I’m curious if there is a simple way to accompany a tune when the melody is known, but not chords. I’ve got lots of whistle tunes, but no notation for accompaniment. There are several pretty little “marches” in Mel bay’s Slow Air book, but the book doesn’t have any chords(shame). Can anyone explain the method of playing the right chords for the passages? If this is too complicated to sum up in a post, can you refer me to a book that might demistify this? DADGAD or standard, either or, as I’m going to be learning both tunings.
Thanks.
For learning the essence of trad Irish backup, I highly recommend the book “Celtic Backup for all Instrumentalists” by Chris Smith, available through Mel Bay:
http://www.indiana.edu/~smithcj/celtblur.html
Also, I have a page devoted to a methodology and chord shapes for DADGAD backup, assuming that you already know the root pedal tone and mode of the tune or section of tune:
http://members.cox.net/eskin/DADGAD.html
Good luck!
Michael
At Aodhan’s new site there’s a section for styles of play and accompaniment. I suggested he put something there for accompaniment since, as far as I know, there is no other place for discussion of accompaniment without regard to instrument. Anyway, nobody has posted anything there but topics like this would be a good place to start.
http://www.gaeliccrossings.com/forums/index.php
Steve
[ This Message was edited by: SteveK on 2003-02-14 10:15 ]
I’m no guitarist so this may annoy some of you string pluckers but it does for me. If you have the melody in ABC format you can use an ABC player to add backing chords automatically. It works pretty good with Henrik Norbeck’s AbcMus player /editor which you can pick up at:
http://home.swipnet.se/~w11382/abc.htm#abc
along with about 1000 transcribed tunes. It’s more than enough to give you a starting set of backing chords anyway.
For learner whistlers who want to play along with a few good songs, so you can do the intro or a musical interlude for a singer, it is nothing short of brilliant. Really good for top players as well. If you can knock out the Sweeps as good as your synthesiser you should be recording. Somewhere on the net you will find lots of Irish and Scottish songs if you search for the file dt-songs.abc. Examples are the Locke Hospital, Cliffs of Dooneen, the Piper of Dundee. It’s good fun as well as good practice to play along with both a melody and a backing track. The player download is less that 1M, dead easy to install, and has a good range of instruments. All you need is a bog standard sound card with speakers. Select your soundcard’s midi device from a pick list after install (there may be choices so play around for best result), select the instrument for melody, and one for backing chords. Tin whistle set 1 octave higher than the default for melody, and nylon string Guitar for backing chords sounds good. You will be gob smacked at the result. Chords can be added or removed and you can transpose to different keys. The Locke Hospital and Cliffs of Dooneen are well known from the singing of Christy Moore. In dt-songs.abc Locke Hospital is in the key of D. You will need to transpose up to F for the tune to be playable within the range of a C whistle.
Another good one is the Piper of Dundee. It’s in B flat so you have to flatten B and E by half-holing on a C whistle. You will impress yourself no end when you play along on a Susato C whistle. For Cliffs of Dooneen you need a breathy D like a Shaw. You do not need to know much about the ABC format to use this player.
Now I’ve listened to the very best at very close quarters in Ireland over many years. When your timing and phrasing are near perfect, learnt by playing along, a simple tune that has a memorable melody will impress an auld hand like me far more than any amount of lightning fast, highly ornamented reels and marches (routs, if the speed in most sessions is anything to go by). Go on, give us something quality worth listening to.
I would like to add to these helpful comments that IMHO it is essential to listen to recordings with various styles of backup in order to get a sense of what makes for suitable traditional-style approaches in accompaniment. As IrTrad music is for the most part a modal form, some approaches aren’t as suitable unless you specifically want to incorporate jazz, blues, or classical structures into the picture. These approaches would not be considered traditional, but are useful if you like “pushing the envelope”. FWIW, I don’t usually care for them, esp. classically informed backup: too “crunchy”, as my theory coach would say. But that’s just me. 
Recordings with Daithi Sproule, Pat Broaders, Ged Foley, Ciaran Curran, Alec Finn among others, and of the bands Danu and Dervish might offer a range of tasteful approaches within the Tradition.
N, hope this helps
On 2003-02-11 18:41, mamakash wrote:
I’m curious if there is a simple way to accompany a tune when the melody is known, but not chords. I’ve got lots of whistle tunes, but no notation for accompaniment. … Can anyone explain the method of playing the right chords for the passages? … DADGAD or standard, either or, as I’m going to be learning both tunings.
Thanks.
Hi Mamakash:
After reading the replies, I thought I would give it a stab and try and keep it simple.
