culturally significant style is that of County Donegal, Ireland (just a short boat journey away), which is not strictly Scots but Irish. The accent on the Donegal fiddle tradition is somewhat more akin to the Scots tradition than to the Irish. The historical connection between the west coast of Scotland and Donegal is an ancient one (many shared names) as can be heard in the volume of strathspeys, schottisches, marches, and Donegal's own strong highland piping tradition. (See Donegal fiddle tradition). Like some Scottish fiddlers (which tends to use a short bow and play in a more straight-ahead fashion), some Donegal fiddlers worked at imitating the sound of the highland pipes. Scotland has influenced Donegal fiddling in various ways. Workers from Donegal would go to Scotland in the summer and bring back Scottish tunes with them; Donegal fiddlers have used Scottish tunebooks and learned from records of Scottish fiddlers like J. Scott Skinner and Mackenzie Murdoch. Fishermen from Donegal have returned from Shetland fisheries with Shetland tunes. The Scotch snap is a very particular characteristic of much Scottish music. It is generally represented in musical notation by a sixteenth followed by a dotted eighth. See also Captain Simon Fraser Nathaniel Gow Niel Gow J. Murdoch Henderson Robert Mackintosh William Marshall James Oswald Irish Fiddle Donegal fiddle tradition Canadian fiddle American fiddle Lothian Schools Strathspey and Reel Society Modern day fiddlers Scots fiddlers: Bruce MacGregor - founding member of Blazin' Fiddles and BBC Radio Scotland presenter Alasdair Fraser Aly Bain Allan Henderson Catriona MacDonald Chris Duncan Duncan Chisholm Iain MacFarlane John Turner Pete Clark Chris Stout Eilidh Steel Colyn Fischer Adam Sutherland, with Croft No. 5, Treacherous Orchestra and Peatbog Faeries Alasdair White Ryan Young Charlie McKerron Paul Anderson Cape Breton fiddlers: Buddy MacMaster Natalie MacMaster John Campbell Ashley MacIsaac Winston (Scotty) Fitzgerald Dave MacIsaac American fiddlers: Natalie Haas (cello) Hanneke Cassel Jane MacMorran Jeremy Kittel Bonnie Rideout Laura Risk Elke Baker Jamie Laval Ryan McKasson References Further reading Haigh, Chris (2009) The Fiddle Handbook; Scottish fiddle. Milwaukee: Backbeat Books External links Discussion of Scottish fiddle styles The Fiddle Tradition of North-East Scotland Biographical Sketches of early Scottish Musicians Scottish influences on the Donegal fiddle tradition Celtic music Fiddle music Fiddling Fiddling