Archive for the ‘irish music’ Category

Irish Traditional Music

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Traditional Irish music is some of the most well known music that Ireland has to offer. Whenever most people think about Irish music, they think about some guys enjoying some beer at a pub and singing a drinking song. Many traditional Irish music consists of drinking songs, ballads and laments, and sung unaccompanied. The traditional Irish dance music includes reels, jigs, and hornpipes in 6/8 time.

The polka came to Ireland at the start of the nineteenth century. This set dancing spurned music that was rich in folk instruments such as the flute, fiddle, and uillean pipes. Many dancing songs were created during this time period as most music was made for folk dance occasions in the heartland and highlands of Ireland.

A revival of traditional Irish music took place when the 20th century started. Some of the most well known instruments that are associated with this period is the button accordion and the concertina. At this time a traditional Irish way of singing, called sean-nos, was still found mainly in poetic type songs in the Irish language. From 1820 to 1920 over 4 million Irish immigrated to the USA which brought the traditional Irish music to the states. Many Irish immigrants made recordings in the USA which found their way back to the homeland and really started another popular traditional Irish music movement in the heartland of Ireland. Some of these artist included Michael Coleman, James Morrison, and Paddy Killorah.

Traditional Irish music seemed to simmer down around the 1940’s and 1950’s. At this time a new wave of traditional music started with artists such as The Chieftains, The Clancy Brothers, The Irish Rovers, The Dubliners and Sweeney’s Men. These artists got the music to get popular once again in the 60’s and once again made recordings that would start another movement in the heartland of Ireland. These waves of movements have continued to happen through to the present day.

There are many current artists that capitalize on the traditional Irish Music style. Enya, Celtic Women, and even Riverdance are some examples of the artists that have continued to keep traditional Irish music alive. This music makes people happy as they can tap their foot to the harmonic melodies accompanies by fiddles, flutes, and percussion. The music has a very lively and jovial feel to it which makes people enjoy the company around them and stirs their souls with the feelings of the heartland of Ireland. Traditional Irish music has proven to last the test of time and will continue to be a musical force that will continue to influence the world of music for many years to come.

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Irish Music

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Ireland has a vast history of music which the world has termed as “Irish Music”. The Irish music that most people are referring to is the music that is indigenous to the island which natives call Irish Traditional Music. Apart from the traditional music, Irish music has certainly played its part in the world culture in the 20th and 21st century. Irish music has in recent years been fused with rock and roll, punk rock, and many other genres. Many of these artists that have mixed Irish music with a popular genre have become iconic music stars. Some of these stars include: Thin Lizzy, Riverdance, Van Morrison, The Cranberries, and of course U2.

What is it that makes Irish music so unique? The overall sound is what makes Irish Music stand out against other types of music. The use of chorus, fiddles, and other instruments give the style of music away right from the moment it is heard. There is almost a kind of classical feel to the music as the melodies roll off the instruments in a kind of easy flowing way. At other times the music can be very lively and jovial.

When people think of Irish Music they tend to think more about the traditional style of music with the fiddles and chorus. There have been many popular artists that continue to use this type of music in their modern music. Enya is one example of an artist that continues to use the Celtic sounds with her New Age Fusion style of music which has brought a worldwide attention to the sounds of the traditional Irish Music. Riverdance was another musical and dancing act which brought Irish music to the masses. Because of these popular artists and acts, the world has been given a more in depth exposure to the world of music from Ireland.

Ireland has a very rich amount of talent and artists that have gone out into the world and spread the music of Ireland to the world. Some of the largest selling acts of Irish music include: U2, Enya, Van Morrison, The Cranberries, and The Corrs. Each one of these acts have all sold over 40 Million records! All of these artists are extremely well known and if you listen closely, you can hear those hints of Ireland in their music. Irish music has definitely made a huge impact on the music we listen to today, and some very talented musicians and artists have come out of Ireland to help influence the world with Irish Music.

