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Although most discussion of Gaelic Song centres around its most distinctive forms - Vocal Dance and Work Music, it is the slower Gaelic Songs which are the best loved music of the Gael. Many of these songs have been passed down from the older traditions described in the previous pages; others are the products of Village Bards, which until comparatively recently, could be found in every township throughout the islands. The bard was very much a part of island culture and song-smithing was not considered in any way an unusual activity. The First War brought to an end many Gaelic customs, including extensive village songwriting, although the tradition is not entirely dead. Until the recent advent of recording technology, songs were passed orally from generation to generation and were subject to interpretation, flexibility and recomposition.
The songs are often masterpieces in miniature. Their minimalist melodies purged of unnecessary notes to give perfect, pure music. Good examples are Cadal chan faigh mi or Oran Chalum Sgaire shown later. The first consists of a melody only 23 notes long and the second only 27 notes. Some might classify such melodies as "simple", but in reality, it takes much greater skill to craft an exquisite short melody than an overblown complex one. Much of the quality of the songs lies in their honesty and this shines through in both lyrics and music. Take for example Oran Chalum Sgaire mentioned above, this song was written by a man with an intimate knowledge and love of the sea and the joy of running before a favourable wind and tide is immediately recognisable by anyone who has experienced sailing:
Dh?fhalbh is ghluais i leinn dhachaidh Is chuir i chuirst ud air Arcaidh Cruinn ura 's Siuil gheala Tide mhara 's i leinn Free translation She left and moved homewards Setting her course by Orkney With new mast and white sails and the force of the sea with her
Chalum Sgaire (Calum MacAuley) lived in the Uig district of Lewis and left on an ship bound for the Americas in the 1850s, never to return. The songs are often the result of profound personal experience. A typical example is: O'n dh'fhag thu mi 's mulad orm which was written by a sailor, Norman Murray. Norman's sweetheart, Jessie Montgomery, along with another girl, Effie MacDonald, was drowned in the Creed river in 1870. On hearing of her death, Norman composed the song and gave it to Jessie's mother on his return to the island. He returned to sea but died himself on that same trip. Such heartbreaking stories lie behind many songs and it would take an entire book to relate the most interesting. It is this truthfulness, born of real experience, whether it be during the Jacobite rebellions or the Highland Clearances, which gives Gaelic music its true purity.
A handful of songs demonstrate such a complete synthesis of melody and poetry that they transcend mere music. These songs are the pinnacle of the Gaelic tradition and thankfully some are being written even today, Cearcall a' chuain is a fitting example. Indeed, one little recognised fact is that many of the greatest songs are comparatively modern, usually written in the last 100 years. Examples include Eilean Fhraoich, An ataireachd ard, Coill' an Fhasaich and many others. Looking at the latest edition of the Eilean Fraoich collection of popular Lewis songs we can establish dates for many of the examples as shown below:
Date Percentage Pre 1800 1.5 1800-1850 5.5 1850-1900 26 1900-1950 35.5 Later 8 Undated (usually early) 23.5
The subjects vary greatly - songs exist on almost every theme imaginable. The most popular are Love, Homeland, The Sea and Nature (of course, some cover several themes). Taking again Eilean Fraoich, the main subjects we find here are:
Theme Percentage Love 28 Homeland or nature 23 Loss of homeland 13 Sea and sailing 12 Happy songs 10 War 6.5 Laments 4.5 Personal praise 3
Let us now turn to the detailed structure of the music. Although this will be discussed in the particular context of the Gaelic Songs of the Village Tradition, the musical conclusions apply equally to the other forms discussed in the other pages (subject to the comments made in these pages). We will start our exploration with rhythm.
Listen to any traditional Gaelic singer and you will find that most of the songs in the "village tradition" which are not Puirt a Beul (mouth music) or Orain Luaidh (work music) do not have regular beat in the conventional sense. Indeed, some do not appear to have any rhythm at all. However, the rhythm-less songs are not in the majority, most appear to have some sort of regular pulse, although this is flexible and changes through the piece.
One has to listen quite carefully to hear what is actually happening in such music. The songs themselves are often written down in 6 or 3 time and when played in strict time like this (for example as a "Gaelic Waltz" by a Scottish dance band), they sound perfectly tuneful. So one is forced, therefore, to the conclusion that although they are not sung in exact rhythm, there is a rhythmic backbone from which the singer deviates or treats flexibly during performance (this also applies to Ceol Mor pipe music). Indeed, further analysis shows this to be the case. A singer will typically slow down to emphasise notes or phrases. Sometimes this is because of the lyrics, but often it is a reflection of the melody. This feature adds a beautiful phrasing to the song which is quite lost when played instrumentally in strict time or sung to a rhythmic backing track. However, it can make listening difficult for those more accustomed to the robotic pulse of modern popular music or even older "art" music.
