Focus: Scottish Traditional Music

Focus: Scottish Traditional Music engages methods from ethnomusicology, popular music studies, cultural studies, and media studies to explain how complex Scottish identities and culture are constructed in the traditional music and culture of Scotland. This book examines Scottish music through their social and performative contexts, outlining vocal traditions such as lullabies, mining songs, Scottish ballads, herding songs, and protest songs as well as instrumental traditions such as fiddle music, country dances, and informal evening pub sessions. Case studies explore the key ideas in understanding Scotland musically by exploring ethnicity, Britishness, belonging, politics, transmission and performance, positioning the cultural identity of Scotland within the United Kingdom. Visit the author's companion website at http://www.scottishtraditionalmusic.org/ for additional resources.

Simon McKerrell is Senior Lecturer in Music and Head of the International Centre for Music Studies at Newcastle University, UK.

Part 1. Understanding Scotland Musically 1.Auld Lang Syne 2. Introduction to understanding Scotland musically 3. Brief definitions in Scottish music Part 2. Traditional Scottish Music Today 4. The People of Scottish Music 5. The Place of Scottish Music 6. The Politics of Scottish Music Part 3. Focus in on Scottish Music 7. The White Heather Club and 'media-folk' 8. The notes of tradition 9. Sounding Scotland's Diaspora Conclusion. Understanding Scotland Musically