Scottish instrumental and vocal music is an essential part of Scottish culture and is associated with dancing and storytelling. Much of Scottish traditional music remains unchanged to this day.
The clarsach is a harp strung with gut or wire and is one of Scotland鈥檚 oldest instruments. The earliest images can be found on PictishRelating to the Picts - a group of tribal peoples who lived in Northern Scotland during the Iron Age stones, dating back to the 8th Century. It was revived at the end of the 19th Century.
Very little original music for clarsach has survived in Scotland so players often use the instrument to play fiddle or pipe tunes such as reels, strathspeys and slow airA slow song or melody, often played on the fiddle.
The clarsach is often used to accompany singing. It has a quiet sound but with the development of sound technology, the clarsach can now be amplified to blend with other instruments in the folk group.