More often perhaps, a song has a relatively regular pulse, but the singer will put the strong beat on different notes in different bars. This leads to a feeling that the song is moving between different related times, for example 3 and 6 and then back to 3 within a few bars (without shifting tempo). Note that this is not syncopation, as the rhythm does not change against a constant background. One can therefore best describe the rhythmic element as "flexible".
Shown below are the beginnings of two versions of the song: Fail o-ro mar dh'fhag sinn, one as notated in Margaret Fay Shaw's collection "Folksongs and Folklore from South Uist" and the other from the "Eilean Fraoich" collection. The melody in both cases is basically the same and both written versions are undoubtedly correct. However, each singer has put a quite different emphasis on accents and so we are left with two quite distinct versions of the same tune. Indeed even singers within the same district can give a song quite a different "spin". One might actually say, that although melody and note lengths are important in Gaelic song, exact rhythm in terms of regular accent patterns is much less so.
The most common "backbone" times for songs of the "village tradition" are 6 or 3, but about 20% are based in 2 or 4 time (and more in older songs), adding variety to the mix.
Most notators choose to ignore the deviations from time signature in a singers interpretation - for good reasons, if each singer has a different interpretation, there is no "definitive" version of a song. However, there are possibly three ways of recording this accurately if required. Firstly, to use phrasing or pause marks to show that a note or phrase may be interpreted freely. Secondly, to change the time signature from bar to bar (this is occasionally done in collections, but leaves the music rather difficult to play). The third method is to miss out bar lines altogether and put accent marks over strong notes. One has to say however, that none of these methods is perfect and the true feeling of a song may only really be expressed by listening to it - in this way the "oral tradition" is a more accurate transmitter of music that any written method.
It is quite noticeable that, in early recordings, for example those made by the School of Scottish Studies, the rhythm used to sing songs was more free than at present. One can only assume that popular music or the example set by the Mod and accompanied Gaelic folkgroups has lead to this degradation. Along with rhythm, the other important element of melody is the scale in which the song is composed, let us now turn our attention to this element.
There are three scales commonly used in modern Hebridean Gaelic song, but the most important and characteristic is a six-note scale which, for lack of a better term, is referred to here as the "Gaelic scale". Most authors, when discussing Gaelic music, dismiss this scale as an extension of the Pentatonic or an alteration of the standard Major by flattening its seventh degree. However the scale is much more fundamental then that and the sound and feeling are quite different from both the Pentatonic and Modal.
Many classic Gaelic songs employ the Gaelic scale, including: Eilean an Fhaoich, An Ataireachd Ard, Tom an t-Searaich, Mo Run Geal Dileas, An t-Eilean Muileach, Uibhist nam Beann Ard and hundreds of others.
The scale has the pattern T T S T T (T+S) which may be arranged in six different ways:
1. T T S T T (T+S) 2. T S T T (T+S) T 3. S T T (T+S) T T 4. T T (T+S) T T S 5. T (T+S) T T S T 6. (T+S) T T S T T
About 40% of the songs using this scale have too weak a tonality to attribute them to one these. This often gives the music a slightly "wandering" feel, which can impart great beauty. An excellent example of this is Orain Chalum Sgaire shown below:
By studying the melody in this example we can see why the tonality is weak. The tune returns to each of the three circled notes once without giving any of them a particular priority which would make it a tonic note. This is helped by the construction of melody which avoids phrases which would emphasise one particular note over another (this practice of returning to, or emphasising two or sometimes three notes rather than a single tonic is common in all Gaelic music).
About 60% of the Gaelic songs using the scale have a medium to strong tonality achieved by returning to the tonic, using other melody notes or more commonly melodic runs to set the tonic in context. A good example of this type of tune is Nochadh ri beanntan na Hearadh shown below
The ringed notes are the tonic, in this case set in context by the run of notes circled. The melodic construction of songs using this scale is such that, even for these with strong tonality, the tonic is usually not as important as in, for example, the major scale. The perfect 5th dominant is usually the second strongest note in song with the subdominant 4th taking rather a back seat. Of these tunes which do have an obvious tonic, most (about 55%) use scale 1 or 2 shown above, although the other scales are also well represented except for number 3 which is never used.
