# Traditional — The Blackbird

Traditional’s The Blackbird (1750) is No. 1 in our Celtic Traditional ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1750
- **On one list:** Celtic Traditional
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [Traditional](https://waxonia.com/artist/traditional/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/traditional--the-blackbird/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Celtic Traditional](https://waxonia.com/genre/celtic-traditional/)

A set dance old enough that its authorship is unrecoverable, and a tune every piper and fiddler is measured against. Dated here to the century it surfaces in, because that is the honest limit of what is known.

## Analysis

2 sections, the first drop at 0:03, 4% of the way in.

- **Tempo:** 143.6 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** Bb major
- **Dynamic range:** 3.8 dB — compressed hard — very little between the quiet and the loud
- **Length:** 1:08

- `0:00` A · **intro** (bar -1), instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: other
- `0:42` B · **peak** (bar 24), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: other

**Drop** at 0:03 (bar 1). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Traditional%20The%20Blackbird) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=XKVas2s-lcM)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.