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Ireland is internationally known for its traditional music,
which has remained vibrant throughout the 20th century, when
many other traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to
pop music. In spite of emigration and a well-developed connection
to music imported from Britain and the United States, Irish
music has kept many of its traditional aspects; indeed, it
has itself influenced many forms of music, such as country
and roots music in the USA, which in turn have greatly influenced
rock music in the 20th century. It has occasionally also been
modernised, however, and fused with rock and roll, punk rock
and other genres. Some of these fusion artists have attained
mainstream success, at home and abroad. (One example of a
traditional song that has received exposure as the result
of being recorded by pop and rock artists is "She Moved
Through the Fair").
During the 1970s and 1980s, the distinction between traditional
and rock musicians became blurred, with many individuals regularly
crossing over between these styles of playing as a matter
of course. This trend can be seen more recently in the work
of bands and individuals like U2, Horslips, Clannad, The Cranberries,
The Corrs, Van Morrison, Thin Lizzy, Sinéad O'Connor,
My Bloody Valentine, Rory Gallagher, and The Pogues.
Nevertheless, Irish music has shown an immense inflation
of popularity with many attempting to return to their roots.
There are also contemporary music groups that stick closer
to a traditional sound, including Altan, Gaelic Storm, Déanta,
Lúnasa, Kila and Solas. Others incorporate multiple
cultures in a fusion of style, such as Afro Celt Sound System
and Loreena McKennitt.
Traditional music
Irish traditional music, like all traditional musics, is characterized
by slow-moving change, which usually occurs along accepted
principles. Songs and tunes believed to be ancient in origin
are respected. It is, however, difficult or impossible to
know the age of most tunes due to their tremendous variation
across Ireland and through the years; some generalization
is possible, however - for example, only modern songs are
written in English, with few exceptions, the rest being in
Irish. Most of the oldest songs, tunes, and methods are rural
in origin, though more modern songs and tunes often come from
cities and towns.
Music and lyrics are passed aurally/orally, and were rarely
written down until recently (depending upon your definition
of "recently", there are many examples of written
music previous to 1800). Of major importance to the transcribing
of melodies belonging to both the instrumental traditions
and the song traditions were the collectors. These included
Petrie, Bunting, O'Neill and many others. Though solo performance
is preferred in the folk tradition, bands or at least small
ensembles have probably always been a part of Irish music
since at least the mid-19th century, although this is a point
of much contention among ethnomusicologists.
For instance, guitars and bouzoukis only entered the traditional
Irish music world in the late 1960s. The bodhrán, once
known in Ireland as a tambourine, is first mentioned in the
nineteenth century. Ceili bands of the 1940s often included
a drum set and stand-up bass as well as saxophones. (The band
At The Racket continues the "tradition" of the saxophone
in Irish music). As of current writing, the first three instruments
are now generally accepted in traditional Irish music circles
(although perhaps not in the most purist of venues), while
the latter three are generally not. (The Pogues received much
criticism for their use of a drum kit, for instance).
Furthermore, such "unimpeachable" instruments as
button accordion and concertina made their appearances in
Irish traditional music only late in the nineteenth century.
There is little evidence for the flute having played much
part in traditional music before art musicians abandoned the
wooden simple-system instrument still preferred by trad fluters
for the Boehm-system of the modern orchestra, and the tin
whistle is another mass-produced product of the Industrial
Revolution. A good case can be made that the Irish traditional
music of the year 2005 has much more in common with that of
the year 1905 than that of the year 1905 had in common with
the music of the year 1805.
More recently, traditional Irish music has been "expanded"
to include new styles, arrangements, and variations performed
by bands, although arguments run rife as to whether you may
then call this music "traditional." However, the
greater part of the community has accepted that the music
played by such bands as Planxty and the Bothy Band and their
numerous spiritual descendants is indeed traditional.
Musicians from non-Irish styles (bluegrass, oldtime, folk)
have discovered the appeal of Irish traditional music. However,
the rhythmic pulse and melodic flow of Irish traditional music
are quite distinct to the rhythmic and melodic structures
that govern other musical forms, even in the case of the few
tunes shared between these musical genres. Also, Irish sessions
and bluegrass and old time jams carry completely different
sets of etiquette and expectations, and these do not, for
the most part, integrate well; this has led to many misunderstandings
and outright confrontations.
Due to the importance placed on the melody in Irish music,
harmony should be kept simple (although, fitting with the
melodic structure of most Irish tunes, this usually does not
mean a "basic" I-IV-V chord progression), and instruments
are played in strict unison, always following the leading
player. True counterpoint is mostly unknown to traditional
music, although a form of improvised "countermelody"
is often used in the accompaniments of bouzouki and guitar
players. Structural units are symmetrical and include decorations,
in many cases imaginative and elaborate, of the rhythm, text,
melody and phrasing, though not usually of dynamics.
Unaccompanied vocals ar sean nós ("in the old
style") are considered the ultimate expression of traditional
singing, usually performed solo, but sometimes as a duet.
Sean nós singing is highly ornamented and the voice
is placed towards the top of the range; to the first-time
listener, accustomed to pop and classical singers, sean nós
often sounds more "Arabic" or "Indian"
than "Western". A true sean nós singer will
vary the melody of every verse, but not to the point of interfering
with the words, which are considered to have as much importance
as the melody. Non-sean nós traditional singing, even
when accompaniment is used, uses patterns of ornamentation
and melodic freedom derived from sean nós, and, generally,
a similar voice placement.