Some tunes which appear at first sight to be Gaelic actually have something of a Pentatonic feel to them. This is because the semitone interval is not used in the construction of the melody. An example of this the previous tune. Such tunes, which use six notes, but not the defining semitone, have hybrid characteristics and sound in-between the Pentatonic and Gaelic scale. About 10% of Gaelic or Modal songs fall into this category. When this and other issues are taken into account the Gaelic or closely related scales is used in approximately 45% of all modern songs and the Pentatonic in about 40%.
The second characteristic scale used in modern Gaelic song is the Pentatonic. Gaelic songs using the Pentatonic scale often have a refreshingly clear and uncluttered feel about them. In some ways they sound less sophisticated than their Modal or Gaelic scale counterparts. However, in the right type of tune this clarity is often very effective. Many Pentatonic songs have a "Gaelic" feel about them which is quite different to the equally strong Gaelic sound of melodies composed using the Modal or Gaelic scales. This would suggest that there are several melodic constructs which can give the "Gaelic Sound".
As with Gaelic scale, there are many classic Pentatonic songs, good examples are: Tionndaidh am bat', Mo chridhe trom 's dulich leam, A ribhinn og bheil cuimhn' agad, A Pheigi a ghraidh and Caol Muile. The scale follows the pattern T T (T+S) T (T+S) which may be arranged in five different ways:
1. T (T+S) T T (T+S) 2. (T+S) T T (T+S) T 3. T T (T+S) T (T+S) 4. T (T+S) T (T+S) T 5. (T+S) T (T+S) T T
In theory, the pentatonic scale should have weaker tonality than either the Modal or the Gaelic scales. But in reality, this is not usually the case, about 40% of Pentatonic songs have weak tonality and about 60% medium to strong. As an example of a song with strong tonality, consider Ho - ri, Ho - ro mo nionag shown below.
The melody achieves its strong tonality through its construction, continuously returning to the tonic, thereby emphasising it. On the other hand Tir nam beann ard is a Pentatonic song of weaker tonality, shown below. The same reasoning as given for weakly tonal Gaelic scale tunes also apply in this example.
Of the songs with a strong tonality, patterns 3 and 4 above account for 85% of the melodies (equally divided). Rather strangely, the most important secondary notes are often either the 3rd or 4th rather than the dominant.
The third and final scale in common use is the Modal. Modal scales are perhaps the most distinctive European scales and include the familiar Major and Natural Minor. They follow the pattern T T S T T T S, which may be arranged in one of seven different ways, called modes, as shown below.
Mode Pattern 1. Dorian T S T T T S T 2. Phygian S T T T S T T 3. Lydian T T T S T T S 4. Mixolydian T T S T T S T 5. Aeolian T S T T S T T (Natural minor) 6. Ionian T T S T T T S (Major) 7. Locian S T T S T T T
The modal Gaelic songs include: Eilean beag donn a' chuain, Togail curs air leodhas, Ghruagach og an fhuilt bhain, Moladh na Lanndaidh and Muile nam fuar-beann mor.
About 25% of modal songs have weak tonality and 75% medium to strong. This is more than those using the Gaelic or Pentatonic scales. However, when considering modal songs, one must exercise care, because as mentioned in the section on the Gaelic scale, some tunes which appear at first sight Modal actually have more of a Pentatonic feel as they don't include semitone intervals. Others include either an upper or lower semitone, but not both, and have more the feeling of the Gaelic scale (apart from this, they also contain the melodic structures of the other scale). These hybrid melodies have some characteristics of both scales, the example below shows this.
When these characteristics are taken into account, only about 15% of modern Gaelic songs are purely modal. Almost all of these are constructed out of four modes: Dorian (33%), Mixolydian (33%), Aeolian (9%) and Ionian (20%). The Lydian and Phrygian account for the remaining 5%. Some of the 25% of tonally weak modal tunes are the Pentatonic or Gaelic scale hybrids.
The Dorian and to a slightly lesser extent the Mixolydian modes have a very Gaelic feel about them and songs in the Gaelic scale sometimes use intervals which relate them to the Dorian, indeed the Gaelic / Modal hybrid above is just such a tune. Shown below are typical examples of tunes in the "big three" modes - the Dorian, Ionian and Mixolydian. The songs are Fail o - ro mar dh'fhag sinn, Steornabhagh mor a chaisteil and An teid thu leam air bharr nan tonnan.
