Folk Music of Ireland

The folk music of Ireland (also known as Irish traditional music, Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the entire island of Ireland, North and South of the Border.

Irish traditional music has survived more strongly against the forces of cinema, radio and the mass media than the indigenous folk music of most European countries. This was partly due to the fact that the country was not a battleground in either of the two world wars. Another significant factor was that the economy was largely agricultural, where oral tradition usually thrives. From the end of the second world war until the late fifties folk music was held in low regard. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (an Irish traditional music association) and the popularity of the Fleadh Cheoil (music festival) helped lead the revival of the music. The English Folk music scene also encouraged and gave self confidence to many Irish musicians. Following the success of The Clancy Brothers in the USA in 1959, Irish folk music became fashionable again. The lush sentimental style of singers such as Delia Murphy was replaced by guitar-driven male groups such as The Dubliners. Irish showbands presented a mixture of pop music and folk dance tunes, though these died out during the seventies. The international success of The Chieftains and subsequent musicians and groups has made Irish folk music a global brand.

Traditional music

Like all traditional music, Irish folk music has changed slowly. Most folk songs are less than two hundred years old. One measure of its age is the language used. Only modern Irish songs are written in English, with few exceptions. The rest are in Irish. Most of the oldest songs and tunes are rural in origin. Modern songs and tunes often come from cities and towns.

There are several collections of Irish folk music from the 18th century, but it was not until the 19th century that ballad printers became established in Dublin. Important collectors include George Petrie, Edward Bunting, Francis O’Neill, Canon James Goodman and many others. Though solo performance is preferred in the folk tradition, bands or at least small ensembles have probably been a part of Irish music since at least the mid-19th century, although this is a point of much contention among ethnomusicologists.

Musicians from non-Irish styles (bluegrass, oldtime, folk) have discovered the appeal of Irish traditional music. It is usually possible to distinguish the rhythmic pulse and melodic flow of an Irish version of a tune from that of Appalachian or bluegrass versions. Few musicians can be master of more than one style in an authentic way. Kevin Burke’s “Celtic Fiddle Festival” is a rare example of blending French, Scottish and Irish styles.

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. Much of the local character of a style comes from the type of decoration that is added to a tune.

Unaccompanied vocals ar sean-nós (“in the old style”) are considered the ultimate expression of traditional singing. This is usually performed solo (very occasionally as a duet). Sean-nós singing is highly ornamented and the voice is placed towards the top of the range. 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. To the first-time listener, accustomed to pop and classical singers, sean-nós often sounds more “Arabic” or “Indian” than “Western”.

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 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 eighth 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. Another distinctive Munster rhythm is the Slide, like a fast single jig in 12/8 time. 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. Similarly, attempts by classically trained musicians to play traditional music by reading the common transcriptions are almost unrecognisable – the transcriptions exist only as a kind of shorthand.