Four Irish Innovations
Bodhran, Low Whistle, Slip Jig and Uillean Pipes
Contemporary Celtic music makes good use of four Irish innovations:
Uilleann Pipes
The uilleann (pronounced as ill-ann) pipes are a bellows-blown bag pipe. The Gaelic word “uilleann” means elbow. That’s a reference to the rise and fall of the elbow as the bellows are pumped. The full name is píobaí uilleann (pipes of the elbow),
No documentation exists to explain the origin of the uilleann pipes. The oldest existing sets of uilleann pipes may date to the early 1700s. But dating these instruments is no certain task. By the end of the 18th century the uillean pipes had largely replaced the harp in most Irish music. Whatever else may be said of uilleann pipes, no one will dispute that this instrument is the most complex of all bagpipes in the world. If you want to know more about uilleann pipes, visit Na Piobairi Uilleann (The Uilleann Pipers), based in Dublin http://pipers.ie/
Bodhran
The bodhran is the Irish version of frame drum. The instrument has been part of Irish music since the mid-19th century. It likely developed from the tambourine. In fact, some Irish recordings made during the 1920s include tambourines in the ensembles. References in text and images in paintings place the bodhran on the Irish scene in the early 19th century. The bodhran is native to southwest Ireland where it was used for winnowing grain.
The early techniques of bodhran playing were much like those of contemporary Arab musicians who use their fingers to play their version of the frame drum called the daff. The wooded stick called a beater or tipper seems to be a 20th century innovation. As late as the 1950s some bodhrans had metal jingles on their rims.
The name bodhran may mean “skin tray” or may come from the Gaelic word bodhra which could mean “deaf”. A text from the late 18th century claims that bodhran means “a drum, tambourine… also a sieve used in winnowing corn.”
Whatever the word means and however the bodhran came to be, it has anchored itself as “the heartbeat of Celtic music".
A good place to start when looking for information about the bodhran is BoJoDo.com. http://www.bodojo.com/
Slip Jig
The slip jig is a traditional Irish dance played in 9|8 time with accents on the 5th and 9th beats. Tempo is always a controversial topic in Irish music. The most informed answer to the question of “what tempo?” is “it depends”. Depends upon the players, dancers and setting. Generally a tempo between 100 and 110 bpm for a jig works well in most settings. A slip jig would be played toward the low end of this range. Listen to this example of the well-loved slip jig The Butterfly played at the appropriate tempo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeP5tDroavw
The slip jig dance is often called “the ballet of Irish dance”. The moves are graceful and almost always performed by young girls and women who are roughly in the same age range as those competing in gymnastics competitions. Throughout Ireland vigorous slip jig competitions are held each year. Follow this link to see the slip jig competition at the World Irish Dance Championship 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqzaMAvl2ME
Low Whistle
English flute maker and jazz musician Bernard Overton is credited with producing the first modern low whistle in late 1971,[3] which he made with Finbar Furey after Furey's prized Indian bamboo whistle was destroyed while on tour. Unable to repair it, Overton attempted to produce a metal replica and Finbar and himself spent many hours in the shed at the back of Bernard's house in Rugby, designing, testing and ultimately perfecting the flute. The first few were named the Furey/Overton flute but when Bernard gave up his job to hand make them full-time, they decided to market them as The Overton Flute. The first resulting instrument was essentially an oversized tin whistle made of copper pipe with a wooden plug but was quickly replaced by the aluminium one. While Overton was unsatisfied with its performance, he subsequently refined the design with an all-aluminium construction, producing a whistle in A.[4] Impressed, Finbar requested a G version for his trademark Lonesome Boatman performances. Later, according to Overton,
"He then asked for a whistle in low D, the same pitch as for the concert flute; this I called a "Tenor D Flageolet", but most musicians came to call it the "Low D". He took them on tour and used them extensively. I was soon getting calls from England, Ireland, Scotland, Europe and the USA, asking for the instruments, so I started to make them to order."[3]
Hence, the expression "Irish low whistle" is not denoting an Irish origin, but just an intensive use of this instrument in Ireland and, because of cultural similarity, in the whole British archipelago. While before long several notable instrument makers[nb 1] were producing low whistles,[5] it is usually the Riverdance tour of the 1990s that is credited with giving the low whistle commercial exposure and recognition outside traditional music circles.[2] Of particular note is Davy Spillane, whose work in fusing the sound of traditional instruments such as the low whistle with modern jazz or RnB, for example, has done much for the instrument's visibility. Some of the most famous low whistle players are: Michael McGoldrick, Kevin Crawford, Phil Hardy from England, Davy Spillane, Paddy Keenan, John McSherry from Ireland, Brian Finnegan from Northern Ireland, Fred Morrison, Rory Campbell, Tony Hinnigan and The penny whistle, or tin whistle as it is often called, has been part of the human experience long before the Celtics arrived on the scene. Whistles carved from the radial arms of large birds, like vultures, and the femur bones of caves bears have been discovered throughout Europe. These whistles are dated as far back as sixty thousand years ago. The traditional Irish penny whistle has long been part of the Celtic music scene. It’s pitched in the key of D and set in a high register.
Bernard Overton, an English flute maker and jazz musician, invented the low whistle in 1971. It was the outcome of his effort to repair and Indian bamboo whistle. The damaged bamboo whistle was beyond repair. So, Overton created a version of it using a copper pipe. Ultimately Bernard Overton refined the design and began building the instrument out of aluminum.
The instrument became very popular with Irish musicians. Solo performers, bands and the very popular Riverdance ensemble have embedded the low whistle into Celtic music. It’s called the “Irish Low Whistle” not because it was invented in Ireland, but because the Irish were the ambassadors who brought to the world.
