Scottish Music and Song

The quintessential Scottish instrument is, of course, the bagpipe - the Great Highland Bagpipe, to give it its full name. Known to exist in the 14th century, the bagpipe has been linked with warriors and clans in the field of battle. Even into the twentieth century soldiers were lead into battle by a piper.

Hugh Cheape has a good illustrated introduction to the history of the bagpipes in his book, simply called Bagpipes. William Donaldson's The Highland Pipe and Scottish Society won a Saltire Society award in 2000, but is unfortunately now out of print. John G Gibson compares contemporary piping in Scotland with the growth of pipe bands in the USA, Canada and further afield in Old and New World Highland Bagpiping. For a personal view of life as a bagpiper, John T. MacKenzie tells his story in There Was a Piper, A Scottish Piper. MacKenzie was a piper in the Scots Guards, the Royal Household, and was recruited to be the Pipe Major for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

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  Bagpipes: A National Collection Of A National Instrument
  Hugh Cheape - Paperback - NMS
  The National Museums of Scotland's collection of bagpipes has grown from modest beginnings to become a large collection of international significance, numbering over 1800 items. This book explores the collection, as well as looking at the history and significance of the instruments themselves.
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  The Book Of The Bagpipe
  Hugh Cheape - Hardback - Appletree
  The Book of the Bagpipe charts the history of the pipes from their origins in ancient times, right up to the present day.
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  Old And New World Highland Bagpiping
  John G. Gibson - Paperback - Birlinn
  John Gibson's use of oral history challenges accepted accounts of traditional bagpiping and provides a comprehensive biographical and genealogical survey of pipers and piping in the Scottish Highlands and Canada's Cape Breton region.
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  £13.18
  There Was A Piper, A Scottish Piper: Memoirs Of Pipe Major John T. Mackenzie
  John T. MacKenzie - Paperback - Natural Heritage Books
  John T. McKenzie, a Highland Piper and Scots Guard, saw active service in the war zones of North Africa, was part of the liberation of Norway and was later posted to the Malaysian jungle. Throughout, his devotion to Highland piping remained in the forefront of his life.

There are many books celebrating traditional Scottish songs. Edinburgh publishers Hardie Press publish many songbooks - such as The Saltire Scottish Song Book, The Tom Anderson Collection and Scottish Fiddlers and their Music. An easier place to start is simply Scottish Songs, a compact collection of 80 traditional songs.

There are a number of anthologies of folk songs collected by Scottish writers, such as James Hogg's 1810 collection The Forest Minstrel and Walter Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders, now out of print.

Ewan McVicar's ABC My Grannie Caught a Flea is a fun collection of those schoolyard songs that are so often only half-remembered. McVicar has collected songs and rhymes from across Scotland, some of which will be very familiar, and others are much more recent creations. An altogether more adult collection is Robin Laing's The Whisky Muse, a celebration of songs and poems that praise whisky. G W Lockhart's book Fiddles and Folk looks at folk music past and present, and folk songs form the heart of Queen of the Heather, a biography of Traveller and folk singer Belle Stewart.

Gaelic singing is still hugely popular, and it forms a key part of the annual National Mod. Anne Lorne Gillies's The Songs of Gaelic Scotland really is the key book on the cultural history of Gaelic singing, with a full collection transcriptions and sheet music. Eilean Fraoich is a collection of songs from the isle of Lewis.

