I was recently asked by a certain fellow in Seattle what it was about Irish music that makes people become so immersed in it. I don’t think I gave a very good answer, and I have been sleep deprived lately so I don’t really even remember what I said! :roll:
But I’m asking you - how would you explain the draw of the irish music, to someone who has not been touched (in the head…) by it? How do you explain all that True Believer stuff to someone who isn’t?
I was a little kid playing in flute class when I first noticed the difference.
Classical stuff was b-o-r-i-n-g while the
Irish tunes were cute and faster and FUN!
It is still true today,from a players point of view.
Lolly
I would say that the anwer is simple. “To those who understand, no explination is necessary; to those who don’t understand, no explination is possible”
I mean it is all a question of taste, why do some people love Rock Music while others despise it? Why do others love Classical while many are bored to tears by it? Both of my parents are Irish, and I and my brothers grew up listening to it, but I am the only one today who is still listens to it let alone is trying to learn how to play it… go figure
–
Bill
[ This Message was edited by: Liam on 2002-10-10 10:31 ]
…even more seriously…
I came from a jazz background but for the last 8 years have been playing in an Andean band and the last 2 also playing with a contra dance band that plays a good deal of Irish tunes (granted in a rather bluegrassyold time style). The most fun I’ve had in that time is playing jigs and reels for peoples dancing enjoyment. It’s one thing to play a set and have a few people tapping their toes but somethign else to make them spin across the floor with huge grins. For me it’s about having fun and bringing joy into the lives of others in a more direct way then at a recitalconcertgig.
The music is very accessible to Western European ears (compared to something like Japanese music)
There is a culture that encourages participation
The music itself is a combination of familiar because of the repetitions and surprises.
The music is currently being encouraged by the general media
Because the jigs & reels will bring a grin & make you want to dance,
The slow airs will break your heart,
The rebel songs will make you fightin’ mad,
And they’ll do all this without forcing you to get a college degree in order to be able to appreciate the music
(Not to mention that you can often listen to great Live IRTrad for the price of a brew!)
I was thinking of a reply along Ken’s lines when his note appeared.
On 2002-10-09 17:35, Kendahl wrote:
The music is very accessible to Western European ears ..
to which I add:
and it satisfies cultural yearnings that classical music can not, yet in the case of IRTRAD, has developed some degree of complexity in its execution which satisfies people’s need for that kind of stimulation. And its a lot less pretentious. Though I am a trained classical musician, there are days that I think operatic singing and even symphonies are just way too pretentious for anybody’s own good, though I respect the craft behind it. . Even the classical radio station’s announcer’s voice and the implied superiority triggers an almost political impulse against elitism, monarchy and other implied social hierarchies and exclusions etc.
In the US, so many people have at least some Scots or Irish blood and that heritage has a permanent place in our culture. I mean, if you like our Appalachian music etc, how hard is it to leap over a few stylistic differences and like the general Celtic styles?
I mean it is all a question of taste, why do some people love rock music while others despise it? Why do others love Classical while many are bored to tears by it?
Why do some people like Stephen King novels while others think they are ‘crap’ and prefer Shakespeare? Why do some people like movies that are predictable comedies (e.g., any movie featuring Adam Sandler) while others think they are ‘crap’ and prefer more ‘sophisticated’ movies? Why do some people think van Gogh was a genius whereas others shake there heads wondering how a painting of a few flowers could be worth $40 million?
I think Liam has the answer here – the kind of music a person prefers is largely a matter of personal taste.
The bigger philosophical question is, “What determines a person’s taste in music (or books or movies or art)?” Honestly, I don’t think there is an easy an answer as to how a person’s musical taste develops and changes over time. It may be possible to think up simple explanations like “Its easy to dance to IRTrad” or “Slow Irish airs make me cry” but many of these explanations could be applied equally to many other genres of music as well.
Frankly, I don’t think the bigger question can be answered. People’s tastes are what they are. No matter how much my lovely wife loves musicals, I have never seen one that I could sit all the way through
[Edited to remove a typo]
[ This Message was edited by: garycrosby on 2002-10-09 18:33 ]
The music is primal it affects you on a purely emotional level, and takes complete control of your emotions. You can be smiling and laughing and tapping your foot to a jig one minute and get a knot in your throat and tears in your eyes the next while listening to an aire or lament.
Classical music is music of the mind, it has logical steps and progressions, once you understand it you can anticipate the changes. It doesn’t vary it is played the same each time variations are not acceptable because it would throw the carefully built structure off. Irish music on the other hand is a music of the heart and soul, wild and free where change and variation are not only encouraged but are expected because it is a living breathing music form.
We love it because it hits deep at our emotional roots, and because it grows and changes just like we do.
my girlfriend has asked me that question a few times. once she came over when i was listening to the mason’s apron, the version where matt molloy tears it up. i was so into it i said “shhh listen” and then the rest of the chieftains join in at the end and the crowd goes wild. she said “wow irish music seems so happy and full of life.” i said right you are!
then another time, i was listening to some airs on the low whistle and my girlfriend said “that music is so powerfully sad” and i said right you are!
I agree with Ron - it’s pure emotion. I was drawn to it by the airs but now find myself fast-forwarding over those to smile, tap my foot, pound my steering wheel, and whistle to the jigs/reels/other. (It’s the only music that’s ever made me want to really learn to dance - and [sshhhhhh] I don’t care for step dancing.)
Susan
[ This Message was edited by: susnfx on 2002-10-09 20:46 ]
-------------------------------------------Because the jigs & reels will bring a grin & make you want to dance,
The slow airs will break your heart,
The rebel songs will make you fightin’ mad,
And they’ll do all this without forcing you to get a college degree in order to be able to appreciate the music
(Not to mention that you can often listen to great Live IRTrad for the price of a brew!)
DanD beat me to it. My sentiments exactly..
Dan (not DanD)
