Why is Donegal Music so special?
Where is Donegal?
County Donegal is in the northwest corner of the
Republic of Ireland, to the west of Northern Ireland. It has a very large Gaeltacht, or
Irish-speaking region, where the gaelic language has survived to the present day.
Because of its location it has always been cut off from the rest of the country
and this independence is found in its music.
What makes the music different?
Compared to other styles of Irish music, Donegal's music would be classed as aggressive,
lively and exciting, whereas
other styles are more flowing and slurred.
This is due to the influence of the
highland bagpipes and
fiddle on the music as these
were the instruments that were most common down through the years.
Donegal has many unique types of tunes and many well known tunes are played differently.
The scottish influence
Scotland has influenced Donegal fiddling in many ways. For many years
workers from Donegal would go to Scotland in the summer and bring
back Scottish tunes with them and the Donegal fishermen brought home many tunes from
the Shetland islands. Many of these tunes were piping tunes and in Donegal, unlike the rest
of Ireland, the bagpipes were played more than the
uileann pipes.
Like Scottish fiddlers the Donegal players use short bow strokes.
The unique kinds of tunes played in Donegal
In addition to reels, jigs, hornpipes, and airs, Donegal fiddlers play:
Highlands
Strathspeys
Barndances
Mazurkas.
