The Peninsula Scottish Fiddlers
& Friends Live (2008)

The word "fiddle" is derived from the old Scots "fedyl" or "fetthill", a three-stringed bowed instrument popular in the 16th century, at the time of Mary, Queen of Scots. According to contemporary reports, the sound of the fedyl was not pleasant. A French historian, a member of Mary's Court, described the sound as "vile" and "so wretchedly out of tune and concord that nothing could be worse."

By the end of the 17th century the violin as we know it today had supplanted the fedyl. Scottish fiddle makers enthusiastically and diligently started copying the designs of famous Italian models by violin makers such as Amati and Guarnerius of Cremona. Although the folk instrument is still called the fiddle, it is identical in all respects to the classical violin. Since that time, the violin has become, with the bagpipe, one of Scotland's two national instruments.

The earliest written records of Scottish fiddle music date back to about 1700 and many of the tunes written down by itinerant fiddlers and others, are still played. Among the most famous of the early published collections are those by Niel Gow, Nathaniel Gow, Robert Mackintosh, William Marshall and Captain Simon Fraser. These collections date from the period 1780 to 1820 and, again, many (if not most) of the tunes still appear in the repertoires of modern Scottish fiddlers. It is interesting to note that the aristocracy and landed gentry of Scotland contributed heavily to the cost of these publications. Scottish fiddle music was not looked down upon by the upper classes; it was afforded as much honor as that paid to music "imported" from Europe.

Since these early days the Scots have continued to compose and perform fiddle music, often for dancing, sometimes to express sorrow, love, or wonder. The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS), founded in 1923, has revitalized the popularity of country dancing and encouraged the composition of new dance music, much of which has augmented the fiddler's repertoire of tunes. Fiddlers and non-fiddlers alike, wherever in the world they may be, should seek out the nearest RSCDS branch and participate as either dancers or players. Yes, there is even a branch in Japan!