-
Think of the Hippocratic oath and DO NO HARM with yer chords. Remember that truly traditional Irish music is melodic and can stand alone, without chords. Thus, your chords should enhance the melody not highlight dissonances, tho with time, there will be some friendly but subtle dissonances.
-
You can start by harmonizing in the traditional folk manner, by examining the tones within the measure and seeing what fits by building triads. i bet the auto chord maker mentioned above, does this.
-
As stated before, listen to what various groups do. You will find there is a range from simple folk-like chords, to much meandering, counter melodies etc.DADGAD usually sounds more like the latter.
Pick a very common reel and listen to six different versions if you have the library to do so. That will teach you much more than hearing six different reels.
Pick records that have only one melody instrument and one guitar for best chance of discerning chords. Paul McGrattan’s “The Frost is All Over” has just him and a very sparse but tasteful DADGAD accompaniment. Big groups have guitars, bouzoukis etc, some even have bass instruments…Too hard.
Using traditional tuning with sixth string tuned down to D is very popular and gives a familiar departure point for folk guitarists (who already have played some), while jumping into DADGAD puts you into double disadvantage of trying to learn chord forms plus harmonizing challenges.
-
Do not be afraid to play different chords on repeats of phrases.
-
write your chords in PENCIL and be ready to change em as time passes and your knowledge increases. I think its wise to start with baseline folk chords, then slowly evolve to other options (see 2 above). Don’t fall into a mindset of CORRECT chords for anything. There just aren’t any. Maybe some incorrect sounding ones but…
\ -
Finally, in the midst of your listening, identify a style you really like and copy it. I sometimes hear accompaniments that are interesting in concept, but not what I would play. Don’t be afraid to reject choices made by others, while retaining respect for them.
-
Be understanding that for many people who have played music for years, its hard to explain very basic things. Most of the DADGAD material I have seen is written by people who obviously spent years playing standard tuning. I say this because their instructions seem complex and unapproachable. I haven’t seen Chris Smith’s book, so maybe he got it right but the other DADGAD book I saw was unhelpful to the beginner.
The problem with DADGAD is that are so many partial chord forms in use that you are often presented with a huge panoply of chords at the outset. Its nuts for a beginner to jump in that way.
Adding later: I am not convinced that one can even learn DADGAD from picture chord charts. I strongly feel that you have to get a sense of what you are doing in the tuning then evolve chord forms that sound good. Sounds crazy but that was my reaction…but I have played guitar for 38 years so I can’t feel as a beginner does…
Best wishes,
The Weekender
[ This Message was edited by: The Weekenders on 2003-02-24 15:23 ]
I was just having this discussion with a fellow player at the session last night at The Field, here in San Diego…
(on my soapbox)
I’ve come to the conclusion that probably the only way to be a successful trad Irish backup player is to learn all the melodies first. For me, I’ve been a melody player for some time on the tenor banjo, whistle, and flute,and had the basic modal backup skills from the bouzouki. It only took a couple of months to work out the genre-appropriate chord shapes for DADGAD guitar and start effectively applying them in a session context.
All this was only possible because I knew the tunes. Guitar players who don’t know the tunes don’t know the scale lines, and often go bleary-eyed when I ask if they know about modes. As a result, they almost always crash and burn when they blindly try to back this music.
So these days, when a bright-eyed cheery guitar player comes up to me after listening to the session and asks where they can get the chord charts for the tunes, I give them lots of info, point them to the right web sites, but most of all, tell them to get a mandolin or learn to flat pick the tunes on the guitar. Only then they should consider learning backup. I don’t tell them its the only way, but instead tell them its a method that I’ve seen be very successful for players. Unfortunately, I really don’t think there is a shortcut for the majority of players I’ve met…
I think session backing is very high-responsibility work, and communicating that level of responsibility to new players is very difficult. They generally don’t want to hear that its not as easy as it looks and they might have to work at it, just like the rest of the folks in the session who have spent years learning the tunes…
(off my soapbox)
Michael
http://www.michaeleskin.com
[ This Message was edited by: eskin on 2003-02-25 18:01 ]
On 2003-02-24 22:39, eskin wrote:
I’ve come to the conclusion that probably the only way to be a successful trad Irish backup player is to learn all the melodies first.
(snip)
I think session backing is very high-responsibility work, and communicating that level of responsibility to new players is very difficult. They generally don’t want to hear that its not as easy as it looks and they might have to work at it, just like the rest of the folks in the session who have spent years learning the tunes…
YES. Hear, hear, thank you, eskin, for saying exactly what I wanted to. Learn the tunes, learn the tunes, learn the tunes. There are no shortcuts.
[ This Message was edited by: Ro3b on 2003-02-25 09:30 ]