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ELEMENTS OF IRISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC

Traditional Irish music embraces a variety of tune types, each with its own distinct features.

RHYTHM
Each dance tune has a specific "time signature" {number and type of beats per musical bar}and its own rhythmic characteristics, as follows:

The Dance Tunes
REEL - 4/4 (4 crotchets in every bar), accent/swing on the 2nd and 4th crotchet of each bar.

JIG - 6/8 (6 quavers in every bar), quavers grouped in two groups of 3, accent on first quaver of each 3.

WALTZ - 3/4 (3 crotchets in every bar), accent on the first beat of every bar.

POLKA - 2/4 (2 crotchets in every bar), accent/swing on the 2nd and 4th quaver of each bar.

HORNPIPE - 4/4 (4 crotchets in every bar) characterised by a "dotted rhythm".

Differing from the dance tunes is the SLOW AIR . These are written in a variety of time signatures but are played freely with "rubato" [classical Italian term, meaning "borrowed time"]

Of course, the character of an individual tune is also influenced by the tempo (speed) of its performance.

TONALITY
In addition to the Western standard major and minor scales, the style of Irish music also employs the ancient modes, e.g. aeolian, dorian etc, from which major and minor tonality developed. A tune may move between tonalities e.g. with the 3rd and 7th notes of the scale often altered at different points in the tune. Such an example could be a tune with the first part in D major but the second part in D mixolydian (flattened 7th).

To find out more about traditional Irish music visit the following sites: www.itma.ie and www.ceolas.org

or read the following books:
"A Pocket Guide to Irish Traditional Music" - by Ciaran Carson
(Appletree Press, 1986)
"Traditional Music in Ireland" - by Tomas O Canainn
(Routledge, Kegan and Paul, 1978)