Music For The Soul
Ulster-Scots violinist Madeleine McDowell feels that music enhances life. Here she plays traditional hymn-based tunes which feed the spirit after a hard day’s work in the fields.
Madeleine McDowell has been playing the fiddle since the age of seven, after seeing the instrument in primary school. She then found out that the fiddle played a big part in her family history, with her aunt having played for most of her life. Madeleine was taught by her aunt and later took classical lessons on violin. The two instruments are the same but in the Ulster-Scots community it is commonly referred to as the Fiddle. Madeleine feels that the fiddle connects her to her family history and her roots in the Ulster-Scots community. She plays many tunes that have been around for hundreds of years and that have their roots in the gospel music and hymns that early settlers sang and played in church.
The fiddle is not the only musical instrument with connections to the Ulster-Scots community. Instruments such as Lambeg drums, Flutes, Fifes and Bagpipes are all strongly linked to the Ulster-Scots culture. There is a huge community of musicians throughout Ulster including the marching band scene and pipe band community. All the instruments hark back to the early settlers and connections to Scotland. Musicians use these instruments as a way of expressing their heritage and culture through music.
Madeleine wants to help keep the tradition of fiddle alive and now teaches young people through Ulster-Scots music tuition in schools. She teaches them both by reading music but also in the traditional way of learning by ear, a method used for centuries.