The concept of 'style' is of large importance to Irish traditional
musicians. At the start of the last century, distinct variation
in regional styles of performance existed. With increased
communications and travel opportunities, regional styles have
become more standardised, with soloists aiming now to create
their own, unique, distinctive style, often hybrids of whatever
other influences the musician has chosen to include within
their style.
Music for Dancing
Irish traditional music was largely meant (to the best of
our current knowledge) for dancing at celebrations for weddings,
saint's days or other observances. Tunes (songs have words,
tunes do not) are most usually divided into two eight-bar
strains which are each played as many times as the performers
feel is appropriate; Irish dance music is isometric. (16 measures
are known as a "step", with one 8 bar strain for
a "right foot" and the second for the "left
foot" of the step. Tunes that are not so evenly divided
are called "crooked"). This makes for an eminently
danceable music, and Irish dance has been widely exported
abroad.
Traditional dances and tunes include reels (4/4), hornpipes
(4/4 with swung eigth notes), and jigs (the common double
jig is in 6/8 time), as well as imported mazurkas, polkas,
and highlands (a sort of Irished version of the Scottish strathspey).
Jigs come in various other forms for dancing - the slip jig
and hop jig are commonly written in 9/8 time, the single jig
in 12/8. (The dance the hop jig is no longer performed under
the auspices of An Coimisiun). The form of jig danced in hardshoe
are known as double or treble jigs (for the doubles/trebles
performed with the tip of the hardshoe), and the jig danced
in ghillies/pomps/slippers are known as light jigs.
Polkas are a type of 2/4 tune mostly found in the Sliabh
Luachra area, at the border of Cork and Kerry, in the south
of Ireland. The main differences between these types of tunes
are in the time signature, tempo, and rhythmic emphasis. It
should be noted that, as an aural music form, Irish traditional
music is rather artificially confined within time signatures,
which are not really capable of conveying the particular emphasis
for each type of tune. An easy demonstration of this is any
attempt to notate a slow air on the musical stave.
Set dancing
Set dancing, generally danced in "sets" of four
couples (eight hands; a "half set" is two couples
or four hands), is one of the most popular forms of the Irish
traditional dances. After almost having died out, the recreational
dance form was revived in the 1980s. Venues for set dancing
are often pubs, which might reserve one evening of the week
for dancing, and céilís, which almost always
feature live céilí bands. It is not uncommon
for young people in Ireland's cities (and other large cities
around the world) these days to "go set-dancing",
as others of their contemporaries go "clubbing".
Most sets consist of a series of figures. Each figure is
danced to a different type of tune with a pause between each
figure for the dancers to catch their breath (and perhaps
to quickly review the next figure); a reel, jig, hornpipe,
and a polka, for instance. Each figure calls for a certain
amount of measures of music, and the musicians will often
be given a list of the music required for each set ahead of
time so the figure and the music will end at the same time.
A caller will sometimes call a set, especially when there
are many beginners, but set dancers strive to memorize their
sets in order not to need a caller. Attendees will generally
see a few of the easier sets at the beginning of the night
called for new dancers and visitors, and then the rest of
the sets tend to be for "those who know".
Another feature of set dancing is "battering",
where the dancers tap/stamp out a rhythm on the floor as they
move through the set. At one point in time, this was mainly
the province of the "head couple" at the top of
the set, as this was generally the most experienced pair of
dancers in the set. However, it has become much more common
for many if not all of the dancers in a set to batter throughout
the set. (This provides either a great deal of energy or simply
an overwhelming conglomerate of noise, depending on one's
personal viewpoint of the matter).
Stepdancing
Stepdancing, in the Munster or southern style form, is the
most widespread of the Irish dance forms, although there are
many others (including the Connemara style, a few scattered
remnants of other regional forms of stepdancing, and other
forms of Southern style dancing not under the auspices of
An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha). Modern stepdancing
is connected to the Irish cultural revivals of the nineteenth
century in one long line. Modern stepdancers are athletes
as well as dancers; champions train for competition in a manner
similar to ballet dancers, ice skaters, and gymnasts. It is
largely a solo dance form, although group dances or figures
exist in a set curriculum of ceili (or, in Scottish Gaelic,
ceilidh), or party, dances. Stepdancing was hugely popularized
after the success of the Broadway-style musical Riverdance
in 1994.
The litmus test of the solo stepdancer is the non-traditional
set dance (not related to set dancing, where groups of dancers
form figures) which is generally choreographed by a dancer's
teacher for that dancer or for the teacher's dancing school.
An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha has long instituted
a certification system for teachers and adjudicators through
scrúdaithe (examinations/tests). An Coimisiún
was established by Conradh na Gaeilge – The Gaelic League
– in the late twenties as a commission for the purpose
of examining the organisation of Irish dancing as it existed
at that time and to make recommendations as to how it might
be better organised in the future. The body first met in 1930.
Those who pass the teachers examination receive the TCRG
(Teasgicoir Coimisiún Le Rinci Gaelacha) certification
as certified instructors. After ten years of holding the TCRG
certificate, teachers may then test for the ADCRG (Ard Diploma
Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha) in order to adjudicate
dance competitions (feis; plural, feisianna). Both tests involve
considerable practical, oral, and written demonstration of
Irish stepdancing, including the ability to sing certain tunes
and identify snippets of the traditional and non-traditional
sets -- a formidable task for (often) non-musicians.
