There is probably no such thing as a distinctively Celtic style of music. The great antiquity of Celtic languages and their endangered status in the modern world, nevertheless, give a romantic aura, and so Celtic is a general name given to all music practiced in the areas where Celtic languages survive. There are two branches Celtic languages, Goidelic (Irish and Scottish Gaelic and Manx) and Brythonic (Welsh, Breton, and Cornish). Harps, fiddles, flutes, uillean pipes, bodhrán (a drum), and tin whistles are instruments associated with so-called Celtic music.
Genre Guide 2000 · World/Folk