Thanks so much for all your responses and encouraging comments, that's very helpful. Maybe I'm a bit over-anxious about how gaelic speakers/singers perceive those who try to speak/sing their language, perhaps because while on the music courses at Celoas on Uist I went on a couple of years ago, I did witness a bit of muttered antagonism from one or two people about Americans who'd come over for it (maybe as I'm English I wasn't targeted? not sure why not).

I've learnt a very little gaelic, enough to understand a few words. As for singing it, I would never on principle sing a song I didn't understand - do people do that??!! I only decide to learn a gaelic song (or indeed any song I learn) after hearing it and feeling something for it. And before I learn it, I find the lyrics and translation, to check thoroughly if it does feel right for me to sing it. Then I get as much help as I can with pronunciation as I learn it, before starting to sing it publicly, and continue to ask for advice if I meet a native speaker/singer. It's far more work than the English songs I sing, so I don't sing very many Gaelic ones. I'd rather learn a few as well as I can than sing loads skimpily.

I don't sing mouth music, mine tend to be long slow ones, such as Ailein duinn, mainly because I can't sing fast in any language!

Michaelr - that was an interesting link...I always wondered what happened to the Bothy Band members, especially Triona!

I find every so often something like this throws me, makes me stop and question what I'm doing (just thought of another interesting one I might start a thread on!). Which can only be good, I think.

Sue