Happy St. Patrick's Day!

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, today's blog will introduce the three instruments most commonly heard in traditional Irish music. The traditional music of Ireland dates back hundreds and hundreds of years. It is an aural tradition, meaning the music is passed down from generation to generation through musicians learning it by ear instead of from written music. A player will learn a tune by listening to it and then trying to copy it or sound it out on their own instrument. 

The Penny Whistle 

The penny whistle—called a penny whistle because it could be purchased for a penny—or tin whistle is a tubed instrument played vertically. It has six holes and can be made out of wood or metal. The player puts the mouthpiece (called a fipple) into their mouth and blows on it—imagine the whistle a police officer or life guard might use, but with a tube attached to it. The penny whistle is easy to play and is the most common instrument found in Traditional Irish music. Listen to famous whistle player, Paddy Maloney, play A Kerry "Slide" on penny whistle. 

The Uilleann Pipes

The Irish Uilleann pipes ("pipes of the elbow"), developed in the 1700s, are similar to the Scottish Highland bagpipes which are a couple hundred years older. They are different from the Highland pipes in a few ways though, with the main difference being how the player fills the bladder (think of a balloon) with air.  A piper playing the Scottish Highland pipes uses their mouth to blow air into the bladder through a blowpipe. For the Uilleann pipes, bellows are used to inflate the bladder. The Uilleann pipes must be played sitting down. As one arm uses the bellows to inflate the bladder, the other arm squeezes the bladder to push air through the pipes. The hands are placed onto the chanter which has six holes and plays the same notes as a penny whistle—but the two instruments have totally different sounds! Listen to Catherine Ashcroft play this solo on the Uilleann pipes, accompanied by Maurice Dickson.

Watch this video for an up close view of the pipes being played as well as an explanation on how to play them and their history. 

The Bodhrán

The Bodhrán is the drum commonly used in Traditional Irish music. It is played perpendicular to the ground while it rests on the player's leg or up against their body for stability. A beater is used in a motion similar to that of painting on a canvas, instead of the beating motion one does when playing other types of drums. One hand holds the beater, and the other is inside the drum pressing on the drum head. This allows the drummer to play different pitches and sounds rather than just one! Listen to this Bodhrán solo played by Colm Phelan.

Hear the Uilleann pipes and Bodhrán in this YouTube video.  Then listen to this YouTube video of Traditional Irish Tin Whistle (Penny Whistle) and another of tin whistle plus bodhrán.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!