Music of Ireland

Ireland is internationally known for its folk music, which has remained a vibrant tradition throughout the 20th century, when many 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 much mainstream success, at home and abroad.

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.

Related Topics:
English - Irish

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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). 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.

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For instance, guitars and bouzoukis only entered the traditional Irish music world in the 1960s. The bodhrán, once known in Ireland as a tambourine, is first mentioned in the nineteenth century. Ceilidh bands of the 1940s often included a drum set and stand-up bass as well as saxophones{{fact}}. As of current writing, the first three are now generally accepted in traditional Irish music circles (although 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.

Related Topics:
Guitar - Bouzouki - 1960s - Bodhrán - Tambourine - Ceilidh - 1940s - Drum - Saxophone

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More recently, traditional Irish music has been "expanded" to include new styles and variations performed by bands, although arguments run rife as to whether you may then call this music "traditional". Unaccompanied vocals in the sean nós (which means, simply, "old style") tradition are considered the traditional norm, usually either solo or as a duo. Harmony is simple, and instruments are played in unison. Counterpoint is mostly unknown to traditional music. Structural units are symmetrical and include decorations of the rhythm, text, melody and phrasing, though not usually of dynamics, due to instrumentation issues while Irish music was developing.

Related Topics:
Sean nós - Harmony - Unison - Counterpoint

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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 twice to make a 32-bar whole; 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.

Related Topics:
Dancing - Wedding - Saint's day - Dance music - Isometric

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Traditional dances and tunes include reels, hornpipes, jigs and slip jigs, as well as imported mazurkas. Jigs come in various forms for dancing -- the slip jig and hop jig are commonly written in 9/8 time, the single jig in 12/8. (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.

Related Topics:
Reels - Hornpipe - Jig - Mazurka

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Polkas are a type of tune mostly found in the Sliabh Luachra area, at the border of Cork and Kerry, in the south of Ireland. The main differences in these types of tunes are the time signature, rhythm, and speed. 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 put a slow air on the musical stave.

Related Topics:
Polka - Sliabh Luachra - Cork - Time signature

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Set dancing

Main article: Set dancing

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Set dancing, generally danced in so-called "sets" of four couples, is one of the most popular forms of the Irish traditional dances. After almost having died out, it was revived again 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".

Related Topics:
Set dancing - Céilís

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Stepdancing

Main article: Irish dance

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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. Set dancing was hugely popularized after the success of the Broadway-style musical Riverdance in 1994.

Related Topics:
Munster - Connemara - Broadway - Riverdance - 1994

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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.

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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.

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Those who pass the teachers examination recieve 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.

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Sean Nós Dancing

Modern step dancing evolved from Sean Nós dancing. Sean Nós dancing contains a huge element of improvisation, and also uses more upper body movement (and humour!) than Step Dancing. Props are also used sometimes - for example, in "The Brush Dance" the dancer uses a sweeping brush as a prop. Sean Nós Dancing remains very popular.

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Riverdance

Main article: Riverdance

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No modern description of the arts of Ireland would be complete without some mention of the Broadway musical 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 was built around the act. Riverdance's appeal was such that the arts of Ireland were once again 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 are at an all time high. Despite this the majority of those who play Irish Music look on Riverdance disparagingly, claiming that it has little to do with the tradition.

Related Topics:
Riverdance - Michael Flatley - Jean Butler - Eurovision Song Contest 1994 - Session

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