Btw, here is an example of sean-nos singing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvus7IFyFMA
One of the most interesting things that occurred during my ethnography was the comparisons of what people perceived as Traditional Irish Music. One of my interview's referenced Daniel O'Donnell, which is one of the people I mentioned during my presentation. Here is a youtube video of him (aka NOT Trad. Irish Music...)
Daniel O'Donnell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_KmYHaf58Q
Another mentioned the Dubliners: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eOIU9ekSMk
One example of the Traditional Irish Song/Singing I was thinking/aiming for was (this is actually a performance on a stage):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX6njBlHxUQ
So I quickly found a bit of a disparity between what I was looking at and speaking about as Traditional Irish Song and what those of my interviews viewed as Traditional Irish Music. One thing that was interesting was 2 of my interview subjects relating the pub musicians to a rehearsal. One mentioned keeping the song in your repertoire and not just for the purpose of performing it once, and another lead to the idea that they expect a "performance" after the pub and that the pub can serve as a rehearsal.
Overall I've found this research project really interesting. There
are many factors I never really thought of that could influence a person
or a change a persons mind when listening to a song. I've always been
really "attracted" you could say to Traditional Irish Music, and
especially song, but I've never really looked into why that might be or
why is it I find a song to mean/have value for myself. Looking into
factors such as the environment (concert hall vs. pub), the singers
voice, the singers choices/technique (vibrato, ornamentation, changing
lyrics...etc.), the start & finish of the song, lyrics, melody,
accompaniment etc. all influence people differently when listening to a
song.
I don't have a set conclusion for my research, as defining "meaning" to a person isn't really a black and white answer. My results vary A LOT. My Gran expressed at one point in the interview how things should be kept traditional, and then after describing a traditaionl song and a singer with an example I asked what she thought about a band playing that song...or for instance her idea of a traditional Irish Singer Daniel O'Donnell and his backup band and she expressed that she liked it and considered it still as being traditional. She considered this traditional although stated that the song can't be changed or else it's no longer authentic or original. So the question begs that are these efforts in setting, performance context, and the addition of accompaniment not considered as changing the song itself? For her, her answer was no, and it didn't effect the meaning either. She felt just as connected and as much meaning from the song if it was in a theatre. Other interviews I had expressed that changes like these no longer made them feel as much of a personal connection and changed the experience for them which also then changed the meaning of the song for them.
I think that in my research a huge "flaw" or idea that should have
ben further or explored, or maybe could be another ethnography in itself
is what people consider Traditional Irish Song to be and why?
Some questions to ask yourself, could be much like the one above, and also what factors and changes within music like I described of environment (concert hall vs. pub), the singers voice, the singers choices/technique (vibrato, ornamentation, changing lyrics...etc.), the start & finish of the song, lyrics, melody, accompaniment etc. effect a song's meaning for you? And what do these changes do to the song? Why do these changes matter?
Here are some extra links and things from my presentation for those of you that are interested.
I didn't have this on a slide but here is the link to the Folk Song
Society of San Diego. I searched their site and found some events
locally (I went to a Sunday Song Circle):
http://www.meetup.com/SDFSS-ORG/
Here is a video & site to the group I saw perform at a house
concert called Brog Crua (they have a FB if you wanna check it out as
well):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj1i220twGY
http://www.reverbnation.com/brogcrua
Here are also some other really great artists to look into for Irish song (in my opinion):
Joe Heany
Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (She sings the recording of "The Parting Glass" I played)
Susan McKeown
Magart Barry (She sings the recording of "The Flower of Sweet Strabane")
Mick Hanly
John Doyle (he also writes his own stuff)
Karen Casey
Sarah Makem
Roisin White
Niamh Parsons
These are just a few....
Two good bands to look into and maybe compare works done by a singer listed above, and with a band are Danu & Dervish.