Other Scales occur rarely in modern Scottish Gaelic music (but more commonly in Irish and Manx music and in early collections of Scottish Gaelic song). About 5% of all songs use various types of irregular scale which are difficult to identify, however most of these show a strong influence from one of the common scales. Occasional tunes also have transmutable notes in their scales where two teracords are joined.
One exception to the above rule is the use, mostly in the Uists, of an unusual scale, which, in Scotland, seems to be largely confined to these islands (although at least one well known Lewis and one Tiree song also use it). The scale has the pattern:
T T S T (T+S) T
and is almost always used in that sequence (although in a couple of songs the order is exactly reversed). Like the other scales, music written using the Uist scale has a unique sound. The effect is actually rather surprising and the feeling is quite unlike the smooth flow of the other scales discussed. About 10 - 15% of Uist songs use this scale. An example is Taladh ar slanair given below.
At the end of the day, what gives a Gaelic song its unique sound? The rhythm and scale are certainly important, they create a particular "sound world", which gives the music a certain feel. However, they are not the complete story. The shape and construction of the melody is also important. This is what differentiates a Pentatonic Gaelic song from a Pentatonic African one.
Within Gaelic song, many types of melodic shape are used freely. One can find smoothly shaped melodies or others which step around quite erratically. Some songs are through composed, no section repeating, others repeat phrases in forms such as ABAC and many others. Transposed, inverted and altered phrases are all common. In fact, one is struck more by the shear inventiveness of the traditional composers than by anything else. There is no statistically significant pattern of repetition of melodic shape in Gaelic song of the Village Tradition (although older song and other forms such as Oran Luaidh are more stylised).
To find unique patterns in melodic construction, one must turn to the intervals used in melodic construction. The table below shows the important melodic intervals used in song construction (as a percentage of total intervals in the range).
The only important interval not shown in the table above is the octave jump, which sometimes occurs.
Several interesting conclusions can be drawn from the figure. Firstly, we can see than the interval of a tone (T) is the most important. This is followed by the tone plus semitone (T+S). We shall see shortly that these intervals are defining in the "Gaelic Sound". Notice also, that with the exception of 2T, the whole tone intervals (3T, 4T and 5T) are less important than the semitone plus tone intervals (T+S, 2T+S, 3T+S, etc). The pattern of intervals used may well originate in the unique melodic construction of the Gaelic language itself.
From the figure, it is easy to spot the defining differences between the scales. For example, the use of the semitone (S) and minor third (T+S) differentiates the Modal scale from the other two - and so on. These differences explain the differences in sound between the scales.
We can enquire further into the Gaelic sound by picking songs with strongly characteristic Gaelic sounding melodies and investigating what they have in common. For example, consider the melodic extracts from the songs Coinnichidh mi an gleann an fhaoich, 'Se Siabost as boidhche, Saoil an till mi chaoidh shown below. These sections of the songs have a particularly "Gaelic" feel to them.
We can clearly see that the melody is basically constructed from the intervals T and T+S, with 2T playing a role, but with less of a distinctive feel. 2T+S also has a Gaelic sound. The intervals are not just used in the construction of the melody- phrases transposed upwards or downwards are usually moved by one of these distinctive intervals. Natural pauses or cadences in the music are, in contrast of other musical traditions, usually approached stepwise as shown above. The distinctive cadences of Western music (Plagal, etc) play little role.
Of course, not all Gaelic songs follow exactly this pattern. Not all Gaelic songs, even some of the most Beautiful classics, have a particularly Gaelic feel to them - such is the wonderful variety in the music. However, the most characteristically distinctive Gaelic melodies generally do.
Before leaving this discussion of melody, one must mention the effect of performance. Although some authorities talk of "Grace notes" used in Gaelic song, in fact short decorative notes (familiar from piping) are not that widely used in performance. The most striking decorative feature is the use of Portamento - that is the "bending" or "sliding" of one note into another (often in Gaelic song, without sounding each distinctly - adding to the rhythmical ambiguity). This trait is most obvious in Gaelic Psalm singing, but is present in most traditional performances of song. One note may rise to another, fall or vary around the note before coming to rest. The effect is quite impossible to notate and must be heard. Modern recordings and Mod singing are effectively purged of the old style of singing - much to their detriment.
