrasted the traditions, approach, and attitude of Cape Breton fiddling and Texas style fiddling. 4 Through this study, he proposes a methodology from which to compare all fiddling traditions, including how they are preserved. Spielman specifically lists elements existing on a continuum for fiddle traditions. These elements include musical components, competitions, audiences, pedagogy and methods of transmission, community settings, and number of participants to a tradition. His methods and concepts are insightful as they provide clues for an ideal environment in which fiddling thrives, with and/or without competitions. Many of Spielman's elements were used as a starting point during fieldwork in this study.