Last Big Blog: Celtic Music

 For the last blog of the year, we were given the chance to choose a culture or topic that we have not spoken about throughout the semester, and learn more about it. When thinking of what I wanted to choose, the first thing that came to my mind was Ireland. When doing more research on Ireland and its history, I found information on Celtic culture and music. After doing some more research on it, I decided that I wanted this blog to be focused on Celtic music, but primarily from Ireland, as there is Celtic music in other places such as Scotland. So within this blog, I will be discovering more about this music, sharing what I learn with you along the way.

One of the first things that I looked up when searching about Irish Celtic music, was what exactly does the word Celtic mean? According to the article "What is Celtic Music? - Types and History", the term is one that is controversial, mainly for the fact that it is synonymous with the Irish. Other countries that had Celtic culture within them were upset. Originally, prior to Roman conquest, the Celts were a group of cultural people that took up large parts of Europe. They covered places like Scotland, Brittany, Wales, etc.. After two major events, the culture of these people spread to Canada and the United States. One of these events was called the Highland Clearances, where the government attempted to eradicate the Highland culture from Scotland. The other event was the Great Irish famine, where crops were destroyed by a fungus, leading to many deaths from starvation.

The next question I asked myself was "What does this music sound like?". I found some answers within another blog by a woman named Diane Arkenstone, who is a musician that has created some Celtic music herself. She describes Celtic music as vibrant, eclectic, and distinctive sounds with many unique styles. From this blog I learned that Celtic music is not played in harmony, it is "played in ensembles, with the melody instruments playing in octaves". This music is very similar to folk music, and is loved by people with all tastes around the world. Below is a video of Diane Arkenstone's song called "Through the Veil".

When looking at the many instruments used within Irish Celtic music, I decided to look into two different ones. One of them being the Celtic harp, because I have always loved the sound of the harp. According to the article "Celtic Harp Instrument Page: The Heavenly Instrument of the Ages" the harp is a wire-strung instrument that is associated with the "Gaelic ruling class". It is also known as a lever harp, due to its lever mechanisms that are against the strings to change keys. With a pedal lever harp, the pedals are to move discs at the top of the instrument. There are many different sizes for these harps, as there are larger ones, and also smaller ones that can be used on ones lap. The Celtic harp is one of the oldest instruments, making it a very important part of the Celtic history. One of the first instruments resembling the harp was called a cruit, and after time it was replaced with the ones used today. There are many different types of harps, and 3 out of 4 of them are still used to this day, called the Pedal harp, the Celtic harp, and the wire harp. We have already touched on two of these harps, but overall, they are all very intricate instruments that takes a lot of patience and practice to play and master. Below is a video of someone playing the Celtic harp.

The next instrument that I wanted to look into was the Irish fiddle. In an article called “Learn About the Irish Fiddling Tradition”, I learned that the fiddle has been around for centuries and is still an instrument that musicians are intrigued by. The earliest known information about the fiddle was found from 900 A.D., and has since then been modified in many ways. It is believed the it was the Scottish that introduced this instrument to the Irish during the Crusades. Even thought the fiddle and the violin are more or less the same, the Irish fiddle is usually played at faster speed and louder than a violin. One interesting thing that I learned from this article was that many Irish families in the early 20th century, used to meet at crossroads to play in groups. As time went by, more people officially came together and created “formal groups” that created music with these amazing instruments. Another thing that changed with time, is the music people created. For example, people went from creating for traditional Irish Celtic music, to more modernized music like pop and rock. Below is a video of someone playing the fiddle.

Finally, I wanted to find a few different Irish Celtic artists and read about their stories. One of the artists I found where the Screaming Orphans. The band is made up of four sisters who were born in Ireland and originally started playing more traditional Irish music. Once they reached a certain age, they deterred from tradition and decided that they wanted to created more pop/rock music. This spread in “cultural boundaries” was also due to many different artist’s influence around them. Like most bands, they started small and became bigger with time. One thing that I loved when reading their story was how they got their name. Their mother was originally their lead singer, and their father a part of their management. So whenever they went off on their own they claimed that they were “orphans”. Supposedly the screaming part is from the idea of familial screaming within a household. Below is a video of one of their songs that I enjoyed.

Overall, I really enjoyed learning bits and prices about this amazing culture and music within it. There was so much more information that I could have included within this blog, but it would have made it longer than any of us would want to read for our comments. I truly suggest taking the time to learn more about Irish Celtic music, and if you don’t, I suggest to at-least look up some songs!! The wide variety within this type of music could keep you entertained for days, and the traditional folk music is so calming. I would not be surprised if certain movies pop into your head whenever listening to it, because it always reminds me of movies that encompass fairytales and other mythical creatures.

References:

Collins, B. (2016, August 27). Celtic harp instrument page: The Heavenly Instrument of the Ages. Celtic Music Instruments. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.celticmusicinstruments.com/celtic-harp-page/.

Conrad, A. (2020, February 8). The history and ambiance of Celtic music • Diane Arkenstone. Diane Arkenstone. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://dianearkenstone.com/the-history-and-ambiance-of-celtic-music/.

Heather. (2010, March 26). Learn about the Irish fiddling tradition. Irish Celtic Jewels. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.irishcelticjewels.com/celtic-wedding/2010/03/learn-about-the-irish-fiddling-tradition/.

Irish music | beautiful Celtic music - youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJCxTgrbB6c.

Screaming orphans - "Step it out mary" - youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgZBIreZ684.

Screaming orphans. Band. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://screamingorphans.com/band.

Swallowtail jig - irish fiddle tune! - youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZxAVUsuE4Y.

Take online courses. earn college credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Study.com | Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-celtic-music-types-history.html.

Through the veil - youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeknPNCEK18.

 When studying the music within Asia, I decided that I wanted to dive deeper into the instruments that have been used. In many of the other blogs, I looked into instruments that were originated in whatever country I was studying. This time, I wanted to look into the instruments that were added with time. On a website called the Maqam World, you are able to look at and study different instruments used within Arabic music. Some of these instruments include pianos, keyboards, organs, and electrical guitars. Some of these instruments were played without being altered, though most were altered so that they could produce a good Maqam scale. A Maqam scale is described to be a melodic framework of scales and melodic phrases that can be built off of one another. I took interest in the saxophone, which apparently produces "good maqam scale intonation" without a lot of alteration, though never became mainstream the way that other instruments did. Samir Surour, who was in the Brass Band in the military of Egypt, became the pioneer of the Arabic Saxophone. Below is a video of Surour playing.

An instrument that I wanted to do more research on was the Qunan. I found two websites that went into more detail on the instrument. One article I read was a cool website called Zawaya, that said that the Qunan was a descendent of the Egyptian Harp and is the shape of a trapezoid shape. These instruments are usually played on a table, or the player's knees, and have around 81 strings. Underneath the strings are small brass levers that help in changing pitch and to create the scale of the maqam. According to Zawaya, the word Qunan means "law" in Arabic, as it is known to "lay down the law of pitch" for other people playing instruments around them.

According to the other website called Arab America, which says that the Qunan and other similar instruments were also used by Babylonians, Greeks, and Ancient Egyptians. Here, the website digs a little deeper into the origins of the name. It claims that the word was derived from the Greek word "kanon", which means the rule of law. The Qunan was popular for a lengthy amount of time, and then it started to evolve into other instruments like the psaltery. Below is a video of someone playing a song many of us know on the Qunan

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For the last thing I researched, I decided to look into more famous artists. One of them included a woman named Amal al-Atrash, who is an Egyptian singer also known as Asmahan. At a young age of three, Asmahan and her family immigrated to Egypt, as her mother hoped to keep her family safe from French forces that had been taking over. One day when a famous composer stayed over at her home, they overheard Asmahan sing and was amazed by her talent. He then suggested that she used the name Asmahan. After this, it did not take long for her to rise in her singing career. At the age of sixteen, she was invited by a record company to record her own album and her career kept rising from there. Later, she gave up her singing career after a marriage proposal, but eventually went back after having a family. Asmahad has had many ups and downs within her life, especially when it came to the combination of her marriage and singing career. Sadly, in 1944, she passed away in a tragic accident, where people believed that it was suspicious and that it was not an accident. There were so many incredible details of this amazing singer's life that I was not able to include, because if I did, we would all be here for hours. Though I do recommend reading more about this talented woman and her story.

Below is a video of Asmahan singing