So what makes a "typical" Gaelic Song? Well, it probably has a loose rhythm based on 3 or 6 beats in the bar. It is written using the Gaelic scale, possibly in a form related to the Dorian, for example T T S T T (T+S) and is largely constructed from the intervals T, T+S and 2T moving stepwise towards cadences.
The songs arising from the traditional bardic culture of the Gael are discussed in other pages. In the sixteenth century, vernacular non-bardic forms of poetry and song started to become more common. Poets and songwriters such as Mairi Nighean Alasdair Ruaidh, Donnchadh Ban Mac an t-Saoir and Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair were composing songs on personal themes as opposed to the praise poetry of earlier times. Thus, in the earlier classic texts such as, "The book of the Dean of Lismore", we don't find what might be termed "folksong" as such, but rather the product of trained professional bards. The earlier writers such as those mentioned above, tended to be strongly influenced by bardic tradition and forms. This influence gradually waned in later centuries.
Struggle and trauma were often the catalyst of great song. As such, a flowering took place around the Jacobite risings (the results of which Simon Fraser set out to catalogue in his important collection). After the Forty-Five and Culloden came The Highland Clearances and a struggle for land rights which produced a great wealth of song and also a great song-writer- Mairi Mor nan Orain. Mairi Mor was born in Skye in 1821 and died in 1898. She started composing in her 50s and from then until her death, she produced some of the most beautiful songs in Gaelic on a wide range of subjects. She was a leading figure in the battle for crofter?s rights. Her songs include Nuair bha mi og, Eilean a Cheo and many others.
After the clearances, emigration continued and became a focus of material in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many songs were written from the point of view of the emigrant, for example, O mo dhuthaich. Others from the perspective of those left behind eg Fuadach nan Gaidheal or even those who returned home to find their way of life gone eg An ataireachd ard.
Around this time the influence of popular music and the music hall made its way into Gaelic music. The result was some rather well crafted (and still popular) songs. These however lacked the honesty of the true village compositions. This development was fuelled by a revival of interest in Gaelic caused by collectors and arrangers such as Majory Kennedy Fraser, one example of a writer in this tradition was Fonn (Henry Whyte).
One of the most interesting song-writers of the 20th century was "The Melbost bard" Murchadh MacPharlain, a native of Lewis. His style differed considerably from that of the other village bards, who mainly composed songs about local events and characters. Murdo's topics included issues such as atomic war and social justice - although he also composed many works on more traditional themes. He was not an instrumentalist and his melodies are usual, displaying great invention, as is sometimes the case with composers not restricted by actually playing an instrument. Many of the melodies in fact do not fall easily into the conventional Gaelic melodic idioms. The Gaelic folkgroup Na h-Oganaich performed many of his songs and they (and he) had a strong influence on the Gaelic rock-band Runrig and its writers Calum and Rory MacDonald. More will be said on this topic in other pages.
The role of great singers and their interpretation of Gaelic songs are often ignored. But, as is the case with other types of music, the singer often "makes" the song through inspired performance. It is often amusing to listen to radio presenters pontificating about a few great Gaelic singers when there are still great singers in many villages. However, each generation throws up a few who decide to pursue singing in a public arena and make a career from it.
Gaelic song has been recorded since the beginning of commercial gramophone records. The style of the early "78" recordings wouldn't have been out of place in an Edwardian drawing room, they had a stilted pseudo-operatic style which was influenced by collectors and performers such as Marjory Kennedy Fraser. Although the melodies were preserved in these recordings, the songs were placed out of context.
A later generation of singers included some of the finest male Gaelic voices yet recorded. Examples included Norman MacLean and Calum Kennedy. Although these had a more natural approach to the material, they were still somewhat influenced by the Drawing room style and often used a overpowering almost orchestral accompaniment in their recordings which offends the modern ear. At the same time however, influential singers in a much more traditional medium, such as Flora MacNeil, were starting to appear. Others included Willie John MacAuley and Angus MacLeod. These recordings are not well represented on current media, although second hand records may still be come by.
Today there are many fine singers (although most are female). For example, Christine Primrose and Ishbel MacAskill of Lewis. These ladies played a vital part in bringing classic Gaelic tunes from their island into a more public domain. Others, such as Cathy-Ann MacPhee and Flora MacNeil have done the same for other islands, in this case Barra. Some of these singers have taken songs, made them their own, and produced definitive versions. Once one has heard Cathy-Ann MacPhee singing Cearcall a Chuain or Christine Primrose singing Orain Calum Sgaire, there is almost no point in listening to other versions!
