Scottish Folk Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scottish Folk Music - Essay Example It was introduced in the Scottish music industry many years ago (around the 15th century) and was recognized as a family and professional instrument. It passed on from generation to generation. The bagpipe is used in dances all across Scotland. Also, singing along with the music played from traditional instruments like Harp and bagpipe is also a common practice in Scotland. Some Scottish music is also specific to certain region and hence all in all, Scottish folk music is considered to be very unconventional and diverse. Many different musical instruments are used in playing Scottish music. One such instrument is the accordion which is mostly used by the countryside musicians. The bagpipe is another very popular instrument and it has already been discussed earlier. The Fiddle has been used to create regional music and is said to have evolved over time. It is used for playing cheerful and lively beats. The guitar is considered to be new in Scottish music and the harp, which is treated as an ancient musical instrument. Although Scottish music was never dull enough to be revived, it is said that Scottish music underwent a revival in the 1960s. Scottish singers always had an international following and heavy sales, in 1960s came the innovation to rejuvenate the spirit of the music. In 1970s, the music evolved from being completely a solo affair to being a band. In the 1980’s duos started and a popularity of rock and metal was observed. Ad in the present times, Scottish music is enjoyed in the form of symphonies and operas. Also Jazz is especially liked in Scotland and numerous famous artists have played their part in mingling Jazz with traditional Scottish music. One vocal genre of Scottish music is the Bluegrass music. It is a form of Jazz and is symbolized by tunes called breakdowns. It’s just like the old-time music in which only one instrument would dominate and continue to be played while other instruments would accompany it. Different people fro m all over the world like Bluegrass music and enjoy it. It is played on traditional acoustic music string instruments. It is also characterized by upright bass and guitar. But apart from instrumentation, the distinguishing aspect of Bluegrass music is the vocals. Inclusion of other musical instruments like accordion, harmonica, drums, harp and electric guitar resulted in an evolution of Bluegrass to Newgrass. Vocals are also done very differently with two, three or four parts. It is done with a deviating sound in the highest voice. This style of music is called ‘high lonesome sound’ The music itself is influenced by the music of African Americans. The orientation of the vocals and its synchronization is called Stack. A stack principally has a background voice, a main lead voice and a tenor voice. However, it is not necessary that one sticks to this sequence while singing a stack especially when female voices are included. The early days of the genre followed this trio t ype arrangement. Famous vocalists in this field include Alisson Krauss, Howard Watts and Osborne brothers. Blue grass music is enjoyed all over the world because people can easily relate to it; it is actually a narration from the everyday lives of people. This might include their love life, other tensions, unhappiness with changes that were unwelcomed or financial burdens that people face. It ranges from discussing the difficulty of living in