Fretted instruments in traditional music
Some
people think of fretted instruments as newcomers to traditional music in
Scotland and Ireland. The tenor banjo and mandolin started to appear around
the beginning of the 20th century. The Greek bouzouki appeared in the 1960s,
and quickly metamorphized into various types of citterns, blarges, octave
mandolins, etc. So it's a common assumption that fretted instruments are
somehow not quite as "traditional" as fiddles, flutes, or even
accordions.
But interestingly enough, we have documentation
that fretted instruments were playing traditional music in Scotland before
fiddles and flutes (at least of the modern type) had even been invented!
Available topics:
- The Irish banjo
- Is the banjo a traditional Irish instrument?
Dr. Mick Moloney, noted Irish banjo player and musicologist, tells the
history of the Irish banjo.
- The Scottish lute
- Do fretted instruments belong in the Scottish
tradition? Interestingly, one such instrument is found in the earliest
records of Scottish music.
- The Scottish lute manuscripts
- Curious about which tunes were played by those
old Scottish lutenists? Check out the contents
of the Scottish lute MSS.
- Folk music in Scottish society
- Some folk music scholars have responded to the
Scottish lute tradition by claiming that it was entirely an upper-class
avocation unrelated to the "music of the people". Read what some
experts think about the role of folk
music in 17th and 18th century Scotland.
- Other fretted instruments in Scotland
- A collection of historical references to other
fretted instruments in
Scottish and other traditional music.
- The English guitar
- Did the English play the guitar at all in the
centuries before Julian Bream, John Renbourn and Eric Clapton? Yes, they
did, but you must keep in mind the changing nature of what a guitar actually
is. The main thing to remember is that an "English guitar" isn't
a guitar at all. Confused? Luckily, someone has written a book on the subject,
in which this interesting story is
explained.
- The Irish lute
- Was the lute played in Ireland? The
answer is a very qualified "yes".
Related topics:
Still to come.
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