Irish Dance Research Paper

I chose to research the country of Ireland, but more specifically Irish dance. Traditional Irish Dance has extremely unclear origins. Traditional Irish dance was first noted during ancient times, so unfortunately there is no specific time period. For certain, Celtic music influenced Irish dance during the Viking occupation of Western Europe, which means its been alive since at least 700. Irish dance although has survived and continues to live and thrive. Many subgenres of Irish dance have been created. Since Irish dance has such a long history and has been significant throughout society, Irish dance has evolved greatly and many adaptations have been created. Through research over the course of the semester on Irish dance, I decided to specifically

These are characteristics of traditional Irish music, which commonly features Irish forms of music called reels and jigs (Melhuish). Traditional Irish dance music is considered by experts to contain two elements: rhythm and melody. Rhythm is important because it is what determines the movement of the music. Also, an Irish scale uses 11 notes were as most practice with 7 (Sturgess, Alan). This adds an extra 5th and the dominant leading tone. A huge emphasis is placed on the melody. The single notes within a composition give Irish music that identifiable sound. A compound melody is regularly found in Irish music. A compound melody divides large beats into 3 for any meter. Irish music is traditionally only performed in either D major or G major, this has changed slightly in the 20th century, but traditionally, with such complex melodies, these were the keys the instruments were best suited for (Sturgess, Alan). The meters and divisions are crucial to the sound of this particular music. Being 4/4, ¾, 12/8 dividing the beat into a triplet, is what give Irish music that specific sound. Instruments found in this particular style of dance are fiddles, flutes, and

These two types of shoes can be interchangeable based off the style of dance being performed. Hard shoes are similar to tap shoes, except the tips and heals of the shoe are made of fiberglass. This gives the dancers a louder sound. Soft shoes are simply black lace-up shoes. Traditionally, women wore an appropriate dress, similar to a “Sunday best.” More recently, ornately embroidered dresses that are unique to each dancer became popular. I enjoy how even during group performances, performers wear their own dress that is specific to only them. Hairpieces are commonly worn at competitions as well. Men can be found typically wearing completely black dress wear, along with “reel shoes,” which are extremely similar to jazz