ABSTRACT
The performance of Scottish fiddle music in the present day is marked by a high degree of diversity and variety unacknowledged in critical studies of the topic heretofore. Previous research has typically emphasised a homogenous national tradition or, since the 1970s, a collective of regional traditions, but even these do not reflect the multiplicity of styles and contexts in which Scottish fiddle music is now performed. Indeed, the range of performance is such that it is becoming increasingly problematic to define Scottish fiddle music in any detail, with neither performance practice, repertoire, nor the ethnicity of the performer or composer an essential aspect. Ultimately, the performance of Scottish fiddle music in the present day is most convincingly interpreted from a combination of regional, national, and global perspectives, the latter accounting for the greater professionalisation and internationalisation seen in recent decades that has had a wide-ranging impact on performance practices, teaching and learning, and audience expectations. This chapter considers the relevance and significance of links with the past in the present-day performance of Scottish fiddle music before three manifestations of such links are evaluated, including musical lineage, old tune collections, and recordings from sound archives.
