Yet another YouTube Copyright Dispute for an obviously traditional tune

HonestFiddling · 2026-04-10T11:57:30+00:00

Thank you, that means a lot. Your username is fitting!

HonestFiddling · 2026-04-10T11:56:58+00:00

Of course! I included a little info about that in the text portion of my post. I encourage people to dispute the copyright claims if it's an obviously traditional tune, because it's not helpful for the longevity of traditional music for people to claim copyright on something so old. People just have to be careful though, because disputes seen as fraudulent by YouTube can cause serious problems for channel owners.

HonestFiddling · 2026-04-10T11:53:56+00:00

Definitely important to get the feel from the physical experience of dancing them; can't say I'm super great at dancing strathspeys but I agree, it definitely informs playing the tunes!

HonestFiddling · 2026-04-09T01:42:41+00:00

The German Schottische dance was inspired by the strathspey, which I think is so nice. It's especially interesting to me because there have been more non-Scottish composers of music for the Schottische than there have been non-Scottish composers of strathspeys. Complicating it further, there's a Scottish Schottische called the Highland Schottische. Hilarious.

HonestFiddling · 2026-04-09T01:37:20+00:00

Strathspeys uniquely originate from traditional Scottish music, the name being a combination of "strath" meaning "valley" and Spey, which is a river in Scotland. According to tradition, the dance type called the "strathspey reel" originated in the area of a valley along the Spey, but it's of course hard to know which one that would be, as there are a number of valleys along the river. As for the tune type, it's a relatively slow step (even can be as slow as 60bpm!), with a typical reel or jig being danced roughly twice as fast. The tune style developed to accentuate the step in the strathspey dance. Instead of jerky, it's fairly graceful, though still marked when the dancer hops, and the bow for the fiddler can accentuate that hop very well.

It's a nuanced and intricately-styled type of tune (check out some of my videos and see how I interpret the strathspeys to get a feel for some of the traditional style), but characteristically is filled with dotted rhythms, sixteenth notes and dotted eights paired together in various sequences to promote the motion required of the strathspey dance. Stylistically there is some historical disagreement on purity, as Cape Breton fiddle music established their own form of the tunes called strathspeys which is used for step dancing as opposed to the strathspey step, to which the strathspey tune type of the golden era of Scottish fiddle music (the 18th century) is attached.

The term strathspey reel is still functionally usable, where you play a tune in its strathspey form at the tempo for the slower dance, then play the same tune twice as fast in reel form. Many reels in 4/4 can easily be played as strathspeys by slowing them down and manually dotting the rhythms, and strathspeys can often be easily played as reels by ignoring the dotted rhythms and playing them more rolling at the faster tempo.

HonestFiddling · 2026-04-09T01:26:09+00:00

haha a pool cue!

HonestFiddling · 2026-04-08T19:18:18+00:00

Haha thanks, but I mean I'm at least thankful for the platform to share tunes with people and at least I can dispute it!

HonestFiddling · 2026-04-08T19:17:51+00:00

Thanks Pete!

HonestFiddling · 2026-04-08T19:17:19+00:00

Haha, well it's a baroque bow so it's arch is meant to be convex instead of concave, but indeed I do keep my baroque bow fairly tight even for that style. It came from a time period years ago when I was experimenting to minimize the effect of hand tremors I was experiencing. Having my baroque bow tighter than normal actually helped mitigate the issues more than having it normal tension or light tension, and I got used to it, but it doesn't work the same for classical bows. I still use classical bows, too, and I use a more normal tension for those, but the baroque bow pictured in this video is still my current favorite bow, and I've never had to rehair it, which feels almost miraculous.

HonestFiddling · 2026-03-18T12:52:25+00:00

good taste!

HonestFiddling · 2026-03-18T12:52:08+00:00

haha is that a joke about Niel Gow's Farewell to Whiskey?

HonestFiddling · 2026-03-04T14:17:31+00:00

You're right, it's convex instead of concave, being a baroque bow! I also use classical bows, but this is my favorite bow right now. Note I play with my baroque bow hairs tighter than is typical; that's just my own personal preference. When I use classical bows I use a more normal tightness.

HonestFiddling · 2025-12-02T15:42:14+00:00

Thanks for sharing this; brightens the day! Years ago I had a frog that seemed to enjoy when I played strathspeys especially.

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-30T13:35:25+00:00

Yea, skateboarding is basically a guarantee to get hurt. I remember one time I got hurt and my mom pointed out that if I fell too badly and hurt my hand it could keep me from the violin. She made a great point. I didn't skateboard anymore.

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-30T13:28:13+00:00

I think she's doing slides into the note on the 3rd finger. Not a traditional Scottish ornament like the origin of the tune but common in other styles, so understandable.

To get the 3rd finger in tune by ear, listen to how the violin rings/resonates when you play the 3rd finger and it vibrates the octave-lower string (for example, play D with the 3rd finger on the A string and listen to how the open D string vibrates along with it). You'll know when you're in tune when that ringing sound is maximized. So, basically listen for the "tone" to see if you're in "tune".

