Changes in Irish Traditional Music in the 20th Century

For years, the characteristics of Irish traditional music and the ways in which it was
performed remained fairly static. However, in the 20th century, with great developments in
technology, Irish traditional music saw a lot of interesting changes. Three of the most
significant of these changes are: 1. the development of the cil band; 2. the dissolving of
regional styles; 3. the fusion of traditional music with foreign styles.

1. The cil band was introduced into Irish traditional music when louder music was required
to be heard over the steps of dancers as they danced on timber floors. All over the country,
new bands sprung up to meet this need. The Tulla Cil Band and the Kilfenora Cil Band
are two such examples. These bands were made up of approximately ten musicians. Eight of
these were frontline musicians, who played melody instruments such as fiddle, flute and
accordion. This now meant that traditional music took on a heterophonic texture as slight
discrepancies between the ornamentation and variation of the players caused the musicians to
go slightly out of melodic sync, therefore losing its monophonic nature. Two more backline
players provided accompaniment one playing rhythm on a snare drum and woodblock, the
other playing a chordal vamp on the piano. The change that this brought to traditional music
was the new homophonic texture created by the simple oom-pah chords by the piano player.
These features can be heard in The Duke of Leinster Set as played by the Tulla band.

2. With the development of the gramophone in America, came the introduction of recordings
of some fabulous traditional musicians, who had emigrated to the US in search of a better
life. One of those musicians was Michael Coleman, a Sligo-born fiddle player. As his
recordings spread around Ireland, young fiddle enthusiasts emerged all over the country, who
tried to emulate Michael Colemans Sligo style of playing the deep swing in his rhythm, his
articulate use of rolls and other ornaments, and his love for reels. Gone were the days, when
the Sligo style was confined to the musicians playing and learning their music in County
Sligo. From then on, any musician in any part of the country would to be able to hear the
music from any other region and copy the traits they simply happened to like or could
manage to play. Paddy Glackin from Dublin is an example of one such player. Despite
coming from Dublin, Glackin plays in a distinctly Donegal style. He plays Johnny Cope

with a very straight and fluid speed using a lot of single bowing and the bending of long
notes.

3. Now that people were able to experiment with new sounds and ways of playing music, it
wouldnt be long before non-Irish styles such as classical and rock would begin to blend with
Irish traditional styles. The Irish folk march ONeills March can be traced back to the
Nine-Years War at the end of the 16th century. It was played on fifes and war pipes in order
to raise the morale of the troops as they marched into battle. Almost 350 years later, in the
1960s, it was used by Sean ORiadas band, Ceoltir Chualann, where soloists passed the
melody from one to the other before playing it in unison, accompanied by the old Baroque
harpsichord. In 1973, Horslips released their album The Tin on which was the track
Dearg Doom. This track featured, yet again, the melody of O Neills March, but this
time it was used as an introduction and then a counter melody to the main vocal melody. It
was played on distorted electric guitar and accompanied by bass guitar and drums. It was this
merge of styles that took this ancient melody beyond the 36 counties to reach Number 1 in
Germany in the same year.

Many people see these and other changes in Irish traditional music as destructive to our
heritage the loss of unique identity and the interference of outside influences. However, the
positive side of it is that these changes are partly to be thanked for immortalising our music
forever.