You first need to know the difference between singing Irish country (céilí ) music and Traditional Irish music.
If you want to be a traditional singer this is what is known as Sean-nós singing. Sean-nós singing goes back over 800 years in Ireland and is always sung in our native tongue. Most Sean-nós tell a story and are often very sad.
Céilí however, can be sung in English or Irish, and is usually more festive and upbeat! Take Sharon Shannon and Mundy's Galway Girl or Rocky Road to Dublin a poem by Harry Clifton put to music first by The Clancey Brothers and Dubliners then several times since. Céilí songs still tell stories but usually ones you can dance to.
What Artists You Should Listen to for Inspiration
Depending on precisely what type of Irish singing you want to go into there are different artists you should listen to for inspiration. For example, if you want to listen to more Céilí inspiration I would recommend the following artist:
- Sharon Shannon and Company
- The Dubliners
- The Wolfe Tones
- The High Kings
- Clannad
- The Chieftains
Whereas if you want to listen to a more modern Irish type of music for inspiration I would recommend the following:
- The Corrs
- Enya
- The Cranberries
- Sinead O'Connor
The main difference between the older and more modering influences is the sound of the actual music played behind the singing.
5 Irish Songs Every Irish Person Knows The Lyrics to
We are a strange bunch of people of Irish, not everyone knows the whole national anthem. But everyone knows the lyrics to these five songs, even those of us who don't aspire to be singers someday know these 5 sets of song lyrics. We don't know how or when the knowledge of these lyrics became part of our very being, but they did and we treasure them, especially those of us who live thousands of miles from home.
What is she going on about I hear you thinking...
The Feilds Of Athenry
This one pulls at the heartstrings of every Irish person on the globe, even those who are Irish second or third generation, it does something to us, this song that calls us home, it calls us to stand tall and sing loud. To be heard and counted. There's pride and there's heartache in this song.
Grace
This one, well this one makes us cry. But we all know it with pride. Pride of our ancestry and pride that Irish people will choose love, no matter how short-lived it will be!
Zombie - The Cranberries
This song is more modern than the other two both just as powerful and filled with just as much history. It tells the story of the troubles between the north and south of Ireland and how even when there was a peace treaty called, some people refuse to let go of the violence, the hate, and the anger. For many of the people who grew up in the 90s, this was a reality, their parents and grandparents were still very angry people. Because of its raw honesty, this song is one everyone instinctively gravitated towards upon its release. We all know the words, we all sing them loud.
Galway Girl - Sharon Shannon & Mundy (not the Ed Sheeran Song)
The moment you say Galway Girl these days everyone assumes you mean the Ed Sheeran song. But before this song, there was the Irish song by Sharon Shannon on Mundy. The classic Galway Girl. This song is just happiness, it's about a fella going for a walk and meeting the love of his life! Don't we all want it to happen that easy? But then again... was it love? The video of them HERE, is my favourite, it shows how much music means to the Irish people.
C'est La Vie - B*Witched
So, the fellas might pretend they don't know the words to this one, but we all know they do. This is every Irish person's Kareoke tune. It was released by a girl band in the nineties who didn't stick around long enough but they left us with pure GOLD! They even left us enough space to show off our Irish Dancing skills in the middle!
Setting Your Goals and Finding Singing Lessons
Before you begin your search for a singing tutor, you should consider your goals.
What are your objectives?
Deciding this will help you to find a suitable teacher who can adapt their lesson content to your personal needs. Another advantage to setting out your goals in advance is that once chosen, your teacher can more easily organise their lessons around your goals.
Singing coaches who advertise their services on the tutoring platforms such as Superprof can upload their personal experiences, giving you a better idea of their teaching style, and telling you about their specialisms (such as Irish Trad singing, for example). This is incredibly useful for students, who can find out whether a particular tutor will suit them simply by looking at their profile.
In order to make the most of your coaching, you’ll need to use the time between lessons effectively. Singing tutors expect a certain level of practice and motivation from their students.
What this means that students should always be practising what they have learnt in their sessions with their tutors in their spare time between their lessons.
If students manage to practice as much as possible and they can demonstrate their progress to their tutor at the beginning of the next lesson, giving the tutor an opportunity to measure their improvement and further advise them until they are both satisfied to stop lessons and start moving towards career goals.
Here are a few ways students can develop their skills outside of lessons:
- Working on songs or pieces assigned by the teacher
- Practicing listening skills for singing exams with a CD
- Practicing breathing techniques covered in lessons
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Please reply. I cant find a tutor who would teach me to sing irish songs.
Hi Brigid,
If you reach out to our team at helloireland@superprof.com, they’ll be able to help you with your search for a singing tutor.
Best,