Sean Nós Dancing
Modern step dancing evolved from sean nós ("old
style") dancing. Sean nós dancing has a large
element of improvisation, but at its best is more than a mere
frenetic jumping about; the performance of a skilled sean
nós dancer should convey both restraint and wildness
packaged in an unpretentious dignity. The upper body and arms
are loose and relaxed, rather than held erect and still as
in modern stepdancing, and the footwork is low, hard, and
percussive, without the high kicks (over the knee height)
of stepdancing. Props are occasionally employed - for example,
in "The Brush Dance" the dancer uses a sweeping
brush (broom) as a prop.
Sean nós dancing continues to maintain itself as a
living tradition despite the popularity and flash of the more
athletic modern stepdancing forms and theatrical spectacles.
Riverdance
No modern description of the arts of Ireland would be complete
without some mention of the stage show Riverdance. A musical
and dancing interval act starring Michael Flatley and Jean
Butler was performed during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994.
Popular reaction to the act was so immense that an entire
musical revue was built around the act. Although Riverdance
was much criticised in the traditional cultural communities
as being only derived from the Irish tradition, with many
hybridised dances (American tap, ballet, and jazz elements
were introduced) and tunes largely composed for the show by
Bill Whelan rather than taken directly from the tradition,
the artistic standards of the show were very high, featuring
the work of world-class designers, choreographers, dancers
and musicians.
Riverdance 's appeal was such that the arts of Ireland were
made globally popular in a very short time. Dancing school
enrollments skyrocketed, Irish sessions found their numbers
swelling with new musicians wishing to take part, and interest
in Irish arts rose to an all time high.
However, many artists found that what was wanted by much
of the new audience was not the traditions from which Riverdance
was derived, but more spectacle after the fashion of the original
stage show, or even direct imitations of the show's Bill Whelan
tunes and hybrid-form dance numbers. Many of the eager new
musicians vanished upon discovering that Irish traditional
music requires practice, skill, and commitment and is not
merely an exercise in mass participation to the exclusion
of musicality or an excuse to carouse and receive free drink.
(The same held true in other Irish cultural communities, such
as the stepdance schools).
Overall, the general feeling of the Irish traditional arts
communities seems to be that Riverdance was an enjoyable,
expert piece of Broadway-style theatre that did an extremely
good job of popularizing Irish culture and arts worldwide,
but that the rate of change it inflicted upon the traditional
artforms that inspired the show did not sit comfortably with
many of the original participants. Still, even the most gloomy
or vehement of the show's detractors will often admit that,
at the least, the show brought a great deal of needed funds
to the Irish cultural and arts communities worldwide.
Instruments Used in Traditional Irish Music
Fiddle
One of the most important instruments in the traditional repertoire,
the fiddle is played differently in widely-varying regional
styles. Modern performers include Martin Hayes, Paul O'Shaughnessy,
Matt Cranitch, Frankie Gavin, the Glackin brothers, Mairéad
Ní Mhaonaigh, James Kelly, Tommy Peoples, Maire Breatnach
and Gerry O'Connor. Sligo fiddlers like Michael Coleman, James
Morrison, Paddy Killoran did much to popularise Irish music
in the States in the 1920s and 1930s.
The best-known regional fiddling traditions are from Donegal,
Sligo, Sliabh Luachra and Clare.
The fiddling tradition of Sligo is perhaps most recognizable
to outsiders, due to the popularity of American-based performers
like Lad O'Beirne, Michael Coleman, James Morrison and Paddy
Killoran; Irish Sligo fiddlers included the late Andrew Davey,
Martin Wynne, Fred Finn, John Joe Gardiner (who was born in
Sligo and played that style of music, but moved to Dundalk
where he was a huge influence on traditional music and on
playing in the Sligo style) and Kathleen Harrington, John
Joe's sister.
Other established fiddlers include, Clare's Frank Custy,
Paddy Canny, Bobby Casey, Jack Mulcaire, John Kelly, Patrick
Kelly, Peadar O'Loughlin, Pat O'Connor, Junior Crehan and
P. Joe Hayes, while Donegal has produced Danny O'Donnell,
Néllidh Boyle, James Byrne, Vincent Campbell, Francie
Byrne, John Doherty, Proinsias Ó Maonaigh, and Bridget
Regan. Sliabh Luachra, a small area between Kerry and Cork,
is known for Julia Clifford, her brother Denis Murphy, and
Pádraig O'Keefe. Contemporary fiddlers from Sliabh
Luachra include Máire O'Keeffe, Matt Cranitch, Gerry
Harrington, Connie O'Connell, and Tim Browne, while Séamus
Creagh, actually from Westmeath, is imbued in the local style.
There are no physical differences between a violin and a
fiddle; the difference is in the playing style of the musician
playing the instrument.
Flute and Whistle
The flute has been an integral part of Irish traditional music
since roughly the middle of the nineteenth century, when art
musicians largely abandoned the wooden simple-system flute
(having a conical bore, and fewer keys) for the metal Boehm
system flutes of present-day classical music.
Although the choice of the wooden flute over the metal was
initially driven by the fact that, being "outdated"
castoffs, the old flutes were available cheaply second-hand,
the wooden instrument has a distinct sound and continues to
be commonly preferred by traditional musicians to this day.
A number of excellent players—Joanie Madden being perhaps
the best known—use the Western concert flute, but many
others find that the simple system flute best suits traditional
fluting. Original flutes from the pre-Boehm era continue in
use, but since the 1960s a number of craftsmen have revived
the art of wooden flute making. Some flutes are even made
of PVC; these are especially popular with new learners and
as travelling instruments, being both less expensive than
wooden instruments and far more resistant to changes in humidity.