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Irish Folk Songs

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Where do you go to hear some really good Irish folk songs? Ireland of course! The best place to go if you want to hear some folk songs is to go a traditional Irish pub. These pubs usually have live music to keep the customers entertained, and If you go to one of these pubs, we guarantee you will hear some old Irish folk songs. If you can’t make it to Ireland, there are several different ways to hear these old Irish folk songs that are all poetic and that tell a story.

There are literally thousands of folk songs, and many of them are still sung in the Gaelic language which is native to Ireland. One of the most popular songs you will hear if you ever go to Ireland is called the Field of Athenry. This folk song is about the famine that happened in Ireland in 1845, but was composed in the 1970’s. This song has become one of the favorite national songs of Ireland and is the anthem for County Galway and Ireland.

Danny boy is another very popular Irish folk song. This song was written in 1913, but it is still unclear to this day where the song originated from. This song has been recorded by a long list of bands and singers which include Bing Crosby, Cher, Johnny Cash, Elvis and Thin Lizzy. A few other very popular Irish folk songs include: when Irish Eyes are Smiling, The Wild Rover, The Auld Triangle, The Irish Rover, Whiskey in the Jar, Some Say the Devil is Dead, Black is the Colour, My Irish Molly, Fiddlers Green, Seven Drunken Nights, Rare Ould Mountain Dew, Black Velvet Band, and the The Streets of New York and the Rare Ould Times.

Each county in Ireland also has their own folk song as their anthem. To give an example of this, Cockles and Muscles is a county Dublin song, Rose of Tralee. The history of Ireland plays a huge part in the writing of the lyrics of these old folk songs as each song remembers the history it is written about. Some of these types of songs include: A Nation Once Again, Sean South from Garryowen, Banna Strand, The Rising of the Moon, and the Green Fields of France just to name a few.

Ireland’s national anthem is a song called Amhran na bhFiann, which translates to mean “The Soldiers Song”. This song was composed in 1907 and is usually the last song that is sung at night after all the other music has been played. As you can see, Ireland has a rich history of Irish folk songs that continue to be played today.

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Irish Fiddle Music

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

What is it about Irish fiddle music that is so enchanting and different than other classical fiddle music? I guess you could say that it has the luck of the Irish. What I mean by this is that Irish fiddle music has a very unique sound that is made up of technique, timing, and the culture of traditional Ireland.

Most people can pick Irish music out of a crowd with ease. The sound is unique, meaning that it is different than other traditional fiddle music. Most regular fiddle music is very country-ish with sliding notes and a little bit of a drawl feeling. Irish fiddle music is quite the opposite of this type of style and is not at all like the slow classical violin pieces that many of us have heard. Irish fiddle music is very fast and very lively. The notes are constantly being moved around and there is no sliding of notes as the music has a very staccato feel to it. The melodies are very tight and jovial sounding. Many people can’t help but pick up their feet and start dancing to the violent fiddling of Irish music.

The technique of Irish fiddle music is much different than that of classical fiddle music. Classic fiddle music is much slower paced and the bowing and plucking techniques are not nearly as repetitive or fast as that of the Irish fiddle style. The fiddle music of Ireland was mainly made when set dances came to the island that prompted artists to create jovial and lively tunes with their fiddles to get people to dance. This makes the technique of fiddling much different than traditional fiddling methods as the bowing and finger plucking is quite fast and usually is done to a 6/8 time.

The culture of Ireland can also be heard in the Irish fiddle music that is native to that land. The fiddle music of Ireland tells a story as you listen to it. It tells the story of men that just got off a hard day’s work and is celebrating at the local pub. It also shares stories of new age hope and freedom as can be heard in the Celtic Women fiddle music that they create based off of the traditional Irish fiddle music. Enya is another great example of how she used fiddling in her music to tell stories of peace, new age hope, and love and tranquility. The Irish fiddle music of the past continues to extend its reach into our modern times and will continue to be popular as it is so fun and jovial to listen to.

