Musical Research

Update: After two years amid a pandemic and the successful completion of a successful Masters project Riddell Fiddles are delighted that this UHI inspired project won ‘Community Project of the Year’ in the televised Scots Traditional Music Awards in December 2021.

Running a long established and successful community music group ‘Riddell Fiddles’ in Selkirk I have always wanted to start a pilot project for young people in the neighbouring town of Hawick and ,in particular, Burnfoot Housing Estate – an area particularly high on the deprivation index for Scotland. It is also an area where musical opportunities for young people are not widely prevalent. Previous experience of setting up such a young group in Selkirk has been successful.

The provision for a community project within the Masters (MA) in Music and Environment gave me the incentive to seek funding and initiate this community music group and to evaluate the trial period with a view to sustaining the initial block into a more established long term group within the community.

I would like to thank guitarist Gary Smith, a Riddell Fiddles’ tutor and fellow Scottish Borders Council employee, who worked with me to provide the guitar tuition side of ‘Burnfoot Buskers’ as it became named and who helped support the positive ethos and differentiated teaching required.

Thanks also go to David Scott, percussionist with Riddell Fiddles, who took photographs, filmed clips and led the group warm ups as well as conducted interviews.

The Robertson Trust and the Eilidh Macleod Trust allowed the project to go ahead initially.