The tin whistle, which with its nearly identical fingering
might be called a cousin of the simple-system flute, is also
popular, and has been since its ninteenth century origins
as an inexpensive mass-produced instrument. Clarke whistles
almost identical to the first ones made of folded sheet metal
are still available, although the original version, pitched
in C, has mostly been replaced for traditional music by that
pitched in D, the "basic key" of trad. The other
common design consists of a barrel made of seamless tubing
fitted into a plastic or wooden mouthpiece.
Skilled craftsmen make fine custom whistles from a range
of materials including not only aluminium, brass, and steel
tubing but synthetic materials and tropical hardwoods; despite
this, more than a few longtime professionals stick with ordinary
factory made whistles.
Irish school children are generally taught the rudiments
of playing on the tin whistle, just as school children in
many other countries are taught the soprano recorder. At one
time the whistle was thought of by many traditional musicians
as merely a sort of "beginner's flute," but that
attitude has disappeared in the face of talented whistlers
such as Mary Bergin, whose classic early seventies recording
Feadóga Stáin (with bouzouki accompaniment by
Alec Finn) is often credited with revolutionising the whistle's
place in the tradition.
The low whistle, a derivative of the common tin whistle,
is also popular, although some musicians find it less agile
for session playing than the flute or the ordinary D whistle.
Notable present-day flute-players (never called 'flautists'
or 'fluters') include Matt Molloy, Kevin Crawford, , Michael
McGoldrick, Desi Wilkinson, Conal O'Grada, Emer Mayock, and
Joanie Madden while whistlers include Paddy Moloney, Paddy
Keenan, Seán Ryan, Mary Bergin,and Packie Byrne.
Uilleann pipes
Uilleann pipes (pronounced ill-in or ill-yun depending upon
local dialect) are complex and said to take years to learn
to play. It was common to have learning to play the pipes
said to be 7 years learning, 7 years practicing and 7 years
playing before a piper could be said to have mastered his
instrument. Its modern form had arrived by the 1890s, and
was played by gentlemen pipers like Seamus Ennis, Leo Rowsome
and Willy Clancy, in refined and ornate pieces, as well as
showy, ornamented forms played by travelling pipers like John
Cash and Johnny Doran. The uilleann piping tradition had nearly
died before being re-popularized by the likes of Paddy Moloney
(of the Chieftains), and the formation of Na Píobairí
Uilleann, an organization open to pipers that included such
legends as Rowsome and Ennis, as well as researcher and collector
Breandán Breathnach. Liam O'Flynn is one of the most
popular of modern performers along with Paddy Keenan, John
McSherry, Davy Spillane, Jerry O'Sullivan, Mick O'Brien and
many more. Many Pavee (Traveller) families, such as the Fureys
and Dorans and Keenans, are famous for the pipers among them.
Uilleann pipes are among the most complex forms of bagpipes;
they possess a chanter with a double reed and a two-octave
range, three single-reed drones, and, in the complete version
known as a full set, a trio of (regulators) all with double
reeds and keys worked by the piper's forearm, capable of providing
harmonic support for the melody. (Virtually all uilleann pipers
begin playing with a half set, lacking the regulators and
comprised of only bellows, bag, chanter, and drones. Some
choose never to play the full set, and many make little use
of the regulators). The bag is filled with air by a bellows
held between the piper's elbow and side, rather than by the
performer's lungs as in the highland pipes and almost all
other forms of bagpipe, aside from the Scottish smallpipes,
the Northumbrian pipes of northern England, and the Border
pipes found in both parts of the the Anglo-Scottish Border
country.
The uilleann pipes play a prominent part in a form of instrumental
music called Fonn Mall, closely related to unaccompanied singing
an sean nós ("in the old style"). Willie
Clancy, Leo Rowsome, and Garret Barry were among the many
pipers famous in their day; Paddy Keenan, Davy Spillane and
Robbie Hannon play these traditional airs today, among many
others.
Harp
Played as long ago as the 8th century, the harp is among the
chief symbols of Ireland. In ancient times, the harpers were
greatly respected, considered to have near-magical powers
and assigned a high place amongst the most significant retainers
of the Irish lords and chieftains. Perhaps the best known
representative of this tradition of harping today is Turlough
Ó Carolan, a blind 18th century harper who is often
considered the unofficial national composer of Ireland. Thomas
Connellan, a slightly earlier Sligo harper, composed such
well known airs as "The Dawning of the Day"/"Raglan
Road" and "Carolan's Dream".
The native Irish harping tradition was an aristocratic art
music with its own canon and rules for arrangement and compositional
structure, only tangentally associated with the folkloric
music of the common people, the ancestor of present day Irish
traditional music. Some of the late exponents of the harping
tradition, such as O'Carolan, were influenced by the Italian
Baroque art music of such composers as Vivaldi, which could
be heard in the theatres and concert halls of Dublin. The
harping tradition did not long outlast the native Gaelic aristocracy
which supported it. By the early nineteenth century, the Irish
harp and its music were for all intents and purposes dead.
Tunes from the harping tradition survived only as unharmonised
melodies which had been picked up by the folkloric tradition,
or were preserved as notated in collections such as Bunting's,
in which the tunes were most often modified to make them fit
for the drawing room pianofortes of the Anglicised middle
and upper classes.
