Irish Fiddle

The Irish fiddle is one of the most important instruments in the traditional repertoire of Irish music. The fiddle itself is identical to the violin, however it is played differently in widely-varying regional styles.

Contents

Contemporary performers

Modern performers include

Andy McGann,

Tommy Peoples,

Brian Conway,

Randal Bays,

Gerry O'Connor,

Martin Hayes,

Kevin Burke,

Sean McGuire (fiddler)

Sean Smyth,

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh,

Cathal Hayden,

Paul Shaughnessy,

Matt Cranitch,

Marie Reilly,

Bridget Regan, and

Frankie Gavin.

Brendan Mulvihill

Sligo fiddlers like Michael Coleman did much to popularise Irish music in the States in the 1920s.

Style

Compared to classical violin, Irish fiddler tend to make little use of vibrato except for slow airs, and even then it is used relatively sparingly. Like the rest of Irish traditional music tradition, melodies are embellished through forms of ornamentation, such as rolls, trebles, and cuts.

Irish fiddlers also use a vocabulary of bow slurs different from other fiddle traditions, at least in proportion of usage. Most notably, fiddlers often slur into the beat to produce a certain lilt, not unlike the Newcastle hornpipe style of bowing in England and Scotland, though the technique in Ireland is not restricted to hornpipes. They may also slur over beats in such a pattern as to create a natural back-beat in reels.

Repertoire

Slow airs are occasionally played upon the fiddle, but the style is best known for fast, snappy reels and jigs. Strathspeys, popular in Scottish Fiddle are seldom played, as such, but there are some tunes which amply utilized dotted rhythm. Some tunes are:

Regional styles

Examples include the Sliabh Luachra and Donegal fiddle traditions.

In Irish fiddling there are few known composers, as many tunes have been taught by ear and passed down from one generation to another. Also, many players adjusted tunes to suit their style and taste, so there can be many variations for a particular tune.

Bibliographic resources

See also

Folk music of Ireland

Donegal Fiddle

Scottish Fiddle

Canadian Fiddle

American Fiddle

References

External links