Thirty in-depth guides from Radio Siamsa — the instruments, history, sessions and players of Irish traditional music, plus how to listen and where to start.
What Irish traditional music is, how sessions work, and the many forms the tradition takes.
Irish traditional music — known in Ireland simply as “trad”, and often called Irish folk music abroad — is Ireland’s…
You’re sitting in a pub listening to a session and someone says “nice set of reels.” You nod and smile,…
What is a Trad Session? A trad session is an informal gathering of musicians who come together to play Irish…
Regional Styles of Irish Traditional Music Ireland is a small island — you can drive from coast to coast in…
Sean-nós means “in the old style.” It’s the traditional unaccompanied singing of Ireland — performed solo, almost always in Irish,…
If you’ve ever listened to an Irish fiddle player and thought “how do they make the melody sound so alive?”…
The Irish pub is not a venue for traditional music in the way a concert hall is a venue for…
Set Dancing & Céilí: The Dance Tradition Irish traditional music is dance music. That’s not a metaphor — it’s a…
You don’t need to speak Irish to love Irish traditional music. Most of the repertoire is instrumental, and the tunes…
Ireland’s traditional music festival season runs from spring through autumn, with the peak months of July and August offering an…
From the fiddle to the wire-strung harp — the instruments that define the sound.
You don’t need to play an instrument to appreciate Irish traditional music. But knowing what you’re hearing — which instrument…
The fiddle is the most widely played instrument in Irish traditional music. More people play it, more recordings feature it,…
The tin whistle is where most people’s relationship with Irish traditional music begins. It’s the instrument Irish schoolchildren learn in…
Nothing in music sounds quite like the uilleann pipes. Not Scottish bagpipes — which are louder, brasher and designed for…
The bodhrán is the most loved and most maligned instrument in Irish traditional music. Loved because, in the hands of…
The Harp: A Symbol of Irish Culture and History The harp, a stringed instrument with a distinct and melodious sound,…
A thousand years of music: harpers, famine, emigration and revival.
History of Irish Traditional Music Irish traditional music has been played, sung and danced to on this island for longer…
The 1970s were the most creative decade in the history of Irish traditional music. In the space of a few…
There are roughly 70 million people worldwide who claim Irish descent. That’s more than ten times the population of Ireland…
The players and groups who shaped the tradition — and those carrying it today.
Great Irish Traditional Musicians Irish traditional music doesn’t have composers in the way classical music does. There’s no Irish Mozart…
No other group has done more to bring Irish traditional music to an international audience than The Chieftains. Over a…
Irish traditional music has never been more alive than it is right now. A generation of musicians in their twenties…
First steps for beginners: finding a teacher and learning your first tunes.
How to Learn Irish Traditional Music The most important thing you can do if you want to learn Irish traditional…
One of the first questions every new trad player asks is: what tunes should I learn? The repertoire is vast…
Radio, podcasts, streaming and essential albums — how to fill your ears with trad.
Best Irish Radio Stations for Traditional Music If you want to hear Irish traditional music on the radio, you have…
Best Irish Traditional Music Podcasts Radio Siamsa gives you the music. But if you want the stories behind the music…
You want to listen to Irish traditional music. You have three broad options: a dedicated trad radio station like Radio…
From 2RN to Online: The Story of Irish Radio On New Year’s Day 1926, a voice crackled across the airwaves…
People ask us this all the time: where should I start? Which albums should I buy first? If I could…
How to Listen to Radio Siamsa Radio Siamsa streams traditional Irish music 24 hours a day, with no ads and…
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