Irish instruments

1. IRISH INSTRUMENTS

2. The music of Ireland
In this land, famous for its love of music, modern
forms such as country-and-western and rock
flourish, but it is traditional music that captures the
essence of the country.
Whether you are listening to Gaelic love songs that
date back to medieval times or 17th- and 18th-
century folk songs with their English and Scottish
influences, the music is unmistakably Irish.
Dance is an equally important aspec of Irish
traditional music, and some of the molst popular
airs are derived from centuries-old reels, jigs and
hornpipes.
Nowdays there are mainly performed at fleadhs
(festivals) and ceilís (dances).
Ireland is the
only country in
the world to
have a musical
intrument.
The arp is the
principal.

3. Traditional Instruments
There is no set line-up in traditional Irish
bands.
The fiddle is probably the most common
instrument used.
Like the music, some instruments have
Celtic origins – The uillean pipes are
related to the bagpipes played in Scotland
ang Brittany Today

4. Celtic Harp
 The harp is a truly ancient instrument, with a history spanning almost
5,000 years.
 It has been used in Ireland for well over 1,000 years, surviving periodic
doldrums of persecution and social upheaval. Queen Elizabeth I, who saw
harpers as foci of local resistance to her rule, bid Lord Barrymore "hang
the harpers wherever found and destroy their instruments". The queen
was a tough critic.
 The Irish wire-strung harp used by the earliest harpers began dying out
around the turn of 19
th
century, supplanted in part by the gut-strung harp,
and in part by the European pedal harp that was invented about this time.
 This break in the tradition means that players of modern reconstructions
of the Irish wire-strung harp use a technique that would probably have
sounded quite foreign to their 18
th
century counterparts.
Foremost among the
traditional
instruments of
Ireland is the harp,
the symbol of the
Irish Republic, and
also of that country's
most popular
beverage .

5. Celtic Arp
 The modern Irish harp stands about 4 feet high, and has 34 strings, as
opposed to 47 strings on the modern orchestral harp.
 The so-called Neo-Irish harp, strung with gut or nylon, is the most
popular. It's tone is soft, like water dripping into a crystal bowl. Contrast
this with the penetrating, fuzzily resonant, bell-like tones of the wire-
strung harp.
Foremost among the
traditional
instruments of
Ireland is the harp,
the symbol of the
Irish Republic, and
also of that country's
most popular
beverage

6. Uilleann Pipes
 The inflated bag is held under the arm and pressed with the elbow to
force air through several reeded pipes that are attached to the bag. The
musician plays by alternately covering the various holes on one of the
pipes, called the chanter, producing the melody. The remaining pipes are
drones, each tuned to a single note, that provide a continuous
background tone. Bagpipes were used mostly in armies to provide
marching music.
 In Ireland the war pipes were gradually supplanted by the Uilleann
(pronounced "illyun") pipes, which were invented sometime in the 16th
century. This instrument is smaller and quieter than the war pipes, with a
greater range: two octaves, as opposed to one for the war pipes. Uilleann
pipes are not blown; instead, air is provided to the bag by means of a
bellows that is held under the opposite arm and is worked with the elbow
(hence the name Uilleann, or "elbow", pipes). A neat little animated
image that shows a piper playing can be seen on the Ceol Rince web site,
which also provides some pipe tunes in midi format.
Bagpipes, while not
quite as ancient as
the harp, have been
played in Ireland
three or four hundred
years longer. The
bagpipe features a
bladder made of
leather that is
inflated through a
pipe by the breath of
the musician

7. Uilleann Pipes
 A full modern set of Uilleann pipes has seven reeded pipes: the chanter,
with its two octave range; bass, baritone, and tenor drones that can be
turned on or off at need; and three regulators, which are chanters fitted
with keys like those on a flute, and can be used to produce various chords.