The first generations of twentieth century revivalists, mostly
playing the gut-strung (frequently replaced with nylon after
the Second World War) neo-Celtic harp with the pads of their
fingers rather than the old brass-strung harp plucked with
long fingernails, tended to take the dance tunes and song
airs of Irish traditional music, along with such old harp
tunes as they could find, and applied to them techniques derived
from the orchestral (pedal) harp and an approach to rhythm,
arrangement, and tempo that often had more in common with
mainstream classical music than with either the old harping
tradition or the living tradition of Irish music. Over the
past thirty years a revival of the early Irish harp has been
growing, with replicas of the medieval instruments being played,
using strings of brass, silver, and even gold. Further information
is available from the Historical Harp Society of Ireland,
Clarsach.net, and Early Gaelic Harp websites.
Notable modern players include the late Derek Bell (of The
Chieftains), Laoise Kelly (of The Bumblebees), Grainne Hambly,
Máire Ní Chathasaigh, Mary O'Hara, Antoinette
McKenna, Michael Rooney, Aine Minoque, Patrick Ball and Bonnie
Shaljean. The best of these have a solid background in genuine
Irish traditional music, often having strong competency on
another instrument more common in the living tradition, such
as the fiddle or concertina, and work very hard at adapting
the harp to traditional music, as well as reconstructing what
they can of the old harpers' music on the basis of the few
manuscript sources which exist. However, the harp continues
to occupy a place on the fringe of Irish traditional music.
Perhaps, with the work of such players as Michael Rooney and
Holly Geraghty, in another generation or so the harp will
be more fully integrated.
Accordion and Concertina
The accordion plays a major part in modern Irish music. Popular
players include John Williams, Joe Burke, Billy McComiskey,
Sharon Shannon, and Dave Hennessy. Concertina players include
Niall Vallely, Kitty Hayes, Mícheál Ó
Raghallaigh, Gearoid O hAllmhurain, Mary MacNamara and Noel
Hill.
The accordion spread to Ireland late in the 19th century.
In its ten-key form (melodeon), it was popular across the
island, and was recorded early by John Kimmel and Irish-American
Peter Conlon. While uncommon, the melodeon is still played
in some parts of Ireland, in particular in Connemara by Johnny
Connolly.
Modern Irish accordion players generally prefer the 2 row
button accordion. Unlike similar accordions used in other
European and American music traditions, the rows are tuned
a semi-tone apart. This allows the instrument to be played
chromatically in melody. Currently accordions tuned to the
keys of B/C and C#/D are by far the most popular systems.
The B/C accordion lends itself to a flowing style; it was
popularized by Paddy O'Brien of Tipperary, Joe Burke and Sonny
Brogran in the 1950s and 60s and is popular with box players
of the Galway style including Billy McComiskey. Other famous
B/C players include Paddy O'Brien of County Offaly, James
Keane, John Nolan.
The C#/D accordion lends itself to a punchier style and is
particularly popular in the slides and polkas of Kerry Music.
Sharon Shannon and Jackie Daley and Joe Cooley.
An somewhat older system pioneered in America was the D/C#
system that was popularized by Joe Derrane.
Piano accordions are somewhat unusual in Irish Music, but
not completely unkown. Karen Tweed is one famous player of
Piano Accordion in Irish Traditional Music.
Concertinas are of several types, the two most common in
Irish traditional music being the English and the Anglo systems.
Each differs from the other in construction and playing technique.
The Anglo is the more common in Irish music and its use in
that genre precedes the English. The most distinctive characteristic
of the Anglo system is that each button sounds a different
note, depending on whether the bellows are compressed or expanded.
Anglo concertinas typically have either two or three rows
of buttons that sound notes, plus an "air button"
located near the right thumb that allows the player to fill
or empty the bellows without sounding a note.
Two-row Anglo concertinas usually have 20 buttons that sound
notes. Each row of 10 buttons comprises notes within a common
key. The two primary rows thus contain the notes of two musical
keys, such as C and G. Each row is divided in two with five
buttons playing lower-pitched notes of the given key on the
left-hand end of the instrument and five buttons playing the
higher pitched notes on the right-hand end. The row of buttons
in the higher key is closer to the wrist of each hand.
Three-row concertinas add a third row of accidentals (i.e.,
sharps and flats not included in the keys represented by the
two main rows) and redundant notes (i.e., notes that duplicate
those in the main keys but are located in the third, outermost
row) that enable the instrument to be played in virtually
any key. A series of sequential notes can be played in the
home-key rows by depressing a button, compressing the bellows,
depressing the same button and extending the bellows, moving
to the next button and repeating the process, and so on. A
consequence of this arrangement is that the player often encounters
occasions requiring a change in bellows direction, which produces
a clear separation between the sounds of the two adjacent
notes. This tends to give the music a more punctuated, bouncy
sound that can be especially well suited to hornpipes or jigs.
English concertinas, by contrast, sound the same note for
any given button, irrespective of the direction of bellows
travel. Thus, any note can be played while the bellows is
either expanded or compressed. As a consequence, sequential
notes can be played without altering the bellows direction.
This allows sequences of notes to be played in a smooth, continuous
stream without the interruption of changing bellows direction.
Despite the inherent bounciness of the Anglo and the inherent
smoothness of the English concertina systems, skilled players
of Irish traditional music can achieve either effect on each
type of instrument by adapting the playing style. On the Anglo,
for example, the notes on various rows partially overlap and
the third row contains additional redundant notes, so that
the same note can be sounded with more than one button. Often,
whereas one button will sound a given note on bellows compression,
an alternative button in a different row will sound the same
note on bellows expansion. Thus, by playing across the rows,
the player can avoid changes in bellows direction from note
to note where the musical objective is a smoother sound. Likewise,
the English system accommodates playing styles that counteract
its inherent smoothness and continuity between notes. Specifically,
when the music calls for it, the player can choose to reverse
bellows direction, causing sequential notes to be more distinctly
articulated.
