Hello again and welcome. Previously I posted about the Irish harp and how it has changed over the years, influencing the make of irish music to what it is today. Now i am going to talk to you about the remaining instruments used in irish music and irish traditional music to date. These include Tin-whistle, Irish flute,Bodhran and many more. Modern instruments such as the keyboard and guitar are now used in irish music.
These instruments are commonly used in irish music and can be heard all around the world.

TIN WHISTLE/FEADOG

The tin whistle is known by many names; penny whistle, tin whistle and feadóg. There are many forms of whistle like this as we don't know the exact history of this type of whistle and ones like it, but what makes it famous with the Irish is that the way we play it and the musical style used.
it was first used in Irish traditional music that we know of is in the early 19th century, even though bones flutes were found in a Viking settlement in Dublin. This shows that flute like instruments like the tin whistle were used all around the world before any records were taken down. 
Whistles has been found in many materials such as wood,metal,clay and many more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_whistle

The tin whistle or feadóg in Irish is the most common type of instruments used in trad music as it is easy to learn, which is why people start on these instruments before advancing onto other instruments as it gives them a flavour for Irish music and if people are often advised to start on them before advancing onto the traditional Irish flute as it has similar key-holes and will make it that bit easier to play the flute. Tim whistles are also easier to carry as you can carry it in your pocket and they are cheaper but now a days you can by ones that are decorated and produce more mellow like tune for more,  around 20 euros.
The most common keys in tin whistle is the key of C and the Key of D. 
The Key of C has a deeper tone to it counterpart the D key and help play the Keys of C and F easier.
Tin whistle in keys of D are more common today than the key of C as most Irish music is in the key of D. It has a higher tone tone to it and makes it easier to play in the keys of D and G.
You hear a lot of ornamentation on the tin whistle from cuts,rolls,strikes,slides tonguing and many more this gives it a bit of edge to the music the tin whistle is playing.The accordions play a massive part in modern irish music since it was introduced in the late 19th century.

Accordions and Concertina

There are 2 types of accordion button also known as box and piano accordion.

The Button Accordion in irish music is generally a 2 row button accordion and is also know as melodeon or the box. This means that there is a row of buttons on one side and another row of buttons on the other side. But how the irish button(box) accordion differs from European button accordions is that it's buttons are  pitched to a semi-tone apart from each other. Because of this it is able to be play chromatically   The button accordion is very popular in irish music than its counter part the piano accordion. It can be keyed to B/C and C#/D and many more. 

The Piano accordion has the same folded bit in the middle as the button accordion which you press in and out except on the sides it has a keyboard on only one side and buttons on the other.                                   This instrument became very popular in the 1950s and it is still popular in céilí bands. It became very popular as it played smooth notes and could change its keys easily. 

Piano Accordion and Button Accordion
http://www.atelierdelaccordeon.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=10&osCsid=eef014927bb582a4214b4ebea86954e0
http://www.oldsongs.org/myo_music.htm

The Concertina in irish music is the anglo type in which each button produces a different note in which when the bellows(the folded bit in the middle like the accordions) are contracted and expanded.            There are 2 types of anglo concertinas the 2 row and 3 row. The 2 row has 20 buttons and is used less commonly in irish traditional music as it doesn't give many accidentals which are commonly used in irish music,but the the 3 row anglo concertina is commonly used as it can it can be played in any key and it has an extra set of buttons as to play accidentals. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theyellabelly/5837171553/

Uilleann Pipes

We are certain that the uilleann pipes developed in the 18th century and looks like the bagpipe, but it produces a mellow tune than the bagpipe and is not squeaky as the bagpipe. It is also sayed to be the most difficult to play. The Uille translated from irish to english means "elbow" in which this is exactly how it is played and this is how it differs from the bagpipe which it blown into. It is extremely popular in irish music and is the main instrument in irish music. It can been heard in braveheart                                                                                          The Uilleann pipe consists of  a;
Chanter that has a double reed with a two octove range, 3 regulators with double reeds, 3 reed drones and a bag which is known as the bellow, the presses onto to produce air.

http://www.heyitsourwebsite.com/labels/portraits.html

The Fiddle, Banjo and Irish Flute

The fiddle in irish music is exactly the violin except it is played with cuts and other ornamentation.

The Irish banjo is tuned to four strings in a tenor with the exception of 5 strings in some and is used as a melody accompaniment instrument. 

The irish traditional flute has been in irish music since the 19th century and is wooden in which this is how it differs from the classic metal flute, but some is made of PVC but this type is common in beginners as it is easier to learn than the wooden in which it advances onto later in learning. It plays a really nice peaceful sound and is often complimented on its tune. It can be heard in the titanic song my heart will go on as well as the tin whistle.

