Track 29 from Charanga / Saydisc / Christine Richards project - 'Listen to this' for Key Stage 3. A vocal tradition from Saydisc album 'Traditional Songs of Ireland', recorded by Peter Kennedy.
Main feature: rhythmic vocalising.

These two pieces of Irish mouth music or 'diddling' were recorded in the 1950's. The two learning tracks of the Track Explorer focus on the vocal technique and rhythmic style of the singers.

Track 9 from Saydisc "Percussion Around the World" - notes from Maureen Hanke.

'The King of the Fairies/ The Lilting Banshee' is an example of Irish music. The familiar sound of traditional Irish music comes from violins, piano accordions, penny whistles, the Celtic harp and the Ullieann pipes but supporting the spirit of the Irish sound is the Irish drum or the bodhran. Bodhran means "skin tray". It is a type of wooden frame drum that appears in cultures across the world. The Irish bodhran is characterised by a crosspiece behind the skin head which is held in one hand whilst the other hand hits the drum skin with the hand or a stick. The wooden rim and crosspiece are made from the Ash tree and the skin stretched over is from goat, sheep or deer.

In The King of the Fairies/ The Lilting Banshee the bodhran part is based around the steady beat. It is struck on each beat but gradually decorates each beat it plays with increasingly elaborate rhythmic patterns.

(In a music session the class could listen to The King of the Fairies and tap along to its steady beat in groups of 4. The piece can be heard in units of 8 groups of 4. The class could also tap along to the rhythm pattern of the tune which is good and bouncy.)

UK number one single April 2, 2000 - April 9, 2000 and fifth consecutive single to hit number 1 in the UK from the Irish boy band under the management of Louis Walsh.

This Listen and Respond resource is one of a range of resources relating to track 22 of the Saydisk 'Listen To This, KS3' world music recordings. It is suitable for use on first listening. The Active Listening points suggest specific (differentiated) things for pupils to listen out for as the music plays through.

Three further menu items show texts with missing words that users choose from a pop-up list of alternatives. A correct choice is signalled with a green highlight, so it is possible to learn basic background musical information through intelligent self-discovery. More detailed understanding and follow-up activities are available through other resources based on the same piece - please search the title of the track to find these.

The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish folk music group founded in 1962 and this is their version of a classic Irish rebel music song that honours the memory of the women dedicated to Ireland, specifically the Irish nationalist movement.

Recommended listening to support the Somerset Music Coco Scheme of work as it illustrates the capacity of reworked traditional pieces to be very successful commercially.