Lilting

For the soft drink, see Lilt. For the film, see Lilting (film).

Lilting is a form of traditional singing common in the Goidelic speaking areas of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Mann. It goes under many names, and is sometimes referred to as diddling (generally in England and Scotland) mouth music, jigging, chin music or cheek music, puirt à beul or canntaireachd in Scottish Gaelic, or portaireacht bhéil (port a'bhéil, "mouth-singing") in Irish. It in some ways resembles scat singing.

Features

Lilting often accompanied dancing. Features such as rhythm and tone dominate in lilting. The lyrics thus are often meaningless or nonsensical.

History

The origins of lilting are unclear. It might have resulted in part from the unavailability of instruments, whether because they were seen as too expensive or were banned. However, peasant music in other Indo-European cultures was subject to similar constraints, and lilting did not develop.

Notable lilters

• Jimmy Ward
• Paddy Tunney
• Bobby Gardiner
• Len Graham
• Christine Primrose
• Karen Matheson and Mary Ann Kennedy demonstrate lilting on a BBC 2005 television series, The Highland Sessions, filmed in Killiecrankie, Perthshire
• Dolores O'Riordan, singer of Irish rock band The Cranberries
• Siobhan Owen, Welsh-born Australian celtic and classical singer, harpist

See also

• List of All-Ireland lilting champions
• List of traditional Irish singers
• Sean-nós singing, unaccompanied Irish traditional singing
• Puirt à beul, Scottish lilting
• Waulking song, unaccompanied Scottish traditional singing while fulling cloth

External links

• Article on Gaelic puirt-a-beul (mouth music)
• Seamus Fay, Cavan's lilter