Banjo
The four-string tenor banjo is favoured by most Irish traditional
players, and is commonly tuned GDAE, an octave below the fiddle.
It was brought to Ireland by returned emigrants from the United
States, where it was developed by African slaves. The banjo,
as a relatively loud wire-strung instrument, serves a similar
musical function in sessions as the usually more expensive
cittern, which it has largely replaced. Unlike the cittern,
however, it is not often strummed (although older recordings
will sometimes feature the banjo used as a backing instrument),
instead being played as a melody instrument using either a
plectrum or a "thimble". While the instrument's
percussive sound can add greatly to the "lift" of
a session, a poorly played or overly loud banjo can be disruptive.
Skilled and sensitive players will generally find themselves
welcomed in "open" sessions. Barney McKenna of The
Dubliners is often credited with paving the way for the banjo's
current popularity, and is still actively playing. Great players
include Kieran Hanrahan, John Carty, Angelina Carberry, Fergus
O'Byrne, Gerry O'Connor, and Kevin Griffin.
The five-string banjo has had little or no role in Irish
traditional music, and is often actively loathed by Irish
musicians as a potential session-killer, since the clawhammer
and three-finger picking styles used on this instrument by
old-time and bluegrass musicians appear to be almost directly
opposite to the pulse of Irish tunes. While a sensitive and
well-informed five-string player can develop an approach which
would complement Irish traditional music, he or she would
have to overcome considerable skepticism in a session context.
One of the very few respected five-string banjo players involved
with Irish music is Chris Grotewohl, who also plays oldtime
and bluegrass.
Guitar
Guitars have become commonplace in modern sessions. These
are usually strummed with a plectrum (pick) to provide backing
for the melody players. Irish backing tends to use chord voicings
up and down the neck, rather than basic first or second position
"cowboy chords"; unlike those used in jazz, these
chord voicings seldom involve barre fingerings and often employ
one or more open strings in combination with strings stopped
at the fifth or higher frets. Modal (root and fifth without
the third, neither major nor minor) chords are used extensively
alongside the usual major and minor chords, as are suspended
and sometimes more exotic augmented chords; however, the major
and minor seventh chords are less employed than in many other
styles of music. Players usually strum only two to four strings
at a time, rather than across all six at once; the strings
are often slightly muted with the palm of the plectrum (picking)
hand. A monotonous alternating bass is not appropriate, but
basslines and flashes of improvised counterpoint, well played,
can add considerable style and verve.
The guitarist follows the leading melody player precisely
rather than trying to control the rhythm and tempo. The backing
should follow the rhythmic emphasis and pulse of the tune,
rather than being simply metronomic counting; a backing that
does not "lift" the tune generally kills it. "Folk,"
"old timey," rock, and bluegrass guitar styles do
not fit well with Irish traditional music, not least because
many Irish tunes do not fit into a neat chord progression.
As a general rule, no more than two guitarists should play
at any one time, and players must strive to complement the
tune and each other, instead of competing. The guitarist must
be as skilled and as dedicated to the tradition as any of
the melody players, and must hold in mind that "less
is more." A "rhythm section" is not necessary
in the traditional session, and it is always better to sit
out a tune or to play so quietly as to only be heard by oneself
than to wreck the music by playing jarring chords or an incorrect
beat.
Many of the earliest notable guitarists working in traditional
music, such as Dáithí Sproule and the Bothy
Band's Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, used the
DADGAD tuning, to the point that some musicians came to believe
that only DADGAD was appropriate. However, tasteful use of
standard (EADGBE) and dropped-D (DADGBE) tunings is perfectly
suited to traditional music, as shown by the work of, amongst
others, Steve Cooney, Arty McGlynn and John Doyle. A host
of other altered tunings are also used by some players, most
of them modal, like DADGAD, rather than being open-chord tunings
like Open-G.
The guitar is used to accompany singers as well as instrumentalists,
but it is generally considered to be a serious violation of
session etiquette to play behind a singer without being asked.
The purest form of Irish traditional song is the unaccompanied
solo, and singers often vary their rhythm and alter the melody
from verse to verse; an accompanist unfamiliar with the specific
song and the individual singer's approach to it will throw
the singer off completely.
Melody playing on the guitar is quite possible, but tends
to be drowned out in a session environment by the louder instruments
such as fiddle and flute. Masters of the guitar in Irish traditional
music include Arty McGlynn, Dáithí Sproule,
John Doyle, Zan McLeod, Loughy (Kieran O'Loughlin), Dennis
Cahill, and Steve Cooney.
Bouzouki
A relative of the once-popular cittern imported from Greece,
the bouzouki was introduced in the late 1960s by Johnny Moynihan
and then popularized by Donal Lunny, Andy Irvine, and Alec
Finn. Today's Irish bouzouki has four courses of two strings
each tuned GDAD, GDAE, or ADAE; unison courses are probably
most common, although octaves in the bass are favoured by
some players. The back is flat or lightly arched and the top
is either flat or carved like that of an arch top guitar or
mandolin. All in all, the Irish bouzouki has evolved into
a member of the mandolin family with little resemblance to
the round-backed Greek bouzouki with its guitarlike (in the
four course version) tuning. Alec Finn is the only notable
player still using a Greek bouzouki, one of the older style
three course (six string) instruments tuned DAD.
