One of the aspects of a feis that makes it one according to NAFC rules is the presence of non-dance competitions. To a first approximation, this means it has to have some form of music competition. Since we've fielded a few questions over the years concerning Clan Seger's exploits in the world of Irish Music, we've prepared a quick field guide for the feis-goer who might have an interest in it.
"Allowed" is perhaps too harsh a word here. The following is a list of instruments I have noticed at feis music competitions sorted by approximate frequency of occurrence. Please keep in mind that this list is based entirely on my personal observations over several years of feising, and as a result is very subjective. In other words, Your Mileage May Vary.
| Frequency of Appearance | Instruments |
|---|---|
| Common (everyone does them) |
|
| Uncommon (a few per feis on average) |
|
| Rare (seen several times a year) |
|
| Endangered Species (seen once or twice a year) |
|
Music adjudicators, unlike dance adjudicators, do not have to meet stringent eligibility and testing requirements. In fact, the background of music adjudicators will vary wildly from feis to feis. Feisanna that run the music comps the night before the dancing (such as Charlotte or North Texas) usually tend to use one of the feis musicians (the most notable exception to this being Detroit). For all others, I have noticed a mixture of either local music educators or local Irish musicians known to that committee. There is also no standard on the number of adjudicators that judge a particular competition.
The end result of this unpredictability? Do not be surprised if you do spectacularly well at one feis, only to crash and burn at another feis a day later. There is probably nothing wrong with you -- the adjudicators were each looking for different things based on their experience.
Very rarely, you might run into the Adjudicator From Hell. I can only point to two instances in Clan Seger's many adventures in Irish culture where I have seen legitimate problems in the adjudication of a music contest (scrubbed to protect the innocent):
Things get more interesting when you look at the scoring systems used by adjudicators. Two feisanna (Columbus and Indianapolis) breaks out the various categories you are scored against, and includes the maximum number of points you can get in each category -- very helpful if (like me) you are also training a young musician. One uses the system that the Indiana State Choral Association used when I was in high school over two decades ago. Still another averages the scores of two adjudicators.
Traditional Irish Music played in ensemble or on chording instruments will sound bland to the aural palette of most Americans. This is mostly due to Traditional Irish song arrangements having chord structures and progressions that could best be described as "simple." From personal experience, I would warn people who play a chording instrument and/or play in ensembles to be very, very careful with their arrangements.
There are other style quirks you run into when you start talking duets and other types of ensembles. In the Traditional Irish Style, all instruments are expected to play melody at all times. Another subtle quirk we only learned recently is that if one instrument has to stop to take a breath, all instruments have to stop with it for that amount of time.
Then there's singing styles. Traditional Irish Singing today emphasizes a musical style originally from around Connemara known as sean nos. This is a combination of vocal placement, tone quality, pitch, rhythm, and expression which would horrify most voice teachers in America today. Applied to a Gaelic-language song, sean nos styling does give it a unique, almost haunting quality. Applied to an English-language song, it has the unfortunate effect of making the singer sound drunk or hung over.
Subject material of Irish songs generally fall into one of three broad topics:
If you play an instrument, this won't be an issue. If you sing, you need to be aware that song lyrics in any of these general categories can be (but are not always) explicit. As a result, there are songs I would sing that I would never allow Rachel to learn at this point in her life. Some of her adjudicators have understood this restriction, and (more importantly) why I have imposed it. Others haven't. If you're a parent, you need to review what songs your singer would like to do in competition -- and have the courage to stand up to adjudicators who have a problem with the resulting repertoire.
Another problem you may run into with your music selection are the songs itself, for certain ones seem to attract undue prejudice from adjudicators. This can be for reasons as simple as they are heard a few too many times in one day, or they are thought of as "too American," or even for more insiduous reasons. The following list, based on over three years of observation, is my recommendations on what to avoid in your repertoire -- and why.
| Song | Why |
|---|---|
| Danny Boy | Many pure-drop traditional musicians regard this air with the same contempt with which I regard Whiskey in the Jar. If you doubt me, go to the IRTRAD-L Mailing List Archives and type the words "Danny Boy" into the search engine -- and as you read through the search results, consider that some of these people may be adjudicating at a feis near you. |
| Red Is The Rose | It's a pretty song. It's done almost to death, however, by many people. I tried it out as a possible Fleadh piece at one competition in 2002, only to discover I was the fourth person to have sung a version of it that day. |
| Anything from Riverdance or Lord Of The Dance | The success of these productions in introducing the general public to Irish Step Dancing never seemed to translate into a similar surge of interest in Irish Traditional Music -- and nothing infuriates some people more than success. I have yet to see a song from either production do well in competition. |
I consider this field guide very much a work in progress. I expect to be adding things to it several more times in the near future as they are suggested.