Sean Nós Singing

                                                                                   Sean Nós means "old style". It is a style of singing dating back hundreds of years which was handed down orally from generation to generation. It is a really good example of "pure" traditional Irish music. The words are more important than the tunes. Rhythm is dictated by speech rhythms.

The main features of Sean Nós are;
Ornamentation.  Sean nós singers use ornamentation to to express emotion.
Ornamentation is usually improvised, therefore a song would never be performed the same way twice.  Ornamentation can be melodic or rhythmic.
Free rhythm/metre.
Solo singing (unaccompanied)

Variation.  The tune and rhythm of songs are varied from verse to verse and from performance to performance.
Personal styles. Singers often develop their own style of performance.
Regional Styles. In the past, singers would learn to sing by listeneing to other singers in their region. This gave rise to regional styles of singing much the same as accents in language. The regions are; Connemara, (highly ornamental) West Cork/Kerrry, (nasalisation and glottal stop) West Waterford, and Donegal (simpler more melodic style).
No Dynamics
No vibrato generally.
Nasalisation is sometimes used.
Use of the Glottal stop.
Use of interpolated vowel sounds.

Collections of Sean Nós songs include "Amhrán Ar an Sean Nós", an RTE series of field recordings, and field recordings by Seamus Ennis.
Singers of Sean Nós include Noirín Ó Roinn, Joe Heaney, Aodh Ó Domhnall.
Songs we've listened to in class include, "An Sagairtín" "Anach Chuain" (boating tragedy) and "Bean an Fhir rua" (love song)
These songs were usually about local events like boating tragedies etc.  and were performed at events like wakes and weddings. 
Refer to the "Ornamentation" and "Regional Styles" pages to complete your knowledge on Sean Nós.