Uilleann Pipes
The uilleann (pronounced as ill-ann) pipes are a bellows-blown bag pipe. The Gaelic word “uilleann” means elbow. That’s a reference to the rise and fall of the elbow as the bellows are pumped. The full name is píobaí uilleann (pipes of the elbow),
No documentation exists to explain the origin of the uilleann pipes. The oldest existing sets of uilleann pipes may date to the early 1700s. But dating these instruments is no certain task. By the end of the 18th century the uillean pipes had largely replaced the harp in most Irish music. Whatever else may be said of uilleann pipes, no one will dispute that this instrument is the most complex of all bagpipes in the world. If you want to know more about uilleann pipes, visit Na Piobairi Uilleann (The Uilleann Pipers), based in Dublin http://pipers.ie/
Bodhran
The bodhran is the Irish version of frame drum. The instrument has been part of Irish music since the mid-19th century. It likely developed from the tambourine. In fact, some Irish recordings made during the 1920s include tambourines in the ensembles. References in text and images in paintings place the bodhran on the Irish scene in the early 19th century. The bodhran is native to southwest Ireland where it was used for winnowing grain.
The early techniques of bodhran playing were much like those of contemporary Arab musicians who use their fingers to play their version of the frame drum called the daff. The wooded stick called a beater or tipper seems to be a 20th century innovation. As late as the 1950s some bodhrans had metal jingles on their rims.
The name bodhran may mean “skin tray” or may come from the Gaelic word bodhra which could mean “deaf”. A text from the late 18th century claims that bodhran means “a drum, tambourine… also a sieve used in winnowing corn.”
Whatever the word means and however the bodhran came to be, it has anchored itself as “the heartbeat of Celtic music".
A good place to start when looking for information about the bodhran is BoJoDo.com. http://www.bodojo.com/
Slip Jig
The slip jig is a traditional Irish dance played in 9|8 time with accents on the 5th and 9th beats. Tempo is always a controversial topic in Irish music. The most informed answer to the question of “what tempo?” is “it depends”. Depends upon the players, dancers and setting. Generally a tempo between 100 and 110 bpm for a jig works well in most settings. A slip jig would be played toward the low end of this range. Listen to this example of the well-loved slip jig The Butterfly played at the appropriate tempo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeP5tDroavw
The slip jig dance is often called “the ballet of Irish dance”. The moves are graceful and almost always performed by young girls and women who are roughly in the same age range as those competing in gymnastics competitions. Throughout Ireland vigorous slip jig competitions are held each year. Follow this link to see the slip jig competition at the World Irish Dance Championship 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqzaMAvl2ME
Low Whistle
English flute maker and jazz musician Bernard Overton is credited with producing the first modern low whistle in late 1971,[3] which he made with Finbar Furey after Furey's prized Indian bamboo whistle was destroyed while on tour. Unable to repair it, Overton attempted to produce a metal replica and Finbar and himself spent many hours in the shed at the back of Bernard's house in Rugby, designing, testing and ultimately perfecting the flute. The first few were named the Furey/Overton flute but when Bernard gave up his job to hand make them full-time, they decided to market them as The Overton Flute. The first resulting instrument was essentially an oversized tin whistle made of copper pipe with a wooden plug but was quickly replaced by the aluminium one. While Overton was unsatisfied with its performance, he subsequently refined the design with an all-aluminium construction, producing a whistle in A.[4] Impressed, Finbar requested a G version for his trademark Lonesome Boatman performances. Later, according to Overton,
"He then asked for a whistle in low D, the same pitch as for the concert flute; this I called a "Tenor D Flageolet", but most musicians came to call it the "Low D". He took them on tour and used them extensively. I was soon getting calls from England, Ireland, Scotland, Europe and the USA, asking for the instruments, so I started to make them to order."[3]
Hence, the expression "Irish low whistle" is not denoting an Irish origin, but just an intensive use of this instrument in Ireland and, because of cultural similarity, in the whole British archipelago. While before long several notable instrument makers[nb 1] were producing low whistles,[5] it is usually the Riverdance tour of the 1990s that is credited with giving the low whistle commercial exposure and recognition outside traditional music circles.[2] Of particular note is Davy Spillane, whose work in fusing the sound of traditional instruments such as the low whistle with modern jazz or RnB, for example, has done much for the instrument's visibility. Some of the most famous low whistle players are: Michael McGoldrick, Kevin Crawford, Phil Hardy from England, Davy Spillane, Paddy Keenan, John McSherry from Ireland, Brian Finnegan from Northern Ireland, Fred Morrison, Rory Campbell, Tony Hinnigan and The penny whistle, or tin whistle as it is often called, has been part of the human experience long before the Celtics arrived on the scene. Whistles carved from the radial arms of large birds, like vultures, and the femur bones of caves bears have been discovered throughout Europe. These whistles are dated as far back as sixty thousand years ago. The traditional Irish penny whistle has long been part of the Celtic music scene. It’s pitched in the key of D and set in a high register.
Bernard Overton, an English flute maker and jazz musician, invented the low whistle in 1971. It was the outcome of his effort to repair and Indian bamboo whistle. The damaged bamboo whistle was beyond repair. So, Overton created a version of it using a copper pipe. Ultimately Bernard Overton refined the design and began building the instrument out of aluminum.
The instrument became very popular with Irish musicians. Solo performers, bands and the very popular Riverdance ensemble have embedded the low whistle into Celtic music. It’s called the “Irish Low Whistle” not because it was invented in Ireland, but because the Irish were the ambassadors who brought to the world.