Conference tallis::celt

68.0. "Some types of Celtic music" by MTV::HENDRICKS (Holly Hendricks) Fri Sep 05 1986 16:22

I found some good descriptions of some of the different types of Celtic
    music.
    
    Air
    
    An air is a songlike melody which is usually played slowly.  In
    contrast to the reel, hornpipe and jig it is not a dance tune. 
    It can be in duple (2/4), triple (3/4), or quadruple (4/4) meter.
    
    Double Jig (Poirt Dubalta)
    
    A jig in 6/8 in which each note is voiced, (each of the 6 notes
    per measure is sounded).
    
    Hornpipe (Cornphiopai)
    
    Originally the name of an English dance from the Middle Ages, the
    hornpipe is in duple (2/4) or quadruple (4/4) meter.  It is played
    more slowly than the reel and uses dotted rhythms (uneven rhythms).
    
    Jig (Poirt)
    
    Any of the tunes in 6/8 or 9/8 used for the dance of the same name.
    This is primarily an Irish form.
    
    Reel (Rileanna)
    
    The reel, in duple (2/4) and quadruple (4/4) meter is played in
    a wide variety of styles throughout the British Isles and North
    America.  It is in binary form and the prevailing rhythm is 2 groups
    of 4 sixteenth notes each.
    
    Set Dance
    
    An Irish tune associated with a specific dance.  Can be duple, triple,
    quadruple.
    
    Single Jig (Poirt Singil)
    
    A jig in 6/8 in which each eighth note is not voiced.  The rhythmic
    pattern is (quarter note/eighth/quarter note/eighth) in each measure.
    
    Slide
    
    A type of dance and tune found mainly in the southwest counties
    of Ireland.  It is closely related to the jigs in 6/8.
    
    Slip-Jig (Poirt Luascaigh)
    
    A variety of jig in 9/8.  The basic rhythmic pattern is
    
    | quarter/eighth/3 eighths/3 eighths||3 eighths/3
    eighths/quarter/eighth|
    
    Strathspey
    
    Originating in Northeasten Scotland the strathspey is a close relative
    of the hornpipe and the reel.  It is played at a slower tempo than
    either of those and depends on dotted rhythms (no way to duplicate
    that rhythm here!)
    
    from The Fiddler's Fakebook, ed. David Brady, Oak Publications