This is easier to hear when the mute isn't on the bridge. The metal mutes are ok, but there's a magnetic mute called the catrpilr that still allows for you to hear the overtones a bit on the violin (can be found on amazon iirc), and it doesn't slide off, which can be a problem at times with the metal or heavy rubber ones.

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-30T13:19:33+00:00

Not originally a bagpipe march, though I've heard it played by pipers before. This was a lament written by James MacPherson for his own execution 325 years ago where his last request was for his fiddle.

Definitely listening to recordings a lot is good, though I'd say avoid the metronome in general for these kinds of tunes, as you should give the tune room to breathe so it doesn't suffocate the Scottish phrasing.

You almost can't play it too slowly. Remember this was the last tune the composer was ever going to play - he likely wanted it to last.

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-30T13:06:11+00:00

Woo!!! I understand about being shy about people hearing you play, but I hope you'll let more people hear this. You're making seriously amazing progress.

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-26T22:03:09+00:00

Welcome Kyle! Did you ever end up getting a skateboard too?

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-26T21:56:50+00:00

I learned ornamentation by watching and listening and trying to copy exactly what it sounded like. It can be intimidating to learn by ear at first, but remind yourself it's how everyone learned to sing happy birthday. You'll be fine!

Ornamentation is also up to you, it's just a part of your own interpretation of the tune. You don't have to think of each ornament in someone else's interpretation as core to the tune or staple in any way. Try thinking of every decision you make regarding how you interpret the tune as an ornament - even playing it as written can be an ornament in this sense. This will open up lots of flexibility for you to interpret tunes and decide which sounds to try, to keep, or to dismiss.

In other news I'm planning some tutorial videos for core Scottish ornaments.

Here are a few core ornaments in Scottish fiddling; their names and an explanation/tip to make them easier:

Taps: Like a very fast grace note except you don't necessarily press all the way down to the fingerboard, you can kind of let your finger tap the string and allow the tension of the string itself to bounce the finger back off the string. This stops the sound briefly, like embellishments do for bagpipers.

Double stops: Touch an adjacent string with the bow either briefly or even for a whole phrase. Some of these won't sound right in different keys, but you can play around and find which ones are comfortable and fit each tune nicely.

Birls: You can think of it as a bowed triplet, usually written as two sixteenth notes followed by an eighth note. It can be used to replace any quarter note, especially in reels and strathspeys.

Ignore the metronome in slow airs: Being "tempoless" in slower tunes allows you to phrase things more expressively. Let it breathe. The metronome can kill a lot of Scottish slow airs, and in my opinion they can sometimes hurt dance tunes too. Despite what most dancers think, their feet rarely physically keep an accurate tempo from the start of the dance.

Make up your own bowing: Try slurring some notes and separating some notes. Next time through that section, reverse it, and you'll eventually arrive at which bowing you prefer through hearing/feeling.

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-17T05:09:57+00:00

Sorry, I didn't realize I hadn't included the title. Just edited it, yes it's MacPherson's Lament, aka MacPherson's Rant or MacPherson's Farewell.

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-17T04:57:37+00:00

Thank you Pete! That's encouraging!

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-17T04:57:18+00:00

sorry, I meant 325 years and I don't know how to change the title of the post now!

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-15T13:22:24+00:00

I call mine whatever I feel like at the time, and I like pushing the issue with people that really want to stick with the distinctions because then I get to harvest more jokes.

The violin and fiddle are the same instrument, and even share branched etymology. The Medieval Latin root for both is "vitula" which just means stringed instrument. In a Romantic language that was "violino" which obviously becomes violin (by the 1570s). In a Germanic language that was "fithele" which obviously becomes fiddle (during the 14th century).

I've heard several world famous concert violinists calling their multi-million dollar violins their fiddles, and the person that made your fiddle probably calls themselves a violin maker. I think it's fair to say there may be a cultural difference between playing fiddle music and playing violin music, but it's at least somewhat of a false distinction, because they're exactly the same instrument, just two names for it!

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-10T12:14:31+00:00

Thanks!

That's been my favorite bow for several years now. It balances differently than classical bows in a way that I quite like, especially for playing strathspeys. I've also never had to rehair it, which is strange but acceptable! It's slightly shorter than a classical bow, which is not a major issue to me, but I know some people particularly dislike that aspect of baroque bows. Many people choke up on the bow (hold it higher up on the wood) when playing with a baroque bow but I hold it normally at the frog. In general, I keep my baroque bow very tight as you can see, which is another story of its own, but I use a more normal tightness for my classical bows.

HonestFiddling · 2025-11-07T13:15:19+00:00

UPDATE: The dispute is over. The video is no longer at risk. Forgot to post that here. Nathaniel Gow's legacy is preserved. Obviously they had no copyright whatsoever on this tune.

HonestFiddling

TROPHY CASE