About Irish Music

The term Irish traditional music can encompass a lot of different styles, but the most widely known and most widespread is Irish traditional instrumental music, dance music and song airs. There is an enormous repertoire of Irish melodies, of which dance music, the repertoire of “tunes”, is by large the most important. The Irish traditional repertoire is made up of different types of dance tunes: Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes, Polkas, Slides, Marches and others; there are tens of thousands of tunes in all!

The Instruments

Tin Whistle : The simplest, and most popular, instrument in Irish music. A small 6-holed flute, in D, like a simplified version of the classical recorder. It is easily played in the keys of G and D. It is simple and robust in construction, affordable and easy to play, and very versatile, it is often used as a repertoire-learning instrument, before progressing to more difficult instruments like flute, fiddle or pipes. In its present form, the whistle dates from the 19th century, and has changed little since then. The low whistle is the bass version of the tin whistle.

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