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  ABC, My Grannie Caught A Flea
  - Hardback - Birlinn
  Ewan McVicar, one of Scotland's best-known storytellers and song writers, has collected songs in over 40 Scottish schools to create this new condensed compendium of the 'hidden' songs of Scots childhood.
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  Eilean Fraoich
  - Paperback - Acair
  'Eilean Fraoich' is a classic songbook in Gaelic. It contains folk songs from the long Scottish traditions and includes text and music.
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  Fiddles And Folk
  G. W. Lockhart - Paperback - Luath
  For anyone whose heart lifts at the sound of a fiddle or pipes, this book takes you on a delighful journey, full of humour and respect, in the company of some of the performers who have taken Scotland's music around the world and come back enriched.
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  The Forest Minstrel
  James Hogg - Book with sound disc - Edinburgh University Press
  'The Forest Minstrel' represents the first full collection of songs by James Hogg. The items contained include some of his first compositions as a shepherd in Ettrick, while others originate from early contact with the literary culture of Edinburgh.
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  Queen Of The Heather: The Life Of Belle Stewart
  Sheila Stewart - Paperback - Birlinn
  In 'Queen Among the Heather' Sheila Stewart tells the moving story of her mother's life and career. This biography is an insightful and personal tribute to one of Scotland's most renowned folk singers, as well as to the rich culture of the travelling people.
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  The Saltire Scottish Song Book: Sixty Songs For Unison Or Solo Singing With Piano
  - Paperback - Hardie
  This volume contains 60 traditional Scottish songs for unison or solo singing with piano acompaniment.
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  £16.95
  Scottish Fiddlers And Their Music
  Mary Anne Alburger - Paperback - Hardie
  This text presents a history of Scottish fiddlers and their music. It is illustrated with photographs and music examples, providing over 100 complete reels, strathspeys, laments and slow airs.
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  Scottish Songs
  - Paperback - Waverley
  A collection of more than 80 traditional compositions arranged for voice and piano. It is organised alphabetically by song title, and contains a glossary to explain many of the Scots words in the songs.
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  £17.00
  Songs Of Gaelic Scotland
  Anne Lorne Gillies - Paperback - Birlinn
  This collection of Gaelic songs addresses the needs of the singer and of authenticity. It combines an introduction to Gaelic musical and poetic tradition, with reliable versions of the texts and music for each song and historical notes.
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  The Tom Anderson Collection: From The Shetland Musical Heritage Trust
  Tom Anderson - Paperback - Hardie
  Volume One contains a total of 60 compositions comprising slow airs, marches, hornpipes, reels, waltzes, strathspeys and jigs, together with some miscellaneous pieces.
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  The Whisky Muse: Scotch Whisky In Poem And Song
  - Paperback - Luath
  Each poem and song in this anthology is accompanied by additional information, and the book is full of interesting tit-bits on the process of whisky making.

There are plenty of successful Scottish pop groups and singers - but not many of them have made into books. So there's an odd mixture of autobiography, song lyrics, biography and even food writing about Scotland's pop music. In no particular order, and with the broadest definition of 'popular'...

Big Country

Stuart Adamson

Midge Ure

Midge Ure

Lulu

I Don't Want To Fight

The Blue Nile

The Blue Nile Story

John Martyn

Some People Are Crazy

Belle & Sebastian

If You're Feeling Sinister, Belle & Sebastian, The Celestial Cafe

Franz Ferdinand

An A-Z of Franz Ferdinand, Sound Bites

Fuzzfolk

From Fuzz to Folk

Chris Connelly

Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible and Friend

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

The Sensational Alex Harvey

The Bay City Rollers

Shang-A-Lang, Bye Bye Baby

Bert Jansch

Dazzling Stranger

Donovan

The Hurdy-Gurdy Man

K T Tunstall

Eye to the Telescope

The Incredible String Band

Rock and Roll Mountains

Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart

Elisabeth Parry

Thirty Men and a Girl

Barbara Dickson

A Shirt Box Full of Songs

John Barrowman

I Am What I Am, Anything Goes

Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle

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  Big Noise: The Sound Of Scotland
  Martin Kielty - Paperback - Black & White
  From the immediate post-war period to the new century, Scotland has generated more rock stars per head than anywhere else in the world. 'Big Noise' looks at the sound of Scotland and discovers its background through the stories and memories of those who made it.
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  California Schemin': How Two Lads From Dundee Conned The Music Industry
  Gavin Bain - Paperback - Simon & Schuster
  This is an almost mythical but true story about how two young rappers from Scotland fooled the record industry into signing them up by pretending they were from California.
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  £5.09
  The (completely Unofficial) Tartan Army Songbook
  Ian Black - Paperback - Black & White
  This new, completely unofficial songbook contains even more songs and chants. It takes the reader through an hilarious romp through some of the Tartan Army's alcohol-fuelled repertoire but caveat emptor, this volume contains some very strong language.
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  The Kelvingrove Organ: A Short History
  James Hunter - Pbk. + CD - Glasgow Museums
  The organ at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a world-class instrument which was brought by the Corporation of Glasgow for the building after the Glasgow International Exhibition in 1901. Now for the first time the history of the organ is explored in this booklet.
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  £22.99
  Scotland In Music: A European Enthusiasm
  Roger Fiske - Paperback - Cambridge University Press
  This work traces the unique attraction Scotland had for the great 18th and 19th century composers. It is not about Scottish composers, but rather about the music that for two centuries was written and performed outside Scotland by musicians of other countries who had Scotland in mind.
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  £6.79
  Ultimate Scottish Music Quiz Book
  Paul English - Paperback - Black & White
  Think you know your Scottish pop trivia? This collection of questions will test even the most avid Scottish pop fan.