Celtic music. 

1. Indicates 'Irish' or 'Scottish' musics, but is increasingly used in Britain and the

US to denote 'Irish',this suggesting discomfort with 'Irishness'. In Europe it may denote

Breton or Galician music in addition to Irish, Scottish and Welsh. The music of

Brittany is different to Irish music, but is within the playing and listening experience

of many Irish traditional musicians. Isle of Man, England and Wales are connected

cultures, but Scotland has particularly strong linguistic and music links with Ireland, as has

 the Scots-Irish diaspora in Canada (Cape Breton, Newfoundland, etc.)

2. More superficially the term 'Celtic' has come to apply to an easy-listening, 'mood' music

 with dreamy, non-specific but Irish/Scots flavour, marketed as 'relaxing', 'evocative', etc.


Celtic Folk is a blend of British folk and Celtic music. It has the structure of traditional

 British and Celtic music, but the attitude and aesthetics of modern-day folk and

contemporary singer/songwriters.

Irish Folk refers to folk songs and folk singers from Ireland, who often incorporate

 traditional Irish and Celtic music into their own style. The style encompasses both

traditional Irish folk and contemporary Irish folk, which blends the traditional with

 contemporary rock and folk influences.r

Traditional Celtic applies not to the Celtic music that was popularized in the '90s.

 Rather, it is both the earliest recordings of this folk style, plus recordings that keep

the music pure, without any of the new age or pop influences that distinguish

contemporary Celtic music.