Mandolin
The mandolin, a fretted instrument strung with eight steel
strings in four unison courses and played with a plectrum
(pick), is not a common instrument amongst Irish traditional
musicians. When it appears at a session, it's usually tuned
GDAE, like the fiddle.
Although almost any variety of acoustic mandolin might be
adequate for Irish traditional music, virtually all Irish
players prefer flat-backed instruments with oval sound holes
to the Italian-style bowl-back mandolins or the carved-top
mandolins with f-holes favoured by bluegrass mandolinists.
The former are often too soft-toned to hold their own in a
session (as well as having a tendency to not stay in place
on the player's lap), whilst the latter tend to sound harsh
and overbearing to the trad ear. Greatly preferred are flat-topped
"Irish-style" mandolins (remniscent of the WWI-era
Martin Army-Navy mandolin) and carved (arch) top mandolins
with oval soundholes, such as the Gibson A-style of the 1920s.
The mandolins built by British luthier Stefan Sobell are perhaps
the most highly prized for Irish traditional music, although
many other makers, such as Ireland's Joe Foley, also make
well-regarded mandolins.
Chord-strumming on the mandolin (particularly bluegrass-style
"chop" strumming) does not fit at all well with
Irish traditional music; an approach of two and three note
chords mixed with "countermelody," as used by Irish
bouzouki players can be more appropriate, but is often lost
amidst the other instruments of a session.
Noteworthy Irish mandolin players include Andy Irvine (who
almost always tunes the E down to D), Mick Moloney and Paul
Kelly.
Bodhrán
A frame drum, usually of bent wood and goatskin, the bodhrán
is considered a relatively modern addition to traditional
dance music. Some musicologists suggest its use was originally
confined to the wrenboys on St. Stephen's Day and other quasi-ritual
processions. It was introduced/popularized in the 1960s by
Sean Ó Riada (although there are mentions of "tambourines"
without zils being played as early as the mid nineteenth century),
and quickly became popular. Great players include Johnny 'Ringo'
McDonagh, Tommy Hayes, Colm Murphy and Fergus O'Byrne (of
Ryan's Fancy) and John Joe Kelly of Flook.
Although skilled bodhrán players are highly prized
by most traditional musicians, the inaccurate perception of
many neophytes and other persons only peripherally involved
with the living tradition that the bodhrán represents
an "easy" way to participate in sessions has caused
some players to develop a deep and abiding, if sometimes unreasonable,
hatred for the instrument. (A well-known fiddler once described
the sound of an ineffectively played bodhrán at a session
as 'sounding like a sack of spuds falling down stairs'.) It
is therefore considered wise for those who play the bodhrán
to cultivate a skin thicker than that upon their drum.
Mention should also be made here of the "bones"
- two slender, curved pieces of bone or wood - and "spoons".
Pairs of either are held together in one hand and shaken rhythmically
to make a percussive, clacking sound. They should be used
sparingly and never (one may fear the worst from the simple
existence of this warning) during waltzes, airs, or songs.
Harmonica
A well-known instrument found in many kinds of traditional
music, the Irish harmonica tradition is best-represented by
Mick Kinsella, Paul Moran, the Murphy family from County Wexford,
the late Eddie Clarke and Brendan Power (the latter being
of New Zealand).
Late Nineteenth Century revival and the Twentieth Century
The revival of interest in Irish traditional culture was closely
linked to Nationalist calls for independence and was catalysed
by the foundation of the Gaelic League in 1893. This sought
to encourage the rediscovery and affirmation of Irish traditional
arts by focusing upon the Irish language, but also established
an annual competition, the Feis Cheoil, in 1903 as a focus
for its activities.
The Gaelic League was often accused of being a largely middle-class
organisation and of taking little heed of the interests or
enjoyments of those living in rural areas of Ireland; most
of the League's meetings were in fact held in London.
Religion also played a role in the re-development of Irish
culture. The actual achievement of independence from Britain
tallied closely with a new Irish establishment desire to separate
Irish culture from the European mainstream, but the new Irish
government also paid heed to clerical calls to curtail 'jazz
dancing' and other suggestions of a dereliction in Irish morality
-- though it was not until 1935 that the Public Dance Halls
Act curtailed the right of anyone to hold their own events;
from then on, no public musical or dancing events could be
held in a public space without a license and most of those
were usually only granted to 'suitable' persons - often the
parish priest.
Combined with continued emigration, and the priesthood's
inevitable zeal in closing down un-licensed events, the upshot
was to drive traditional music and dancing back into the cottage
where it remained until returning migrants persuaded pub owners
to host sessions in the early 1960s.
Pub sessions
Pub sessions are now the home for much of Irish traditional
music, which takes place at informal gatherings in urban pubs.
The first known of these modern pub sessions took place in
1947 in London's Camden Town at a bar called The Devonshire
Arms (although some ethnomusicologists believe that Irish
immigrants in the United States may have held sessions before
this); the practice was only later introduced to Ireland.
By the 1960s pubs like O'Donoghues in Dublin were holding
their own pub sessions, and the Fleadh Ceoil music festival
was sparking increased popular interest in traditional music.
1960s and 70s: Revival...again
Seán Ó Riada's The Chieftains, The Clancy Brothers,
The Dubliners, Sweeney's Men and Planxty were in large part
responsible for a second wave of revitalization of Irish folk
music in the 1960s, followed up by The Bothy Band and Clannad
in the 70s.
