minds of a new generation of tradition bearers. By the 20th century, few pipers or dancers had grown up in any type of aural tradition, for they were now immersed in new formalised schools of thought. From here, their new style was held as the historical norm, thanks largely to the revisionist literary imagination of authors such as Sir Walter Scott. Many pipers looked down on the playing of the few remaining dance-style pipers, deeming them ‘tinkerers’. This deroga- tory term was often applied to anyone who did not play in the modern competition style. Similar sentiments are reflected in the dance tradition as espoused by the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. Dr. Margaret Bennett has written extensively on the evolution of Scottish dance during this period, and notes in her essay, Step-dancing: Why we must learn from past mistakes, that many Highland women were re-trained and shown how to dance ‘correctly’ in school as young children. She says that such
women “channeled their childhood energy and love of dance into [the newer] Highland Dance, which had all of the acceptability and status lacking in the steps they had learned at home”. This type of ‘shaming’ was seen throughout Scottish society after the innovations of the Victorian era, leading to the eventual disappear- ance of nearly all other styles of dance. These drastic shifts were able to occur simply because of the marginalised situation of Gaelic society following the 19th century Clearances. Many Gaels left, seeking to preserve their lifestyle in new lands, and many of those who stayed were forced to integrate into urban society, eventu- ally losing much of their cultural identity. This left a nearly blank canvas for the changes seen over the next 200 years which would come to define historical perception of the Highland Gael. Hugh Cheape surmises the idea of a transformed Scottish bagpiping culture in his “Coda”, writing: “the instrument has been
reinvented, the performer constrained, and the music re-crafted”. It is this very tradition that continues to predominate the social perception of Scottish culture across the globe. Until these stereotypes are examined and challenged by musicians and historians alike, alternative nar- ratives in piping will continue to fall on deaf ears, dismissed as unauthentic or irrelevant. l
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
This selection has been edited for readability, removing any in-text citations and footnotes. For a complete list of refer- ences please see the full text of this chapter hosted online at:
www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/magazine.
Cannon, Roderick D. The Highland Bagpipe and Its Music. 1988. Edinburgh: Birlinn Publishers, 2008. Cheape, Hugh. Bagpipes: A National Collection of a National Instrument. Edinburgh: NMS Enterprises Limited, 2008. Emmerson, George S. Rantin’ Pipe and Tremblin’ String: A History of Scottish Dance Music. Gibson, John. Old and New World Highland Bagpiping. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2008. ---. Traditional Gaelic Bagpiping: 1746-1945. 1998. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002. Shears, Barry. Dance to the Piper: The Highland Bagpipe in Nova Scotia. Sydney, Nova Scotia: Cape Breton University Press, 2008.
www.roddymacleodpiobaireachd.com
Roddy MacLeod MBE is the Principal of the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, Scotland and is considered to be one of the most accomplished pipers of his generation and a highly regarded teacher, recitalist and adjudicator.
His website, at
www.roddymacleodpiobaireachd.com, provides a growing archive of Piobaireachd music performed on the Highland Bagpipe by Roddy MacLeod and it is hoped that this archive will provide a source of enjoyment to piping enthusiasts as well as a valuable learning and teaching resource.
For each piobaireachd we offer a recording that has been compressed using industry standard 256Kb/s MP3 encoding. We also offer an Adobe PDF version of the manuscript which includes the accompanying canntaireachd and a Bagpipe Music Writer file which can be used as an additional learning aid (Bagpipe Music Writer software is required to play these files). You can also download all three as a package.
www.roddymacleodpiobaireachd.com If you are interested in contacting Roddy then please e-mail
enquiries@roddymacleodPiobaireachd.com
PIPING TODAY • 47
THESIS 3.1
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