The more predominant style in Cape Breton Island's fiddle music was brought to North America by Scottish immigrants during the Highland Clearances.

In 2005, as a tribute to the area's traditional music, the construction of a tourism center and the world's largest fiddle and bow was completed on the waterfront in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

A century ago the violin and pump organ were the common instruments; the latter has been supplanted by piano to provide a rhythmic accompaniment.

The types of tunes commonly associated with Cape Breton - Scottish fiddling are jigs, reels, marches, strathspeys, clogs (hornpipes), and slow airs.

Several older books of tune collections have been popular sources: A number of recent publications also document a substantial amount of the modern Cape Breton - Scottish repertoire: