The bodhran (pronounced “bow-rawn”), or simply the Irish drum, is an Irish frame drum measuring 12 to 24 inches in diameter and a depth between 4 to 8 inches. Its body is usually a hard, circular wooden or plastic piece. Normally, people make the bodhran drum using goat skin, however, modern bodhrans have been made using … Read more
Also known as the Irish harp, folk harp or lever harp, the Celtic harp is indigenous to Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Brittany. This triangular wire-strung musical instrument requires long practice and great skill to be played. Often associated with the Gaelic ruling class, the instrument is known as clairseach in Irish, telyn in Welsh, clarsach in … Read more
The concertina is a free-reed Celtic musical instrument, a lot like the harmonica and some other accordions, with buttons and bellows on both ends. When pressed, the buttons move in the same direction as the bellows. Simultaneously developed in England and Germany by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1829 and Carl Friedrich Uhlig in 1834 respectively, … Read more
The hammered dulcimer is an instrument played by striking strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board using small mallets held in each hand. The Graeco-Roman word “dulcimer” has been part derived from the Latin term dulcis, meaning sweet and the Greek term melos, meaning song. The dulcimer, in which the strings are struck with small hammers, is much like the musical instrument … Read more
Known also as the penny whistle, the tin whistle is a woodwind instrument most commonly heard in Irish music. This small instrument has six holes, a mouthpiece, and is played by blowing air into it and using your fingers to cover different holes to produce different notes. The tin whistle is known under several different names, … Read more
Uilleann pipes are recognized as the characteristic national bagpipes of Ireland. Also know as union pipes, the commercial name of this musical instrument has been partly derived from the Irish term piobai uilleann, which when translated literally means “pipes of the elbow” given the obvious method of its inflation. Interestingly enough, history tells us that “uilleann pipes” wasn’t used as … Read more