Breton music has also been influenced by Scotland with the introduction of Scottish bagpipes (called biniou braz) and the creation of bands of drums and bagpipes (bagadou). If it definitely makes sense to make a distinction based on the area of origin, it is important to consider the undeniable mutual influences of the various traditions: for historical reasons, Irish and Scottish music have met several times and they share part of the repertoire (we find ballads with the same melody but different texts both in Ireland and Scotland, musical genres born in Ireland have become heritage of the Scottish tradition and vice versa). The term 'Celtic music', which has always been the subject of animated discussions, is a modern definition that includes more or less arbitrarily the popular music of the so-called Celtic countries (mainly Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and Galicia). Although finds of musical instruments, descriptions and iconographic sources have been found, no one will ever know what music the Celts played: the Bards handed down their compositions only orally. In some areas (for example in Ireland) their culture survived until the early Middle Ages: some traces and artistic expressions were maintained even after Christianization. They knew the period of maximum expansion in fourth to third century BC, to be then eventually assimilated by the Germans to the north and by the Romans to the south.

The Celts were an Indo-European people widespread in Europe since the Iron Age. La Compagnia del Coniglio at Celtica 2013

Ancient celtic music