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Irish Dance Music

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Irish dance music is still very popular these days in pubs and bars all around Ireland and even in the U.S. The reason for this is because Irish music is very catchy, lively, and just fun to listen to. This type of music is used all over Ireland at weddings, large events, and really any event that dancing can be worked into.

Irish dance music originated a long time ago when dancing was brought to Ireland. The people in Ireland ate it up and have made dancing a part of their culture. With the arrival of dancing to the culture the music made a big change at that time as well. The music utilized fiddles to liven the mood and created catchy tunes that people could dance too. These Irish dances included Jigs, line dances, and even footwork dances that would all be centered on high speed fiddle music. Percussion was added in later years, but back in those days the fiddle had to carry the beat and tempo. That is why fiddle music is kind of repetitive, to help people stay in rhythm while dance to the music. The fiddle in the dance music stays very lively, fast, and keeps people on step with the cultural dances that the Irish have created to go along with this type of music.

With the Irish making dance music a part of their culture, they have also helped to spread this music worldwide. Even hit movies have Irish music influence such as Lord of the Rings. Many Irish type pubs and functions throughout the world utilize Irish dance music to extend the reach of their culture throughout the world. There are also artists that have really extended this type of music to the world. Some of these artists include Enya and the Celtic women which stay very true to the traditional music styles of the Irish dance music of old.

If you are searching for Irish dance music for a party of your own, there are several places to find quality music that is true to the traditional style. Places like iTunes or Amazon.com are easy places to quickly find CD’s full of Irish dance music. This music is perfect for a classy yet fun way to party and dance. This type of music is perfect for weddings, receptions, and other events that you want to have a classier feel. Irish dance music will continue to be used for many events for years to come as it is very jovial and happy.

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Irish Music Yesterday, Today And Forever!

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

When we talk about Ireland, the first thing that comes to a person’s mind is Irish music, isn’t it? That’s because Irish music is very instrumental and melodious in nature. Till date, Irish music hasn’t changed much and is quite influenced by the traditional music that comes from Britain and the United States of America. Irish musicians specially like to play folk music, followed by rock and roll, punk rock, fusion etc. You would like to know that most of the Irish fusion musicians are now a part of the main stream music that is heard world-wide! Some performers such as Clannad, Enya, Westlife, Thin Lizzy, The Pogues, Rory Gallagher, The Corrs, U2 etc have received overwhelming success due to their knowledge about Irish music. Want to know more about Irish music? Read on……

Traditional Irish music being vast in nature, has many different facets. Some of the most famous types of Irish music include, laments, ballads, drinking songs etc. To be honest, the Irish have music for every occassion! Irish dance music mainly consists of instruments like reels, hornpipes, jigs, flute, fiddle, button accordian, uilleann pipes etc. Although Irish music is still alive, traditional Irish singing known as sean-nós( a peotic form of singing) is getting lost amongst other types of music such as hip hop, r&b, rap, rock etc.

It’s very unfortunate that Irish music isn’t under the spotlights anymore, since more and more musicians from Ireland are moving to other countries to make their dreams come true. Today, we’ve got loads of options in every kind of music. So if you are not amongst the one’s who likes rock music, you always have soft rock or alternative rock. On the other hand, you don’t have many choices when it comes to the traditional Irish music or the irish music that we hear today. The same instruments are being used till date, and are being played in the same old manner.

Irish music has it’s own flavours, but it’s the same old tune being played over and over again, which is what makes it so dull. With a little bit of tweaking, Irish musicians should be able to come up with something that’s fresh and out of the box. Imagine Irish remixes turning teenagers crazy or Irish men banging their heads, while listening to a rock song at an Irish bar! If hip-hop or rock doesn’t make you jump out of your seat, Irish trance music definitely will!

Just like any other music, even Irish music has it’s own beauty, but Irish musicians have a long way to go. I am yet to see a band that play’s Alternative traditional Irish music or a band that blends with human beatboxers in the Uk, but if I did, i’d make sure to congratulate them and support them as far as i possibly could. The instrumental nature of Irish music does not have to be frowned upon. It could turn out to be something that the world has been waiting for.

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