2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony fiddlers & tappers 2

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considerab ...

is primarily associated with the folk traditions of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and Wales, as well as the popular styles derived from folk culture. In addition, a number of other areas of the world are known for the use of Celtic musical styles and techniques, including

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, and much of the folk music of Canada's Maritimes, especially on

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

and Prince Edward Island.

Newfoundland

There are very strong connections between Newfoundland folk music and Irish music, however elements of English folk music and

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

and

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

music can be heard within the style. A very traditional strain of Irish music exists in Newfoundland, especially in the primarily Irish-Catholic communities along the southern shore. The instrumentation in Newfoundland music includes the button

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

, guitar, violin, tin whistle and more recently the bodhrán. Many Newfoundland traditional bands also include bass guitar and drum kit. Other folk instruments such as the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

and bouzouki are common especially among Newfoundland bands with an Irish leaning. Because Newfoundland is an island in the North Atlantic, many of the songs focus on the

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

and seafaring. Many songs chronicle the history of this unique people. Instrumental tune styles include jigs, reels, two steps, and

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

Newfoundland musicians and musical groups

*Fiddle players: Rufus Guinchard,

Kelly Russell Kelly Russell (born December 7, 1986) was a Canadian rugby union player, and is a coach for the sport. She captained at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup and was named to the Dream Team. International career Russell has also featured in two R ...

, Émile Benoît and Patrick Moran *Button accordion players:

Minnie White Minnie White was a Storyville brothel proprietor in the early part of the twentieth century. She operated out of a large mansion at 221 North Basin Street, in New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,Harry Hibbs *Bodhran players: Fergus O'Byrne and Paddy Mackey *Popular Newfoundland traditional music group:

Irish Descendants The Irish Descendants are a folk group from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. All the members, born of Irish emigrants, were workers in the Newfoundland fishing industry before forming the band in 1990 out of the remnants of two fo ...

Great Big Sea Great Big Sea was a Canadian folk rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year Irish, Scot ...

, The Rolling Kings,

The Punters ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, Shanneyganock, Connemara, The Masterless Men, Kevin Collins, and Greeley's Reel. *Irish music band in Newfoundland:

Ryan's Fancy Ryan’s Fancy was an Music of Ireland, Irish folk music group active from 1971–1983. The band consisted of multi-instrumentalists Denis Ryan (singer), Denis Ryan, Fergus O'Byrne, and Dermot O'Reilly, all of whom were Ireland, Irish immigra ...

Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton is internationally known for unusual styles of Cape Breton fiddling, which is derived from Scottish techniques. The island has produced traditional music-based popular performers like John Allan Cameron, The Rankin Family, Natalie MacMaster,

Buddy MacMaster Hugh Alan "Buddy" MacMaster (October 18, 1924 – August 20, 2014) was a Canadian fiddler. He performed and recorded both locally and internationally, and was regarded as an expert on the tradition and lore of Cape Breton fiddle music. Early l ...

, The Barra MacNeils,

Rita MacNeil Rita MacNeil (May 28, 1944 – April 16, 2013) was a Canadian singer from the community of Big Pond on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. Her biggest hit, "Flying On Your Own", was a crossover Top 40 hit in 1987 and was covered by Anne Murray t ...

Ashley MacIsaac Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a Canadian fiddler, singer and songwriter from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at the Juno A ...

and others. In addition to the fiddle music, there is a parallel style of solo dance bagpiping and a rhythmic syncopated Celtic piano style. Recently, Highland style guitar has received some attention due to the work of

Dave MacIsaac Dave MacIsaac (born 1955) is a Canadian musician from Nova Scotia who plays the fiddle and guitar, specialising in the Celtic music style. He has two children, a daughter Mary Clare and a son named Angus. Awards and recognition *1996: East Coas ...

and Scott MacMillan among others.