Irish Flute
http://www.firescribble.net/flute/choosing.html

Irish tenor banjo
http://goldtonebanjo.com/GoldToneBanjos/indexTenorBanjos.htm

Bodhran

The bodhran is an irish drum commonly used in irish traditional music in which it ranges from 25-65cms in diameter. It has a wooden frame with 2 wooden criss-crosses or 1 inside the frame and a sheet of calf or goat skin attached to the frame. It is hit with a cipin or beater. It is rested on the knee and the cipin is strummed against it holding it like a pencil, but it can also be played on the top of the frame as well. A hand goes to the inside of the frame onto the skin and is moved around it when the cipin strikes it to give it a different sound. 

http://www.bsutton.com/brenda/music/bodhran/bodhran.htm

Videos

Titanic(My heart will go on): tin whistle and irish traditional flute heard.

The Uillean pipes can be heard from 0.33seconds and onwards.

Fiddles, bodhran, guitar, Uilleann pipes and button accordion are used. A number of reels brought together by an irish music band called Perfect Friction. The tune is called Snotties Delight.

Irish Instruments

There is a mixture of range of different instruments used in Irish Music but, many of the Irish instruments such as the tin-whistle, bodhran, traditional flute and Uillean pipes come from the 19th century and it was then that these instruments became popular in irish music but there is evidence that some of these instruments dated even further back to celtic times. But more recently guitars,banjo,piano and keyboard has been introduced in which these are being used more often when irish trad music and is infused with modern music such as pop and rock. In this post i will post about the Irish harp but in the next i will post the remaining instruments.

HARP

The Irish harp has been a very important instrument and a symbol of the Irish people. This instrument is the most traditional instrument used in irish music dating back over 1,000 years and is calledin irish 'clairseach'. Back in medieval times ireland was renown for their playing of the instrument., When ireland was in the many years of struggle against the British rule of the the irish harp was used as a symbol of freedom and republic, it isa still used today on our coins and on goverment offical documents this strated when King Henry the VIII ruled.

People that could play the harp were higly respected and the harpers(people who play the harp) often played/created music for noble celebarting there sucess, riches,bravery,etc. and these harp music were called planxties. But in the 17th-early 18th century the harp started to decline rapidly as the famine or the Great Famine known in ireland had strucked and thousands of thousands of familys and harpers emigrated out of the countrty. Also when Queen Elizabeth I ruled she issued a proclamation to hang Irish harpers and burn their music& harps to stop the harpers getting political power as they were hardly regarded, but also because as I sayed earlier that it became the national symbol of rebellion..Soon after the famine people known as collectors and others started to collect and notated down irish harp music and the most notable time the most harp music was collected was in the 1792 Belfast harp festival where only 11 harpers played, majority of them were old. Edward bunting was the omst renown collector to collectand notate down these tunes helping save and peserve music we can now use now a days. Turlough Carolan who was a blind harper ande he help the irish harp to not be extinct in irish music in which he travelled around the country creating hundreds of tunes to be used today. Back in the medieval and more back hapers played with their fingernails but now a days the flesh at the fingertips. Sometimes in war a harpist would come and play a instrument(then harp) with jewels on it, sometimes the gold in harp and play to lead the men into battle.

The harp used in gaelic ireland was triangalur and was strung with metal wire held onto a soundbox that was manily carved out of willow or sometimes other wood and it was a small harp that could be held on the knees. In trinity college they have one of the old celtic harps(Brian-Boru harp as shown in the image below) that can be seen today by visitors. No adays the harp or 'clairseach' is still small but more semitones to it and nylonn&carbon-fibre are common in modern irish harps for the strings.



                        WHAT IS IRISH MUSIC?

Irish music has changed from being very traditional to many types like pop-irish,rock- irish, etc. but still traditional otherwise known as trad is still very popular to date all around the world. It is also the culture of Ireland and gives us identidity and often reflects what we see in life.

Irish music is a number of different genres including folk music created in which they are infused together from Ireland. Much of irish music is for dancing as it is up beat and flows into each other like a magical chant. But there is also Irish music for listening to for example when songs are sung in Sean-nos style(old-style) which often the song referes to everyday life.

Irish tunes and songs were traditionally passed from generation to generation aurally through ear and mouth originally or in the pubs and it was not till the 19th century that these tunes were notated down.  From being passed on by ear the tunes changed a little bit each generation meaning that the tunes and songs were not always the same, giving many variations and notes of the music for the collectors as they are called to give us as wide varaitey of the same tune.

In a later post i will tell you all about the different instruments used and also how some modern instruments have been introduced along with a video later.

image from irishrainphotography
This is a basic pub session in which people played irish music for a pint of beer.

Hello, my name is Lucy, i am from Ireland and I have started a blog about the geography of the beautiful Irish Music and how it has influenced the world.

Image from www.chrislangan.ca