12.6 Scots song in the 21st century

There are many performers still singing Scots songs in their communities today, but more readily there are events and festivals across Scotland (and further afield) dedicated to the art of traditional song. Often with Scots song at their heart, such festivals also celebrate singing traditions from other parts of the world.

In some cases, there are semi-formal competitions for singing, e.g. the local TMSA festivals which select winners who go on to compete for the Bothy Ballad Champion of Champions title in February each year.

Scots song also features in the current professional folk scene in Scotland, with singers such as Shona Donaldson, Siobhan Miller, Emily Smith, Steve Byrne and Fiona Hunter some of the best-known young performers, although there is generally a dearth of younger male singers in Scots.

Today students can elect to study traditional song at the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music at Plockton High School, at university, including the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, as well as folklore courses with a focus on Scots song at Edinburgh University’s Celtic & Scottish Studies and Aberdeen University’s Elphinstone Institute.

Activity 10

What I have learned

Before finishing your work on this unit, please revisit what you worked on in Activity 1, where we asked you to take some notes on what you already knew in relation to the key learning points of the unit.

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Original location 1

Compare your notes from before you studied this unit with what you have learned here and add to these notes as you see fit to produce a record of your learning.

  • Scots song collecting over the centuries – how collections came into being, including ways in which Scots songs have been passed on, collected and published
  • the various types of Scots song
  • the distinctive song traditions of particular areas of Scotland
  • ideas of the “oral tradition”
  • the influence of print and recorded media on Scots song traditions
  • the recently-digitised resources which help to underpin the study and learning of Scots song
  • the importance of the Scottish Travellers in preserving traditional songs
  • how Scots song is used in the 21st century.

12.5 The importance of Scottish travellers in preserving traditional songs

Further research