Gaelic song performance (unlike composition) is in good shape today. There are still many traditional singers on the major islands and an up and coming generation of public performers bringing the art forward. Important younger singers include Fiona MacKenzie and her sisters from Lewis and Wilma and Mary-Ann Kennedy from Glasgow.
Irish Gaelic song is the most obvious tradition with which we can compare Hebridean song. A direct comparison is not easy however. The Gaelic speaking areas of Ireland are much more diverse than those that remain in Scotland and each region has developed its own set of complex and diverse song traditions. The tradition in Cork, for example, is quite different from that in Conamara or Donegal. To do justice to the Irish tradition we would require a page this size for each of the separate areas.
However, we can make a few general remarks. Many of the Irish traditions have more elaborate melodic decoration that is in use in Scotland. In some cases one can almost hear a resemblance to Hebridean Psalm singing. The Donegal region is probably the closest to the Hebridian tradition, which in comparison is relatively "Plain".
In some ways Irish Gaelic song is less developed than its Scottish Gaelic counterpart. It lacks the great body of Working Songs and Vocal Dance Music so evident in the Scottish tradition and is generally less well differentiated. The subject matter of the songs is similarly more restricted. This is in contrast with Irish instrumental music which is more developed than Scottish. This might be as result of more access to musical instruments in Ireland (Vocal dance music may have developed due to a lack of access to instruments).
Song structure varies from place to place, but looking at a typical collection, for example Ceol na Gael, there are two musical features which stand out. Firstly, there are more scales which fall into the "irregular" category. The "Uist" scale mentioned earlier is present along with other unusual scales some of which have a pattern of intervals consisting of a semitone followed by a minor third (S T+S) which is not found in most modern Scottish Gaelic music. Irish composers are also fond of gapped scales with two tone (2T) intervals. The second interesting feature is the lack of Pentatonic songs in the music. More will be added about this later. In the collection mentioned above (which includes songs from all over Ireland) the scales used are:
Modal 61% Gaelic 25% Pentatonic 3% Irregular 11%
Some songs, especially in the Southern Irish traditions, have a distinctive "Irish" feel about them which is not present in the Scottish songs. This indicates the presence of a unique melodic structure. Interestingly, this feel has carried over into some of the English songs from the same regions, something which has generally not happened in Scotland.
The other major tradition which may be directly compared is that of the Manx. There are many beautiful Manx Gaelic melodies and if one is not familiar with these treasures, they are well worth the effort. Manx song is very similar to Hebridean. In fact most Manx melodies would sit very comfortably in a Scottish Gaelic context.
Manx has always suffered from its written form, which separates it from both Irish and Scottish Gaelic, this has meant that the huge common store of folklore available to both Irish and Scottish readers of Gaelic is inaccessible from Manx (and vice versa). As long as this continues to be the case Manx will be essentially isolated from the rest of the Gaelic world - something which a world as rapidly shrinking as Gaelic?s cannot afford. Manx and Scottish Gaelic are not mutually intelligible. Their grammar is almost exactly the same, but many of the words either have more in common with (now dead) eastern Irish dialects or have diverged significantly from Scottish Gaelic.
Although the "Manx sound" is very similar to Hebridean Gaelic song, the differences mentioned in the Irish context also hold: there are more irregular melodies (of a similar kind to the Irish) and a lack of pentatonic. Studying the songs in the Kiaull Yn Theay collection we find the following scales:
Gaelic 27% Modal 54% Pentatonic 5% Irregular 14%
The lack of Pentatonic scales in Irish and Manx music is interesting. It disproves a connection between the Gaelic Scale and the Pentatonic which some writers had postulated. Also as mentioned in the other pages, Pentatonic songs are rare or absent in early collections, such as Simon Fraser's. This would seem to suggest that the Pentatonic Scale is a late import into Scottish Gaelic music. But where could it have come from? Two suggestions are: i) From the Lowland tradition via East coast fishermen in the Herring trade or ii) From the piping tradition. The latter of the these two is more likely, since pentatonic are common in piping and there is good evidence to suggest that piping is an import to the Highlands, possibly from mainland Europe. Either way, the arrival of pentatonic is interesting as it demonstrates a continuing (even rapid) evolution of the music, right up to modern times, something which A.A Whyte also found in her study of metre in Gaelic song (evolving in this case from simple single lines to more complex forms).
