Celtic music

The term "Celtic music" encompasses Irish traditional music and traditional musics of Scotland and the Shetland Islands; Cape Breton Island and Maritime Canada; Wales; the Isle of Man; Northumberland (northern England); Brittany (northwestern France); Cornwall; and Galicia (northwestern Spain). The term, though widely used, is eschewed by many traditionalists.

Common characteristic musical forms include jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, strathspeys (Scotland) and slow airs. Much of the music is typified by strong, repeating melodies in a set rhythm, which reflects a background as music to dance to. Ballads are also common. Largely through the immigration of the so-called "Scotch-Irish", Celtic music was the foundation for traditional "folk" music in the U.S., especially that of Appalachia.

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An earlier version of the above article was posted on Nupedia. This article is Open Content.

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