The trikiti (standard Basque, pronounced [trikiti]), trikitixa (dialectal Basque, pronounced [trikitiʃa]), or eskusoinu txiki (“little hand-sound,” pronounced [es̺kus̺oɲu tʃiki]) is a two-row Basque diatonic button accordion. It has right-hand rows keyed a fifth apart and twelve unisonoric bass buttons. The word trikitixa, which sounds like the noise of a tambourine, originally described a traditional Basque musical group.
The txistu (Basque pronunciation: [ˈtʃis̺tu]) is a type of fipple flute that became an important symbol of the Basque folk revival. The name may come from the Basque word ziztu, meaning “to whistle,” with a change in the “z” sound (similar to how zalaparta became txalaparta). This three-hole instrument can be played with one hand, leaving the other free to play a percussion instrument.
The musical traditions of the Northwest Iberian Peninsula include those of Galicia, Asturias, and Cantabria. The music of Galicia and Asturias is known for the use of bagpipes, and it shares some similar features with the music of Cantabria.
The pibgorn is a musical instrument from Wales. It is a type of idioglot reed aerophone, which means it uses a single reed to produce sound. Its name means “pipe-horn” in Welsh.
Scottish fiddling is different from other folk fiddling styles because of its exact way of playing and lively, energetic style. For example, it uses specific rhythm patterns, such as the dotted-quaver/semi-quaver pattern, which is common in the Strathspey. Christine Martin, in her book Traditional Scottish Fiddling Players Guide, describes techniques like “hack bowing,” “the Scotch snap,” and “snap bowing.” These methods are very different from the most common bowing patterns used in Irish fiddling.
The Scottish smallpipe is a type of bagpipe that uses a bellows to blow air. It was developed by Colin Ross and others, based on an earlier design of the instrument. Examples of similar bellows-blown instruments from the past still exist, as well as mouth-blown Montgomery smallpipes from 1757, which are kept in the National Museum of Scotland.
The great Highland bagpipe (Scottish Gaelic: a’ phìob mhòr, pronounced [a ˈfiəp ˈvoːɾ], meaning “the great pipe”) is a type of bagpipe that comes from Scotland. It is similar to the great Irish warpipes. The Highland bagpipe is well known because it is used in the British military and in pipe bands around the world.
The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp used by the Celtic nations in northwest Europe. It is called cláirseach in Irish, clàrsach in Scottish Gaelic, telenn in Breton, and telyn in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, the harp had strings made of wire and needed a lot of skill and practice to play.
The bodhrán ( /ˈb aʊ r ɑː n/, /b aʊ ˈr ɑː n/, /ˈb ɔːr ɑː n/, /ˈb ɔːr ə n/; Irish: [ˈbˠəuɾˠaːnˠ]; plural bodhráin) is a frame drum used in Irish music. It ranges in size from 25 to 65 cm (10–26 in) in diameter, with most drums measuring 35–45 cm (14–18 in). The sides of the drum are 9–20 cm (3 ½–8 in) deep.
Bernard Noël McKenna, born on December 16, 1939, and passed away on April 5, 2012, was an Irish musician and a founding member of The Dubliners. He was also known as Barney McKenna or Banjo Barney. He is seen as an important person in the development of the tenor banjo in Irish traditional music.