I have for about three or four years now been fascinated by the sound of Breton music. I’ve been to Brittany twice and have attended a couple of Fest-Noz, but the music still remains a bit cryptic (never mind the dances!).
Is Breton music, like Ir-Trad, commonly played in certain keys? What kinds of scales (or modes, rather) are commonly used in Breton music? Are any Breton tunes adaptable to whistle? (I’ve heard that whistles are often used for kids beginning the bombarde.) Thanks for any info.
Micah
Breton music is fun, isn’t it!!! I don’t know too much about it but I did play around with it over the summer… I got a book from House of Musical Traditions (www.hmtrad.com) that both has the music and explains the dances. Much of it is in D and is very playable on the whistle… some tunes are not in D but can be transposed and “fit” just fine on the whistle.
Have fun! =)
Instrument player,
This book sounds great…just what I’m looking for. What’s the title?
On 2002-09-25 17:48, Micah wrote:
Is Breton music, like Ir-Trad, commonly played in certain keys? What kinds of scales (or modes, rather) are commonly used in Breton music?
I am exploring this music also. Jean-Michel Veillon sent me an article, “The Music of Brittany” by Ross DALY, and I quote:
“The modes utilized in Breton music are clearly influenced by and related to those of Gregorian chant, which in its turn, bore influences from ancient Greek and Byzantine modal theory. There are also copious examples in Breton music of the use of non-tempered intervals, another characteristic central to European modal music of pre-classical origin. The limited range of notes used in many Breton melodies is also a testament to their antiquity. It is very common to find Breton tunes which do not exceed a perfect fifth in range, and there are even examples of melodies constructed on a scale of only three degrees.”
Kevin Krell
International Traditional Music Society, Inc.
Wooden Flute Obsession CDs
http://www.worldtrad.org
[ This Message was edited by: kkrell on 2002-09-25 22:38 ]
From my experience with a small bagad it seems Bb is a popular key. Not only because the Highland bagpipe has become a part of the tradition also because the traditional Breton bagpipe, the biniou kozh, is in Bb. In Upper Brittany the veuze, another traditional bagpipe, is in G. The bombarde is the quintissential Breton instrument and not only does it come in Bb and G but a lot of luthiers make them in A and D.
Probably the best known and most comprehensive book on Breton music is Toniou Breizh Izel, compiled by Polig Monjarret. HMT used to carry it but they were no longer carrying it last time I checked.
This isn’t much info but I hope it helps.
Kenavo!
Aaron
Yep, Bb turns up a lot. Also Eb. As Aaron said, the biniou kozh and bombardes are usually in Bb, plus many tunes are in Eb as it’s the primary key for the celtic harp and Alan Stivell made many tunes famous via his harp (most are Eb and Bb).
I find Breton tunes easier to play than Irish, usually because most are 4/4 or 2/4 time and I learnt music on the harp playing Breton tunes.
Ne bado ket atao!
It is very common to find Breton tunes which do not exceed a perfect fifth in range, and there are even examples of melodies constructed on a scale of only three degrees
Could somebody please explain “a perfect fifth” and “three degrees” in simple English to a person who has no knowledge of music theory. I have no idea what this means.
Does anybody have an online source of some Breton tunes?
A perfect fifth is the distance of five notes in the scale-from C to G, for instance, C,D,E,F,G. From C to Gb (f#) is a diminished fifth (I think) and from C to Ab (G#) is an augmentedfifth. In terms of the major scale you have a whole step (C to D) another whole step (D to E), a half step (E to F) and another whole step to G. As far as I know degrees just refers to steps in the scale. You can find some tunes from Brittany at Tradfrance. First click on “various regions” and then Brittany. Richard Robinson’s tune book has a bunch of tunes from France but I’m not sure what ones are Breton.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/music/Info/RRTuneBk/listings.html
I guess you could look up stuff like “An Dro” and “Gavotte” at JC’s too.
Steve
Steve, thank you!
I had forgotten this but Kornog has some music at MP3com. The songs are sung by Jamie McMenemy and are usually Scottish but the tunes are Breton. Good band. Also, I tried looking up An Dro and Gavotte at JC’s and got a lot of stuff. I don’t know how to distinguish Breton Gavottes from any others, though. Another word you could try looking up is Laride.
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/224/kornog.html
Steve
Breton tune genres to look for are the aforementioned an dro and gavotte as well as laride, derobee, hanter dro, hanterzan, and rond to name a few. Gavottes are often played in suites called gavotten ar menez (gavottes from the mountains).
Breton tunes usually sound pretty good on whistle. Beginner bombarde players start on Bb whistles. Breton tunes sound good on D whistles too. The melodies are usually relatively simple but require lots of expression.
Brendan Ring is probably a good one to ask about Breton music since he lives in Brittany. I notice he posts here now and again.
Kenavo!
Aaron
[ This Message was edited by: AaronMalcomb on 2002-09-27 13:55 ]
Hi all,
If you can possibly get hold of the CD (I managed to via Amazon.com) do not hesitate to listen to music by a band called Pennou Skoulm, which includes very big names in Breton music, including some very tasty flute playing!
Barry
Micah–
I’ll have to check on the name of that book for you and get back to you 
Pennou Skoulm… nice choice. You could call them the Bothy Band of Breton music.
Kenavo!
Aaron
Here it is Micah, the name of that book…
Breton Dance And Tune Book
Compiled by Dave Shepherd
Published by Dave Shepherd/Dragonfly Music
You can find it at Hmtrad.com
Lots of stuff in D and A, and explanations of the dances that go along with those tunes. =) Fun stuff, a nice book-- I’ve had fun with it!
Rachel
Thanks, Rachel. I’ll check that out.
Micah
Hi!
Check out http://www.leeds.ac.uk/music/Info/RRTuneBk/Alltunes/Alltunes.country.html#France - I’m sure they’re not all Breton tunes, but you might find something…
Deirdre