ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights conceptual difficulties with the definitions of ‘traditional’ or ‘Scottish’ music. Modern efforts to clarify what constitutes folk music continue a centuries-old argument, and we can add to this the frequent debates about what was actually Scottish. Changing musical styles and the influence of popular music trends mean that the music we identify as traditional Scottish music today bears little resemblance to early collections. Clearly, there is value in tracing these differences in repertoire and general presentation, and gaining an appreciation of how collections compared with contemporary art music. Historical sources are not only exemplars of past practice, but also a rich source of materials for imaginative repurposing. In 1891, John Muir Wood conceded that it was easiest to accept that some tunes were merely Scottish by repute. How do we feel about acknowledging music that is Scottish only in feel and not in origin? Accepting the concept of porous boundaries, and acknowledging that these invisible boundaries are likely to differ for each of us, seems to be the only reasonable conclusion.
