Flatpicking Celtic

[Bryan Floyd]

Or perhaps I should say Irish music...  Is there a know relationship between flatpicking and irish / celtic music?  Recently I got the 2007 Flatpicking CD by FGM and there are several irish sounding tunes on there, even one with an irish whistle.  I always associated flatpicking with just bluegrass music, but now I am thinking that I am just calling the kettle black.  I understand that alot of irish, whistle music are fiddle tunes, just the same that alot of bluegrass songs are fiddle tunes as well.  So, is there a connection here between the two?  I would like to here your opinions on this.  Thanks.

[thomas doran]

FYI
FROM WIKIPEDIA
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of country music. It has roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the United Kingdom and Ireland (particularly the Scotch-Irish immigrants in Appalachia), and African-Americans, particularly through genres such as jazz and blues. In bluegrass, as in some forms of jazz, one or more instruments each takes its turn playing the melody and improvising around it, while the others perform accompaniment; this is especially typified in tunes called breakdowns. This is in contrast to old-time music, in which all instruments play the melody together or one instrument carries the lead throughout while the others provide accompaniment. Traditional bluegrass is typically based on a small set of acoustic stringed instruments including mandolin, acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddle, resonator guitar and upright bass, with or without vocals.

Bluegrass music has attracted a diverse and extremely loyal following worldwide. Bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe characterized the genre: "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound. It's plain music that tells a good story. It's played from my heart to your heart, and it will touch you. Bluegrass is music that matters."