|
|
accordion
The smaller kinds of squeeze
boxes--with one or two rows of buttons for the right hand--are more
popular in Irish music than the larger models with "piano"
keyboards. The concertina--with multiple rows of buttons for each hand--is
much rarer and highly prized.
|
|
|
|
banjo
Invented in the USA and
imported back into Ireland, the four-string banjo is a popular melody
instrument. It's not used for chords, and the five-string version is
almost never used
.
|
|
|
|
bodhran
The hand-held goat skin frame
drum is the main staple of Irish percussion. The name is pronounced bow-ran.
It's struck by the hand or (more often) with a short dumbbell-shaped stick
called tipper
.
|
|
|
|
citerns
These are instruments with
plucked strings in pairs. The smaller one is the mandolin, used for
melody; the larger (mandolas, octavo mandolins, bouzoukis, etc.),
sometimes for melody, sometimes for chords.
|
|
|
|
fiddle
You will recognize this as the
standard violin, played in an exuberant variety of styles. The other
members of the bowed string family are not often used.
|
|
|
|
flute
The kind of flute most used in
Irish music is made of wood, with six finger holes, with or without keys.
These antique instruments were available inexpensively when the Irish flute
style developed; then the recent popularity of Irish music sparked
interest in wooden flutes.
|
 |
|
|
guitar
The acoustic guitar is used
often for strummed chords, rarely for melody. The electric bass is used
very rarely and the electric guitar, never.
|
|
|
|
harp
The harp is the national symbol
of Ireland, but the old Irish harp-playing tradition flickered and
disappeared more than 200 years ago. There are constant efforts to revive
it, but the harp still remains outside the mainstream of Irish folk music.
|
|
|
|
Mouth
Organ
The
mouth organ is a member of the reed instrument family. It is played in the
blow and draw mode with low notes to the left and high notes to the right.
Some people describe its sound similar to the concertina. The mouth organ
has been used in traditional Irish music for many years.
|
|
|
|
pennywhistle
This inexpensive cousin of the
recorder is the most common first instrument for Irish music learners, but
its pure sound and agility have attracted a large following. The recorder
itself is never used in Irish music.
|
|
|
|
piano
Most often used
for accompaniment, the piano is rarely used for melody.
|
|
|
|
Uilleann pipes
The king of Irish music
instruments, it's also one of the most complex. It boasts a range of two
chromatic octaves and up to seven-part harmony.
|
|
