I posted a request for accompanying chords to Phil’s slow airs in another thread, but didn’t get any response. Maybe that’s because no one wants chords (after all, this is a whistle forum). Or maybe it’s because the other thread has become a bit, erm, technical, discussing modes and so on.
So, here’s my request again - would anyone care to comment on the chords I’ve added to An Raibh Tu ar an gCarraig? Particularly the choice on line 3 between Bm and Em. And please, please, don’t mention the “m” word in any replies.
X:1
T:An Raibh Tu ar an gCarraig?
M:3/4
L:1/8
K:G
(ed |“Em” BB3Bd |“C” ee3) (ef |“Em” gg g3 f/e/ |“Bm” f3 e (3dBA |
“Em” B4) (ef |“C” g>g g3 f/e/ |“Bm” f f3 (3edB |“Em” e e3 ) z (e/f/ |
“C” f>e e2 ) (gf |“Bm / Em” e>dBAB^c |“G” d2 B2) (g>f |“Bm / Em” e>dBAF>E |
“D” D4) (EF |“Em” G>G G2 e/d/B/G/ |“Bm” FF F2) z (A/F/ |“Am” E E2 D/E/ F>E |“Em” E4) |]
Oh, and I tend to play it in 4/4, firstly by mistake, but laterly because I like it that way.
It would be helpful. I don’t read ABC so well, and the insertion of chords into it trips me up more. What I was able to glean seems to work fine, although I wore out after the first few phrases.
Yeah, that other thread did suck up all the air around here, didn’t it.
If you don’t use a dedicated ABC editor, the Concertina.net converter does MIDI, too, including chords. Just paste and covert, then download the “MIDI music file” link. It’s crude, but lets you check for glaring chord mismatches.
Thanks. Last time I tried it, it didn’t work for some reason. Wonder what that was all about…
Yeah, hoopy, the chords sound okay for what the MIDI file barfed up. But I play the air in a decidedly non-metered fashion - the way I learned it, so it’s hard for me to compare the two - and I think I might go for a different chord or two if I were at it, but mainly due to phrasing. A personal taste thing, I’m sure.
Lemme think about it. As I said, it’s hard for me to compare the metered with the nonmetered version (mine, anyway) completely. For the most part I’d do pretty much the same stuff, though, looks like. It might sound counterintuitive, but after all this time doing the rubato thing, for me my first listen to this metered version made little sense! It’s probably just me.
Here’s a YouTube vid of a Pure Drop - that is, solo - rendering of An raibh tú ag an gCarraig? on fiddle. It’s pretty close to the way I play it, so maybe you can understand my own difficulties here.
Down with Modes!
But I play the air in a decidedly non-metered fashion - the way I learned it, so it’s hard for me to compare the two - and I think I might go for a different chord or two if I were at it, but mainly due to phrasing. A personal taste thing, I’m sure.