Musicians in Scotland, ca 1630 by David Vavreck   August 2005

Contents Introduction and Bylaws Interpretive Clothing Scottish Culture History Music and Dance Military Life Language Bibliography, Sources and Library Materials

There were many varieties of musician in our period and place;  then as now, there were many more amateurs than professionals.  Recorded music not being an option, most everyone was able and willing to sing or play for themselves and each other.  One of the favorite pastimes in period was the singing of part songs - especially in taverns.  People spent much more of their spare time than we do making music - they were raised doing so - so they were capable of performing fairly complex music even without formal training. Common instruments amongst amateurs included fiddles (very different from violins), lutes, and various woodwinds including recorders, whistles, fifes, and tabor pipes. Barber shops commonly had a cittern - picture a mandolin on steroids - hanging on the wall for customers to amuse themselves and each other while waiting their turn for a trim. Other places that amateur music appeared was labor songs (especially while doing repetitive tasks such as wauking wool, rowing a boat, and such), marching songs to relieve that monotony, mothers singing lullabies, or people simply breaking into song just for the heck of it.  And of course, there was singing in kirk. Amongst professional musicians, there were many levels, including wandering minstrel types, waits, and court musicians.  Red hats of whatever form were commonly worn by professional musicians throughout northern Europe, which is why I wear a red bonnet when I am portraying a fiddler. By and large, it was not deemed appropriate for women to become professional musicians, although Ireland at least still had keeners - professional mourners - to be hired for funerals. Itinerant (wandering) musicians were the lowest level of professional.  These were men who walked from town to town, village to village, looking for a place to play.  Weddings, wakes, fairs, festivals, and dances were the best gigs.  The musician could be expected to be paid in food and drink, with some extra to tide him over as he walked on to the next village, and possibly a little coin as well.  A documented tip I have seen is the gift of a small silk ribbon, which the musician tied around his pegboard. Although appreciated by the populace both for their entertainment value as well as their being a primary source of news, they were not highly thought of.  The locals kept a sharp eye on their purses and their daughters, and the authorities were nervous about musicians’ tendency to spread dangerous ideas. Failing to find an event to play for, the musician would generally go to the local tavern and offer his services.  Sometimes the tavern keeper would hire him, again in exchange for food and drink - and hopefully a coin or two. Like as not, though, he had to go from table to table, essentially begging for the chance to play.  This put him in danger of being arrested and fined as a vagrant (unemployed person), as well as opening himself up to maltreatment by the villagers, who held him in contempt for his inability to land a gig - not a fun way to spend a Saturday night.  And if the tavern already employed a musician… That’s where the ribbon comes in.  He could sell it when all hope of a gig - and his stash of food - ran out. Such a musician could hope to find regular employment in a tavern, being the period equivalent of a house band.  That would solve the vagrancy problem, make his finances more regular, and save much wear and tear on the feet. A tavern musician, though, was still rather low status. If he was lucky, perhaps he would be “noticed” by someone of means, who would offer extra gigs to play for private parties and such.  And a musician with otherwise steady employment often doubled as a dance master, playing the tunes while calling the dances. If one had the skill, one could audition to join the local town waits.  These were groups of musician/singers hired by municipal governments in many larger towns, and nearly all cities in western Europe.  They played for special occasions such as festivals, fairs, and visits by dignitaries.  They also provided Europe’s first free concerts for the public at large. The waits’ annual pay was not bad, but the benefits were even better.  The instruments - often shawms (early oboes), viols, and horns - were usually paid for by the government.  They often had paid training to increase the variety of instruments they could play, to improve sight reading ability, and to get a solid background in music theory.  Like soldiers, waits were provided with a set of (very distinctive) clothes each year - sometimes a lightweight suit for Summer, and a heavyweight one for Winter.  And the annual pay was more or less a retainer fee.  Every time they were required to play, they got paid for it. And it was easy to get supplemental gigs, music students, etc. while wearing the easily recognizable waits’ clothing, which was proof enough of their ability.  To top it off, appointment to the waits was usually a lifetime contract until one was too old and decrepit to perform any more, in which case one generally got a pension. Apart from studying music at university, about the only way to become a court musician was by being hired away from the waits.  Court musicians were the most learned of the lot.  They commonly sang as well as playing lutes, various keyboard instruments, viols, and sometimes violins, and made much more use of advanced musical techniques such as counterpoint. Scotland’s Royal Court, of course, headed to England with James VI when he became England’s James I in 1603.  After this, the only court musicians in Scotland were harpers and the very occasional bagpiper at local manor houses and such.  Scottish harp culture was already in collapse by this time.  In fact, most of the documented harpers in Scotland in the 17th century were actually émigrés and refugees from Ireland.  And with the wholesale evacuation of the Scottish nobles to England, harpers too often became itinerant as well, landing gigs in manor houses only as long as they were occupied by nobles visiting home from England. Music Education There were numerous routes to gaining instruction in music in our period.  The simplest, and perhaps most common, was simply learning from an older family member.  Amongst the lower sort, this included being taught how to make the instrument itself, as well as replacement strings, tuning pegs, reeds, and the like, and also how to perform simple repairs.  Needless to say, the quality of a folk fiddle does not approach that of a professionally made Guarneri or Amati violin (Stradivarius was after our period). Children who were born blind, or were struck blind by illness or injury, often were sent off to learn the harp from a professional.  The more well-to-do locals would be asked for donations to pay for this opportunity, or the villagers themselves would all pitch in to help the poor unfortunate.  After ten or twenty years of apprenticeship, during which the student studied not only Celtic harp music but music of the ancient world, medieval and renaissance music, and then-current art music from all over Europe, the harper was sent out into the world.  Roughly 90% of documented 16th to 18th century harpers were blind.  Consider it a type of social security.  Beats heck out of being set out with a bowl to beg. If someone showed musical talent at Kirk, the minister might see to it that the child was sent off to a “Sang School” to be educated.  There were several Sang Schoolis in Scotland, that of Aberdeen being the most renowned.  Before it was outlawed by the Presbyterians, the Catholic Church also educated many people in music, both voice and (unlike the Presbyterians) instruments. The merchant class and above could afford to send their children off to school, or to hire private tutors.  A well-placed professional musician would do the same for his children.  In fact, anyone above lower class would become a social outcast if he/she did not have formal music training. Music Guilds Scotland lagged far behind England in the development of guilds, and England was as far behind the rest of Europe.  But professional musicians jealously guarded their position.  In the cities, for example, they were able to regulate itinerant musicians - who they regarded as amateurs - or even ban them from city limits, thereby freeing up whatever gigs were available for themselves.  It was also not uncommon for musicians to use their students to accompany them at gigs, charging the host for two musicians, but keeping the pay for themselves.  That’s part of how students paid their way. Loss of gig potential One final note:  the rise of Protestantism led to a sharp decline in the standard of living amongst musicians.  Protestants eliminated many feast days and holy days, which meant far fewer gigs than beforehand.  Also, in Scotland in particular, the Presbyterian church banned the use of instruments at Kirk, adding many highly skilled musicians to the unemployed.  Indeed, during their widespread destruction of Catholic churches in 1569-70, Presbyterians were particularly fond of smashing church instruments throughout Scotland - especially organs.  Puritan soldiers did the same in Anglican churches during the British Civil Wars.