The Uilleann pipes are the most complex and versatile of all the bagpipes.
Bagpipes, while not
quite as ancient as
the harp, have been
played in Ireland
three or four hundred
years longer. The
bagpipe features a
bladder made of
leather that is
inflated through a
pipe by the breath of
the musician
A Piper
by Seumas O'Sullivan
A piper in the street today
Set up, and tuned, and started to play,
And away, away, away on the tide
Of his music we started; on every side
Doors and windows were opened wide,
And men left down their work and came,
And women with petticoats colored like flame,
And little bare feet that were blue with cold,
Went dancing back to the Age of Gold.
And all the world went gay, went gay,
For half an hour in the street today.

8. Fiddle
Despite Bierce's rather puckish definition, most fiddles these
days are strung with steel instead of gut or nylon. This
difference, along with variations in technique, is all that really
distinguishes the fiddle from the violin.
It was first used in Irish music in the 17th century, and has
remained a popular fixture of Irish music ever since.
Many distinctive regional styles have cropped up over the
centuries, the most popular today being the quick-paced bowing
of Donegal, although the music of other counties have also made
their mark.
An instrument to
tickle human
ears by friction
of a horse's tail
on the entrails of
a cat.
.

9. Bodhran & Bones
The best are made from a sheet of treated goatskin stretched
over a wooden frame. The older models had frames made of
green wood and were liable to warp, so a crossbrace was added.
Modern versions are often made of laminated woods that are
less prone to this fault, although the crossbrace is often included
to provide a handle for beginners.
The instrument is held in one hand and played with a beater in
the other. Styles of beaters vary, but it is commonly a wooden
rod about 7 inches long, held in the center so that the player can
strike the drum with either end.
A decorative design of some sort will often be painted on the
drum-head.
The bodhran
(pronounced
bow-rahn) is a
member of a
class of
percussion
instruments
known as
"frame drums"
.

10. Bodhrán & Bones
A modern bodhrán of standard size, about 18 inches in diameter,
provides a deeper, rumbling resonance. Some bodhrán are also
equipped with tuning screws.
Differences in manufacture also affect the sound of the
instrument - craftsman have developed their own special
techniques, particularly regarding the treatment of the goatskin
drum-head, and by and large they don't share them.
Another percussion instrument used in Irish music are the
"bones". These are typically laths of wood or bone (the ribs of
sheep are common for the latter), which are held between the
fingers and tapped together. Spoons have served as substitutes
of expedience, from time to time.
The bodhrán
(pronounced
bow-rahn) is a
member of a
class of
percussion
instruments
known as
"frame drums"
.

11. The Whistle & Flute
Most tin whistles, or "penny whistles", as they are sometimes
called, are metal cylinders, sometimes tapered, with a
mouthpiece and six holes, or "stops". They've been used in Irish
music since at least the 18th century, replacing the bone
whistles that had been used from time immemorial.
Flutes have been about in various designs for centuries. The
modern flute, with its pure, mellow tones, was the invention of a
19th century musician named Theobald Boehm, who made his
flutes from silver instead of wood, enlarged the holes and
equipped them with padded stops
However, Irish musicians tend to prefer older style wooden
flutes with six open finger holes, as they feel it gives a tone more
appropriate to their style of music.
The high, shrill
notes of the tin
whistle have long
been a fixture of
traditional Irish
music. It is cheap to
make and simple to
play, and produces
a wonderful music
that is by turns
lively or plaintive
.

12. Concertina
In 1844 he modified it so that the air that powered the
instrument was provided by a bellows, and the concertina was
born
It was a generally popular instrument in the 19th century, and
was even used in orchestras from time to time, but has been
pretty much defined as a folk music instrument ever since.
The concertina and the accordion, an instrument that works on a
similar principle, are often used in Irish folk music.
In the early 19th
century, Charles
Wheatstone
invented the
symphonium, a
brass-reeded
instrument that
was a precursor of
the harmonica.
.

13. Banjo
It became popular in ceili bands and in ballad
groups such as the Dubliners and recent
recordings by American based Seamus Egan
and Mick Moloney are furthering it's spread.
The banjo most used in Irish music is a 4-string
tenor banjo, with the standard strings replaced
by heavier ones, tunes to GDAE.
The American
five-string banjo
came to Ireland
in the nineteenth
century, losing
one string along
the way
.