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Below are a series of questions relating to your knowledge, experience and opinions about Irish traditional music.

This survey forms part of an ongoing research project conducted by Patrick Egan (Pádraig Mac Aodhgáin), a concertina player and researcher from Wicklow, Ireland. Patrick is currently a digital fellow based at the Library of Congress. Disclaimer: this is not a Library of Congress survey, but a researcher survey.

This survey is aimed at musicians, dancers, singers and enthusiasts in North America and explores the many ways in which digital access to audio might be transforming engagement among the wider Irish Music community. You – performers, teachers, students, promoters, archivists, enthusiasts, etc. may use and interact with Irish traditional music on the internet in various ways. This research will enable researchers to better understand and explore the current role that archival collections have with this genre of music, song and dance.

If you take part you will be asked for your responses to a number of questions and statements. You will not be asked to disclose your identity at any stage.

The term Irish Traditional Music is used in the widest possible sense, acknowledging that stories, song and dance form an integral part of the tradition.

No question is mandatory.

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* 1. Your age

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* 2. Age you became involved with Irish traditional music

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* 3. Gender

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* 4. State / Region where you live

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* 5. Country(s) of Nationality

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* 6. At what level of engagement are you currently at with Irish traditional music?

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* 7. What is your involvement in Irish traditional music?

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* 8. Primary performance instrument(s) or mode of expression (e.g. fiddle, voice, dance, broadcasting)

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* 9. Are there any other places that you've lived that were formative to deepening your engagement with Irish traditional music?

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* 10. Have you recorded and/or published any work or resource in this genre?

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* 11. If you have recorded / published a resource of Irish traditional music, in what format have you created it? (please select your main resource if there are multiple)

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* 12. Have you been to Ireland?

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* 13. If so, do you feel your experience in Ireland has had an impact on the way you engage with Irish traditional music?

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* 14. If you continue to maintain a meaningful connection with Ireland, please explain how this is done.

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* 15. Do you have experience playing other styles of music/song/dance?

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* 16. If so, please list up to 5 of them

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* 17. How much time do you spend listening to, learning or using audio recordings (either commercial / non-commercial)?

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* 18. On what device(s) do you listen to your audio recordings?

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* 19. If you learn from CDs, Cassettes, Vinyl / 78rpm Records, or Mp3, how important are the accompanying liner notes to you?

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* 20. If accompanying liner notes of audio recordings are important to you, what information in these notes is specifically important to you?

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* 21. If the accompanying liner notes are not important to you, please explain why

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* 22. Which types of audio recordings have you most liked to learn from or use in the past?

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* 23. Where do you use the knowledge you get from audio recordings?

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* 24. If using the internet has been a big impact on your musical development and musical life, how has that happened?

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* 25. Which internet resources have you used to share audio recordings of Irish traditional music?

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* 26. Have you ever visited an archive in person such as the Library of Congress, the British Library or the Irish Traditional Music Archive to explore their collections of Irish traditional music?

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* 27. If you have visited these archives in person, what types of material have you consulted?

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* 28. What is your opinion about these archives and the audio recordings that they hold?

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* 29. Which of these collector or archive-related websites have you visited in order to access sound recordings?

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* 30. If you don't use these websites to listen to audio, why do you think that is?

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* 31. What gives you the most satisfying experience when accessing sound files (rank 1-4, by moving the most important to the top or entering a number)?

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* 32. What improvements (if any, rank 1-5, move most important to the top or enter a number) would you suggest are most important for access to archival collections on the internet?

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* 33. What information do you think should be most important in a search for audio recordings on the internet? (rank by moving to the top or enter a number)

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* 34. What other information is important to you? (please rank as before)

  Extremely Very Moderately Slightly Not at all important N/A
Performer biographical info
Info that performers give about their music / performances
Info on who the artists performed with
Info on who they were influenced/taught by
Stories about the performances
More older compositions that you haven't already heard
More newer compositions that you haven't already heard

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* 35. How familiar are you with North American (including Canadian) collectors of Irish traditional music and audio recordings?

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* 36. Which of the following collectors are you aware of who recorded Irish traditional music in North America during the 20th Century?

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* 37. If you haven't been very aware of these collectors of Irish traditional music in North America or haven't engaged much with audio material in archival collections (either through the internet or in person), why do you think this is?

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* 38. Do you have any other ideas or suggestions on how this material could be made more relevant to performers in North America?

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* 39. Are there other recordings of sessions/concerts/mixes that people in your musical network have recorded and shared and that you find useful to your musical life?

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* 40. Is there anything else you would like to share with us that this survey prompted you to think about?

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