Multiple fiddling personality disorder

One thing which became very apparent to me at Swannanoa was the vast difference between Irish and Scottish style Celtic fiddling. Being so new to all of this, I had a vague notion about it, but didn't really 'get' it until I listened to very experienced (in many cases, professional) proponents of these distinctive idioms.

My original preference had been for Scottish fiddling, for three reasons:

1) My ancestry is partially Scottish (Mother was a Bell - a Scottish Border clan)
2) I really like vibrato in fiddle music and you don't hear much of that in other styles, especially Irish
3) I enjoy the unique "Scots-snap" rhythm in strathspeys, found only in Scottish and Cape Breton fiddle tunes

In Asheville, I was exposed to a wider variety of fiddle music and now have a keener appreciation of the other fiddling styles than before. While there, I attended an Irish session and liked what I heard there very much. I also have begun to understand the Cape Breton style as a throwback to what Scottish fiddling might have sounded like 150-200 years ago. In addition, I have come to admire Shetland fiddling for its powerful and almost raw qualities.

I don't know where this is all going to lead, but I have now in my playlist tunes from all of these categories. When I finally figure it out, I will probably focus on only one style and leave the othes behind. For the near term, I will experiment to find my authentic "voice" for this instrument.