Sean-nós singing

Sean-nós singing is unaccompanied, traditional Irish vocal music usually performed in the Irish language. Sean-nós singing usually involves very long melodic phrases with highly ornamented and melismatic melodic lines, differing greatly from traditional folk singing elsewhere in Ireland, although there is significant regional variation. Sean-nós songs cover a range of genres, from love song to lament to lullaby, traditionally with a strong focus on conveying the relevant emotion of the given song. The term sean-nós, which simply means '[in the] old way', is a vague term that can also refer to various other traditional activities, musical and non-musical.

The musician and academic Tomás Ó Canainn said:... no aspect of Irish music can be fully understood without a deep appreciation of sean-nós singing. It is the key which opens every lock.