The 1960s saw a number of innovative performers. Christy
Moore and Donal Lunny, for example, first performing as a
duo, and later creating two of the most well-known bands of
the era, Planxty and Moving Hearts (in the 1980s). The Clancys
broke open the field in the US in the early part of the decade,
which inspired vocal groups like The Dubliners, while Ceoltóirí
Chualann's instrumental music spawned perhaps the best-known
Irish traditional band, The Chieftains, which formed in 1963.
By the 70s, bands like Planxty and Clannad had set the stage
for a major popular blossoming of Irish music. Formed in 1974,
The Bothy Band became the spearcarriers of that movement;
their debut album, [1975] (1975), inspired a legion of fans.
(One can often find The Bothy Band under "Rock"
in some stores). New groups that appeared in their wake included
Moving Hearts formed by Dónal Lunny and Christy Moore
and featuring Davy Spillane on uilleann pipes - the first
time this had effectively happened in a rock setting.
The 70s saw the beginning of fusions of Irish traditional
music with American and British rock and roll, beginning perhaps
with the band Horslips. Singer-songwriter Van Morrison is
also renowned from the trad-rock scene, and is known for incorporating
soul and R&B to great effect. Blues guitarist Rory Gallagher
was renowned for his masterful guitar playing. The heavy metal
band Thin Lizzy occasionally used Irish musical traditions
in their songs. For example, the song Emerald used a jig (6/8)
time signature, and a melody that was influenced by traditional
Irish music. Also, the song "The Black Rose" contained
a traditional Irish reel being played by guitar, bass, and
drums. Most famously, their reworking of the traditional folk
staple, "Whiskey in the Jar" was a huge hit. Singer
and songwriter Phil Lynott is often said to be a modern incarnation
of the Irish poetry tradition.
Late 20th century: Rock and More...
The Waterboys performing in Dublin in 2004.Traditional music,
especially sean nós, played a major part in Irish popular
music later in the century, with Van Morrison, Hothouse Flowers
and Sinéad O'Connor using traditional elements in popular
songs. Enya achieved success with New Age/Celtic fusions.
The Pogues, led by Shane MacGowan, helped fuse Irish folk
with punk rock to some success beginning in the 1980s, while
the Afro-Celt Sound System achieved considerable fame adding
West African influences and drum n bass in the 1990s.
In the 1980s, major bands included De Dannan, Altan, Arcady,
Dervish and Patrick Street. Punk rock entered Ireland in full
in the late 1970s, and flowered in the following decade with
performers like Gavin Friday, Bob Geldof and Mangled Ferret,
while the Belfast scene inspired a legion of punk bands from
Northern Ireland, of whom the Stiff Little Fingers are the
most well-known. Later in the 80s and into the 90s, Irish
punk, like the scene in the UK, US and elsewhere, fractured
into new styles of alternative rock, which included the critically
acclaimed That Petrol Emotion, the renowned underground band
My Bloody Valentine and the popular punk sound of Ash.
The 80s also saw the rise of Irish international stars. The
biggest Irish musical performer of any kind is undoubtedly
U2, who entered the mainstream beginning in 1980 with Boy,
and continuing to incorporate a number of styles on later
albums into the next century. Other rock bands of the era
included The Undertones, Energy Orchard and The Boomtown Rats.
A growing interest in Irish music at this time helped many
artistes gain more recognition abroad, including Mary Black,
Andy White, Sharon Shannon, Hothouse Flowers and others. The
BBC screened a documentary series about the influence of Irish
music called Bringing it all Back Home (a reference to both
the Bob Dylan folk song and the way in which Irish traditional
music has travelled, especially in the New World following
the Irish diaspora, which in turn has come back to influence
modern Irish rock music). This series also helped to raise
the profile of many artistes relatively little known outside
Ireland. The fashionability of Irish folk music at this time
may be judged from the huge success that non-Irish band The
Waterboys enjoyed with their albums Fisherman's Blues and
Room to Roam, both of which are full of Irish folk influences.
Meanwhile, Sinéad O'Connor's confrontational style
won her a legion of fans as well as controversy.
Country and Western music from the United States, which was
influenced indirectly by Irish music, returned back over the
ocean and is immensely popular in Ireland.
In the 1990s, pop bands like the Corrs, B*Witched, Boyzone
and The Cranberries also became internationally renowned.
Ireland had developed the Celtic metal scene, part of the
black metal style which was common throughout much of Europe,
and soon evolved into Celtic battle metal, Celtic doom metal
and Celtic pagan metal. Artists included Waylander, Bran Barr,
Cruachan and Geasa.
In 1998, a crew called Exile Eye released the Optic Nerve
EP, which generated a great deal of interest in hip hop and
inspired a number of newer hip hop crews, though Exile Eye
was not the first Irish hip hop performers, as Scary Éire
and others came first. These included Homebrew, Third Eye
Surfers and Creative Controle.
In the 2000's Danú and Teada are among the youngest
major instrumental bands of largely a traditional bent.
The London Fleadh music festival was an annual event until
2003 and regularly showcased Irish music. It is now defunct.
New bands that promote the pub ballads and raucous instrumentals
so familiar to Irish music fans include Flogging Molly, the
Dropkick Murphys, and the LeperKhanz. There are many other
Irish bands developing fusions of local and Irish music such
as Skelpin, Flook, Kila, Bad Haggis, and Altan, and these
bands are no longer formed exclusively in Ireland.
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