I like to think that that corner of our home where we read or listen to music is the first stage of the journey we are about to take. A reading, a novel, a map, a poem, a song will be the emotional baggage that we will carry with us.

The song in particular has the ability to lead us on a path of information and emotions linked to a territory. Easy to memorize and pleasant to search "on site". Maybe in one of those pubs, where folk sessions take place. If you go to Edinburgh don't miss the Royal Oak pub, a small place on two floors. "So high so low" would say the esoteric Hermes Trismegistus, a microcosm where the only laws are those of drinking and singing.

On this page I collect a selection of passages from the Scottish tradition that struck me, sometimes for the melody, sometimes for the text. Some are very old melodies, others are more recent. Framing them in the historical, social or literary context, I would like to offer the Italian traveler a starting point to explore Scotland through music.

These lands are rich in melodies, almost all of them were born for dancing. Instruments such as bagpipes, violin, accordion, flutes and drums (bodhran) are played in the pubs or halls of the village or neighborhood during the ceilidh, the dancing parties.

The ceilidh are convivial occasions for communities, they give everyone the opportunity to socialize, including moments of dance, song, poetry, chat, food, beer, whiskey.

There is a ceilidh band, generally a trio: violin, accordion and guitar, leading the dance in the villages. One of the musicians has the role of the caller , that is the person who introduces the songs and explains how to dance them and how to spread the formations in the room.

According to the rhythm, the dance melodies are called jigs (6/8), reels (4/4), marches (2/2), strathpeys (4/4) and waltzs (3/4)

The simplest dances of an evening - because they are often very complicated for me at least! - I would say they are:

Orcadian Strip The Willow (march),

Dashing White Sargent (reel),

Gay Gordons (march),

Let me know how it goes!