It is a push-pull action, which blows air across paired metal reeds.Ī small hexagonal accordion, the concertina is much smaller and can be held in your lap. The accordion is played by moving the bellows back and forth, while fingering the notes. The rows in a two-row button accordion used in Celtic music are tuned a semi-tone apart, and are usually tuned to B/C and C#/D.
There are several types of accordions, including a ten-key and a 2-row button accordion. And, the learning curve for playing them is very short and fun. The percussion sounds arise from them hitting each other (or your legs, or your fingers, etc.). They should be about 5-7 inches in length – the right size of a sheep rib! You hold two or four of them between your fingers and tap away. Bodhran players can obtain different tones depending on where they play the drum, with deeper tones coming from the middle of the drum, and shorter ones from the sides.Īlso known in the US south as Spoons, since they can be played with two spoons! Bones are a percussion instrument, composed of two identical pieces of wood (in the olden days, sheep ribs). It is played with a drumstick, called a beater. Usually made from treated goatskin stretched over a round wooden frame and a crossbrace in the back, the bodhran makes delicious-sounding tones. Wondered when percussion would show up? No Celtic music is complete without the bodhran (pronounced bow-ran), a circular frame drum. The flute can be used to achieve ethereal accents, or also contribute to the main melody. The tone holes are covered with the fingers to produce different notes. The tin whistle is mostly used for accent notes, as well as the main melody in a song.Ĭeltic musicians tend to prefer the old-fashioned wooden flutes to the more modern, metal flute. The tin whistle is a metal cylinder, like a recorder, with 6 stops on which the musician can finger the different notes. The easiest to carry, the tin whistle has been a mainstay in Celtic music for ages. There are definitely regional variations in fiddle playing. The techniques involved in fiddling are different from playing the violin – sharper, shorter bursts, and quick fingerwork. The musical instrument itself is the same. A fiddle is strung with steel, while a violin is usually strung with gut or nylon. Probably the most well-known of Celtic instruments, the fiddle provides haunting, soulful sounds, or rollicking, danceable tunes. Yes, work on your lung capacity! The musician presses the bag underneath his/her arm and plays the tune by deft fingerwork on the chanter (which looks like a recorder). Whether traditional Scottish Highland bagpipes or Uillean pipes, these instruments are made from a leather bladder, inflated through a pipe by the musician. Modern Celtic Harps stand 4 feet high and boast 34 strings.
The stringing used to be gut-strung, but is now wire strung (bell-like tones) or nylon strung (soft tones). It’s an ancient musical instrument, used by musicians for thousands of years to entertain, enhance their stories, and enliven gatherings. Probably most well-known, globally, because of its placement in the logo of the Irish Guinness Stout! The Celtic Harp is also the symbol of Ireland.
Instrumental celtic music how to#
There are hundreds of well-known musicians in the Celtic tradition, including Julie Fowlis (who was just featured in the Disney movie, Brave), Cherish the Ladies, the Chieftans, the Clancy Brothers, Le Vent du Nord, Capercaillie, the Box Club, Calum Alex MacMillan, Sharon Shannon, Cantrip, Aine Minogue, Eileen Ivers, Matt and Shannon Heaton, Eddi Reader, the Ocean Orchestra, Altan, Long Time Courting, and Cathie Ryan.īut how to get these enchanting sounds? Here are the top ten Celtic instruments:
The Celtic music diaspora has spread from Scotland and Ireland across the world. And whether it’s for a party, called a Ceilidh, or at a pub, the music will definitely be danceable! Celtic musical instruments tend to be simple and portable, so that the party can go anywhere, at any time. Songs may be sung in English, Irish, or Gaelic. Celtic music can be a haunting melody, a storytelling accompaniment, or a lively dance tune. The sounds of Celtic music are both entrancing and enlivening.
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