Scottish Fire: Traditional and Original Tunes for Fiddle from 1762 to the Present

Bonnie Rideout

Oct 2010 · Mel Bay Publications

About this ebook

The fiddle has been popular in Scotland for over 500 years as an accompanying instrument for dance and song. Bonnie Rideout has been playing traditional Scottish fiddle music since the 1980s. This collection presents favorite tunes which Bonnie had stashed away over the years while awaiting the perfect opportunity to record them. The music written here ranges from J. Scott Skinner's Dr. Gordon Stable (a wonderful fiery reel she once played to garner her first national fiddling title as a young teenager), to Fear A Bhata (a heartbreaking air she has known as long as she can remember). These Scottish fiddle selections have been carefully transcribed from Bonnie's recording Scottish Fire. It would be impossible to write down all her bowings and every grace note, especially since they are not always consistent from one playing to the next. Readers should use this book as a basis for exploring their own voice within the music.

About the author

Bonnie Rideout's unique style of Scottish fiddling has charmed audiences across the globe. Bonnie has been featured on the BBC, CBS, NPR's Performance Today, Morning Edition, and The Thistle and Shamrock. In addition to authoring seven music books for Mel Bay Publishing Company, Bonnie has recorded over fifteen solo albums and appeared as a guest musician on dozens of CDs with Sony, BMG, Time-Life, Ryco Disc, Dorian, Rounder Records, and Maggie's Music. In 2003, she incorporated her own record label, Tulloch Music, Ltd. Her A Scottish Christmas CD became a New York Times "Top Ten Holiday Best Seller". Its success prompted a touring show that has sold out halls across North America for over a decade. Over a million viewers have attended her North American concerts, which in addition to her holiday shows include RANT, Caledonia, and the Bonnie Rideout Scottish Trio. Her popular recording, Gi'Me Elbow Room received the National Parent's Choice Gold Award. In 2007, the Mel Bay Publishing Company credited Bonnie as one of America's top ten most influential traditional fiddlers of the 20th century. Three of her recordings received GRAMMY nominations and she has been active with the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), having served on the Board of Governors for the Washington D.C. branch. Ms. Rideout is the only American to hold the honor of representing Scottish fiddle music at the prestigious Edinburgh International Festival. She is the first woman to hold the national Scottish fiddle title and the youngest to have garnered the U.S. Championship, winning it for three consecutive years. Bonnie discontinued competing to become an adjudicator and professional recording artist and has maintained a consistently high profile in the Celtic music scene for almost thirty years.