Mary Jane Lamond Mary Jane Lamond (born 1960) is a Canadian Celtic folk musician who performs traditional Canadian Gaelic folk songs from Cape Breton Island. Her music combines traditional and contemporary material. Lamond is known as the vocalist on Ashley MacI ...

has attracted attention to the Island's Gaelic song traditions of Milling Frolics (waulking songs in Scotland), Piurt à Beul (mouth music), spinning songs and more. Irish traditional music is also very popular on the island, particularly Irish folk songs. This is especially prevalent in the communities around North Sydney and Sydney Mines due to the influence of immigrants of Newfoundland Irish descent.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island has long been associated with traditional Celtic music. Fiddle is the most popular instrument for traditional Celtic music in Prince Edward Island, and piano is the most popular accompaniment instrument. Celtic songs tend to be ballads or other popular songs, or new songs in the same tradition with contemporary backing. Where celidh dance is regular and popular in many rural communities, Irish or Celtic themed nightlife exists in both major cities of Charlottetown and Summerside. Organizations supporting traditional Celtic music include the PEI Fiddlers Association and the Benevolent Irish Society.

Quebec

There are strong ties between traditional Québécois music and the music of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland and the

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

. The songs generally draw more from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

tradition, whereas the dance tunes are more closely related to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

traditions.

Fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

and

are the most common lead instruments, while piano and guitar often provide accompaniment. More recently,

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

has significantly influenced accompaniment styles and techniques.

La Bottine Souriante La Bottine Souriante is a folk band from Canada. The band specializes in traditional French Canadian folk music, often with a modern twist. Formed in 1976 by Yves Lambert, Andre Marchand, and Mario Forest, they have toured extensively throug ...

is one of the most well-recognized groups which exemplifies this tradition.

Popular music

A number of popular Canadian Celtic rock bands are also influenced by Celtic folk traditions. The most important and influential such band was Vancouver's Spirit of the West, whose musical marriage of traditional Irish and Scottish jigs and reels with

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

and Britpop influences paved the way for later acts such as

Enter the Haggis Enter the Haggis is a Canadian Celtic rock band based in Toronto. The band was founded in 1995 by Craig Downie, the only remaining original member in the lineup, which currently consists of Downie ( highland bagpipes, vocals), Brian Buchanan (vo ...

, the Stoaters,

Captain Tractor Captain Tractor is a Canadian folk rock band, based in Edmonton, Alberta. They play a punk-influenced variant of Celtic folk music, similar to such bands as Great Big Sea, The Pogues or Spirit of the West. Their songs are often rich in local, ...

, Mackeel,

The Mahones The Mahones are a Canadian Irish punk band, formed on St. Patrick's Day in 1990, in Kingston, Ontario. Biography The Mahones were formed in 1990 by Dublin-born Finny McConnell, as a one-off band for a St. Patrick's Day party. Encouraged by a ...

, The Dunn Boys, The Clanns,

, Jimmy George,

Mudmen Mudmen are a Canadian Celtic rock band. They are best known for their singles "5 O'Clock", "Saturday", and "Drink and Fight" as well as their covers of Spirit of the West's "Home for a Rest" and AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Ro ...

, Uisce Beatha,

The Paperboys The Paperboys (sometimes billed and credited as Tom Landa and the Paperboys) are a Canadian folk music band from Vancouver that formed in 1991. The Paperboys blend Celtic folk with bluegrass, Mexican, Eastern European, African, zydeco, soul a ...

and

The Clumsy Lovers The Clumsy Lovers are a folk rock/Bluegrass music, bluegrass/Celtic music, Celtic jam band formed in Vancouver, British ColumbiaFiggy Duff and The Rankin Family served much the same role in pop music, influencing later artists such as Leahy,

The Barra MacNeils The Barra MacNeils are a Canadian musical group from Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. The founding members of the group are siblings Sheumas, Kyle, Stewart, and Lucy MacNeil.Bowman, Durrell.Barra MacNeils, The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved January ...

and Natalie MacMaster.