LOL… I’m asking about what instruments, of course, but also what do you use to figure where you are going in a tune you don’t know.
I play the bass most of the time. In looking up tunes in books, tab, and the like, I have found that the chords for tunes get ignored a lot. Sometimes I am slopping around trying to even find the key, let alone figure out what obscure chords are getting popped in …The guitar players, even the really good ones, are often spending as much time searching for an elusive match as enjoying themselves.
I’ve put together a chord book for our sessions (talk about a lot of work! .. may even end up getting it published… we’ll see), and wonder what everyone else does.
“Celtic Backup for all Instrumentalists” by Chris Smith, available on Mel Bay.
I also highly suggest learning to flatpick the tunes on guitar, mandolin, or another instrument. I think it is incredibly difficult to be a succesful trad backup player without also knowing the melodies themselves. If you have the melodies, you have the scales, if you have the scales, you know the mode, if you know the mode, you know the chords. Chris’ book has an excellent overview of all this.
I’d second Michael’s suggestion of getting Chris Smith’s book. In this area it seems to me to be in a league of it’s own.
I do think you need to know the melody to know the tune well enough to back it effectively. If you can lilt it that might be enough but it helps a lot if you also can ‘read’ the melody profile. By that I mean that you can often tell from where a melody has been and where it is going what a suitable harmonisation would look like. You can also tell from the choice of notes whether it is pentatonic, for example. All of this comes down to two things, knowing the melody well and knowing enough theory (chords and scales) to know how the melody hangs together. And that brings us right back to the Chris Smith book.
I’ve seen Paul’s book described—I don’t think I’ve seen it in the flesh—but it seems to cover much the same ground as all the other guitar books. Chris’s book really covers new ground IMO. I’m curious to know what it is about Paul’s book that makes you recommend it. (Perhaps here’s another purchase on the way.)
For those who know what a standard guitar or bouzouki tutorial book or video looks like, the advantage of Chris Smith’s book is that he asks and answers many of the questions you wanted answers to but never got. Why do it this way rather than that? Why does this work and that not work? What are the principles behind the advice? Of course, this presupposes that you can play at least one rhythm instrument competently, but that is what sets it apart from most of the other tutors.
This is an interesting discussion for me since most of my playing has been achieved by ear with very little music theory - possibily to my own detriment, but it does have its advantages. Since I play in a band then obviously I need to learn tunes - this I do by first listening to the tune until it becomes so familiar that it’s ‘in my head’ then beginning the process of learning the it slowly then building up to the required speed. Harmonies then become quite easy, as it’s a case of deviating from the melody in ways that are in accordance with what everyone else is doing around the tune.
As the years have gone by this process has become much easier as a result of developing that kind of musical ability.
Another advantage to playing by ear is that you can learn to play along to CD’s - this means that some of the very best musicians in the world become your ‘virtual’ session members (and they never wince or complain when you get it wrong! and you can always go back for a second chance by repeating the track). It certainly helps with timing as well as hopefully developing a playing style that’s sympathetic to the music played. Of course that need augmenting by playing with others for feedback - thankfully mainly constructive.
I suppose I’d be interested to know if anyone else has, perhaps naively, ignored much music theory in favour of a similar approach?
Having said that I’m beginning to learn a little music theory now, which is informing my ear playing ability. Go http://mandolinsessions.com/feb05/mandology.html the discussion is obviously for jazz mandolin but can be applicable to any instrument with a little creative thinking. Hope this helps.
I don’t consider myself much of a trad melody player, but I am a fairly experienced trad backup player. Here are some rules of thumb to help you out:
Look at the “held” note in the end of the tune. This will give you the nominal key of the tune (e.g. if it ends with a D, the tune is in D something).
See if the major or minor chord for that key works best. This will give you the tonality of the tune (major or minor).
Identify the other two chords to be used in the “turnaround” at the end of the A and B section. I would say that 90% or more of all trad tunes will have this “turnaround”, and it will be the same for both the A and B sections.
Fit the resulting three chords into the rest of the tune, and voila, you’re done!
Here is the Kesh as an example:
Nominal key: G
Tonality: Major
Chords used in turnaround: C, D, G
Section A Results: G / / / C / D / G / / / C D G /
Section B Results: Same as section A.
