![]() The music churns intensely while members of the group casually enjoy exploring each other’s musical style. If the chemistry is right, a session can be one of your greatest Irish experiences. While you’re listening to a lament, study the faces in the crowd. The stories – often of emigration to a faraway land, or a rebel death struggling against English rule – are always heartfelt. It may be a remnant of the ancient storytelling tradition of the bards whose influence died out when Gaelic culture waned 400 years ago. Occasionally, the fast-paced music will stop, and one person will sing a lament. It takes amazing coordination to play this instrument well, and the sound can be haunting. The piper fingers his chanter like a flute to create individual notes, and uses the heel of his right hand to play chords on one of three regulator pipes. Uilleann is Gaelic for “elbow,” and the sound is more melodic than Highland pipes, with a wider range. The Irish version of bagpipes, the uilleann (ILL-in) pipes are played by inflating the airbag (under the left elbow) with a bellows (under the right elbow) rather than with a mouthpiece like the Scottish Highland bagpipes. These are two cow ribs (boiled and dried) that are rattled in one hand like spoons or castanets, substituting for the sound of dancing shoes in olden days. You’ll sometimes be lucky enough to hear a set of bones crisply played. The performer’s hand stretches the skin to change the tone and pitch. The bodhrán is played with a small, two-headed club. Percussion generally stays in the background. A ceilidh (KAY-lee) is an evening of music and dance – an Irish hoedown. ![]() If they want to pass on the decision, it’s done with eye contact and a nod. Whoever happens to be leading determines the next song. The wind and string instruments embellish melody lines with lots of tight ornamentation. The music often comes in sets of three songs. ![]() if you want dinner or a place to sit, or pop in later and plan on standing. For a bar with a good reputation, get there before 9 p.m. Music starts in the pubs between 9:30 and 10 p.m., finishing at about midnight. ![]() There will generally be a fiddle, a flute or tin whistle, a guitar, a bodhrán (BO-run goatskin drum), and maybe an accordion or mandolin. Often musicians just congregate and play for the love of it. “Sessions” (musical evenings) may be advertised or impromptu. It’s worth staying until the wee hours for the magical moment when a lament is sung to a hushed and attentive pub crowd. Pub music ranges from instrumental reels and jigs, to ballads of tragic love lost or heroic deeds done, to contemporary sing-alongs. Trad music is especially popular in Dingle, Doolin, Galway, and Dublin. Live music is a weekly – and sometimes nightly – draw at most town pubs worth their salt. When I’m in Ireland, I walk around a pub-filled block like a guy choosing a dance partner, considering where I’ll stop to enjoy a pint and a tune. You can hear it at cultural heritage centers and concert halls, but it sounds best in a pub. ![]() That love is especially strong for traditional Irish music. Nearly every Irish household has some kind of musical instrument. At social gatherings, everyone’s always ready to sing his or her "party piece." Performances are judged less by skill than by uninhibited sincerity or showmanship. The Irish seem born with a love of music. Home Tribune Premium Content Travel Rick Steves' Europe Rick Steves’ Europe: Irish music hits all the right notes Rick Steves’ Europe: Irish music hits all the right notes Rick Steves' Europe To find an Irish music session in a pub, wander a town and follow your ear. ![]()
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