Céilí Music
by Nancy Jarrell, 1999

As information arrives we hope to provide on this page profiles and music samples (as well as CD and concert info) of the various bands and musicians that have played at PCS céilis.

We are not yet to that point, but will give a brief list of the types of tunes and instruments one might expect to hear at a PCS ceili. There have been hundreds of books written on Irish music, and some of the best you might consult include O'Neill"s Music of Ireland: Over 1000 Fiddle Tunes, edited by Miles Krassen, and--in the more poetic bent--Last Night's Fun: In and Out of Time with Irish Music, by Ciaran Carson.

At a céili, one might hear a variety of music played in various meters and tempos. Jigs, slip jigs, reels, hornpipes, barndances, polkas, O'Carolan works, and waltzes comprise the bulk of tunes one will hear, though one might also be treated to the occasional slow air or song, as well.

Waltzes were not always the thing to be included at Ceilidhes in Ireland in the earlier part of the century--as this excerpt from Flann O'Brien's "At Swim Two Birds" illustrates,

"Now I think it's a great mistake to be too strict, he said. We must make allowances. One old-time waltz is all I ask. It's as Irish as any of them, nothing foreign about the old-time waltz. We must make allowances. The Gaelic League... I don't agree, said another...after all a Ceilidhe is not the place for it, that's all. A Ceilidhe is a ceilidhe. I mean, we have our own. We have plenty of our own dances without crossing the road to borrow what we can't wear. See the point? It's all right but it's not for us. Leave the waltz to the jazz-boys. By God they're welcome as far as I'm concerned..."

"Our own" would, of course, include the following:
Reels are the fastest pieces, meant to be played at around 227 (beats per minute) in 4/4 time. Though technically the meter is 4/4, there are eight pulses per bar . Thus when a dancer dances his 7's, (hop two three four five six seven--with the hop being the first of the eight pulses) he is stepping out each of the pulses. Hornpipes are also played in 4/4 time, but at a much slower speed. In each bar, less stress falls on the third and seventh pulses, and the first and fifth pulses are accented as in reels, but even more so.

Most jigs played at a céili will be double jigs, which are in 6/8 time, with stress on the first and fourth beats in each bar. Slip jigs are in 9/8 time, and are traditionally danced by women only. Stress falls on first, fourth, and seventh beats. Single jigs are also called slides, and are in 12/8 time, with stress on first, fourth, seventh and tenth beats in each bar.

Barndances are in 4/4 time, and are sometimes referred to as "Germans." They sound similar to schottisches, and a bit like hornpipes.

O'Carolan tunes to not fall into typical dance categories, and slow airs and songs are best to be listened to rather than danced.

Most double jigs, reels, hornpipes, and polkas are divided into two parts, each of which consists of eight bars usually repeated, with the complete tune consisting of 32 bars. Tunes are played through at least twice, and are usually grouped in sets of two or three tunes--often all jigs, or all reels--to a set. There are, of course, exceptions.

Some things they say about some of these instruments...
"Take the fiddle now, said Furriskey.

By hell the fiddle is the man, said Lamont, the fiddle is the man for me. Put it into the hand of a lad like Luke MacFadden and you'll cry like a child when you hear him at it. The voice was number one, I don't deny that, but look at the masterpieces of musical art you have on the fiddle!... Oh, it's the fiddle or nothing. You can have your voice, Furriskey, --and welcome. The fiddle and the bow is all I ask, and the touch of the hand of Luke MacFadden, the travelling tinsmith. The smell of his clothes would knock you down, but he was the best fiddler in Ireland, east or west.

Of all the instruments that have been fashioned by the hand of man, said Furriskey, the piano is far and away the most...useful.

Oh, everybody likes the piano, said Lamont. Nobody can raise any objection to that. The piano and the fiddle, the two go well together...Some of the stuff I've heard in my time, said Shanahan...by god it gave me a pain in my bandbox. It hurt my head far worse than a pint of whiskey.

It's not everyone that can enjoy it, said Furriskey. Every man to his taste. As I was saying, the piano is a fine instrument. It comes number two to the human voice."

Flann O'Brien's "At Swim Two Birds"