THE SOUND OF TRAD
Irish Traditional Music Explained: Instruments & Tune Types
A plain-English guide to the fiddle, uilleann pipes and bodhrán, the difference between a jig, a reel and a hornpipe, and how a pub session actually works.
See dates on GetYourGuide ↗The fiddle — the lead voice of most sessions
The fiddle is a standard violin played in a distinct Irish style, full of quick ornamentation — rolls, cuts and triplets — that give trad music its rhythmic lift rather than the long, smooth bowing of classical playing. It's often the instrument carrying the melody in a session, with other players falling in around it. Regional styles vary noticeably across Ireland, from the tight, staccato Donegal style to the more relaxed, ornamented playing associated with Sliabh Luachra in the southwest, so two fiddlers can play the same tune quite differently.
Uilleann pipes — Ireland's own bagpipe
Unlike Scottish Highland pipes, which are mouth-blown and played standing, uilleann pipes are bellows-blown — the name comes from the Irish word for elbow, uillinn, because a bellows strapped under the arm fills the bag instead of the player's breath. That gives them a softer, sweeter tone and lets the piper articulate notes crisply, close them off entirely, and even play chords on the regulators. They're widely regarded as one of the hardest acoustic instruments to master, which is part of why a good uilleann piper is often the standout of a live session.
The bodhrán — the heartbeat under the tunes
The bodhrán is a handheld frame drum, traditionally made with a goatskin head stretched over a wooden rim, played with a short double-headed stick called a tipper or cipín rather than bare hands. It has older roots in Irish folk custom — frame drums were used by wrenboys and mummers on St Stephen's Day — but its role as a session instrument driving the rhythm under fiddle and pipes really took hold during the Irish traditional music revival of the mid-20th century. A skilled player uses the free hand on the skin to change pitch and tone as they go.
Tin whistle, accordion and banjo — the session regulars
The tin whistle is a simple six-hole metal or plastic flute, cheap and accessible, which is exactly why it's often the first instrument Irish children learn and why it turns up in almost every session. The button accordion, usually tuned to the B/C system, adds volume and drive and became a mainstay of ceili bands built for dancing. The tenor banjo is a newer arrival — adopted into Irish trad chiefly in the 20th century — prized for cutting through a noisy pub room with its sharp, percussive attack on fast tunes.
Jigs, reels and hornpipes — telling the tune types apart
Reels are in 4/4 time and are the most common tune type in a session, driving and even in their rhythm, built for fast, continuous dancing. Jigs are in 6/8 time, with a distinctive lilting, galloping feel — a subtype called the slip jig, in 9/8 time, is danced almost exclusively by women and is prized for its flowing, graceful movement. Hornpipes share the 4/4 structure of a reel but are played with a swung, dotted rhythm and often slightly slower, giving them a strutting, deliberate character rather than a reel's headlong drive.
The seisiún — how a pub session actually runs
A seisiún is an informal gathering of musicians, traditionally in a pub, where tunes are led by whoever starts one and picked up by ear rather than from sheet music — most trad musicians learn tunes this way, by listening and repetition, not by reading notation. Players typically run tunes together in a 'set' of two or three before moving on, and a good session has an unspoken etiquette about who leads, when to join in, and when to simply listen. It's this informal, musician-led structure — not a rehearsed setlist — that a well-run trad night on a stage tries to capture.