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 "East Side Story" Vol. 1 | Issue 2
I don’t really care for sports.
To be honest, I can’t tell downhill from slalom and I haven’t been able to name a hockey player since Wayne Gretzky.
I do, however, enjoy watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games. Being a Canadian, I was especially excited at the prospect of watching this country flaunt its greatness for the world to see. Don’t let geography fool you, just because games are taking place on the West Coast doesn’t mean the East Coast isn’t being represented.
No I’m not referring to when Anne Murray helped carry in the Olympic flag. I mean the dazzling spectacle of Celtic dancing, music and spirit buried in the hour of interpretative dance and trapeze stunts.
Nowhere in Canada does Celtic culture have more influence than in the Maritimes. Blame it on the proximity to Scotland, Ireland and Wales — arguably the birthplace of Celtic music, but Celtic music has remained influential on eastern musicians for centuries.
And the quintessential staple of this awe-inspiring music: the fiddle.
Outside of Scotland itself, there’s no place in the world where fiddling has remained more prominent than in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia — and for good reason. Following the Highland Clearances in the 18th and 19th centuries, thousands of Scottish immigrants were displaced and forced to set sail for Canada. As anyone who can recall fifth grade history knows — Nova Scotia literally translates to New Scotland, and the province became the home of many of these highland immigrants. Along with kilts, haggis and highland dancing, fiddle music has been preserved in Cape Breton.
Although fiddling has evolved in the past two centuries, the island has spawned a number of acclaimed Celtic musicians such as Natalie MacMaster and The Rankin Family.
Rather than bore you with details as to what separates Cape Breton fiddle music from other types of fiddling—details that include mundane specifics like the position of the bow, pulse of the beat and precise timing, instead I feel it’s more important to emphasize the influence fiddling has had over other East Coast acts as well.
I was forced to learn the fiddle as a kid, but quickly gave it up because I didn’t think it had the coolness factor of a guitar or a drum kit. Few fiddle-players grow up thinking their skills will lead to fame, fortune and international rockstardom. But that hasn’t deterred a number of other east coast bands from incorporating this misunderstood instrument into their lineup.
When most think of rock and fiddle music coming together, the mind instantly goes to Great Big Sea. But not all combinations are as obviously influenced by Celtic music. Hey Rosetta! Joel Plaskett, and Two Hours Traffic are just a few of the Maritime bands that have embraced the sweet sounds of this classic instrument. And they have all done so in a way unique to their own musical style.
Unfortunately for me and other kids I know who grew board of learning to fiddle, this trend is growing along the East Coast and is spreading throughout the rest of Canada as well. So whether you call it a fiddle, or prefer to call it by its classic name—the violin, one thing is certain. This is no longer an instrument reserved for just orchestras and hoedowns.
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