I have one more voice training session left, it is next week. I’ve been asked to bring in at least two songs I want to work on for the future an Star of the County Down is one of them. I like the song, and my group likes it, and they want me to sing.
Here is my quandary, I am trying to find the right instrumental version to take to my vocal session with me. I have searched through tens of variants, but one comes close to one I like (sung by Fin Tan). But then I had an idea…I could ask the C&Fers to help me! I am looking for an upbeat rhythm to the song, with fiddle, whistle, bodhran, UPs, even accordian would work okay. Just, no modern electric guitar. I’m not saying the modern rock versions I’ve listened didn’t sound good, they just aren’t what I am looking for. I prefer a more folk sound, traditional instrument sound, sort of thing.
So, do you have a recording of you playing it? Maybe you can mock up a quick recording for 4 verses (and choruses, chori, chorii?) worth of sound?
EDIT:
Duh, it might help if I mentioned what kind of voice I have, eh. I am bass through low tenor. But, I have had no problem simply singing something in a lower octave, no matter the octave of the song to this point.
With a low men’s voice, it would sound excellent sung a capella, but instead of using the real words, you could sing the words of The Cremation of Sam McGee.
I was studying the march version I printed from TheSession.Org and I think I might be able to mock it up on fiddle. But, not on whistle. The low B is below the D on my whistle. So, I could either shift nearly the whole song up an octave, or maybe try to fake on my Gen Bb if I want some weird fingering.
Or, add a G whistle to my future order for an F whistle?
That is an area of music I am still conquering…exactly what can I change in a song and still get the song I want to hear. I am less than a year on this musical binge beyond the drum set.
Good Lord! Is THAT what I’ve been playing all this time? Well, wonders will never cease.
Yes, just move inconvenient notes around. Just play something you think sounds nice instead. Or ignore them . . . that seems to be what I do with this one.
I prefer the pentatonic minor core which is more “ancient” or elemental IMO.
B d e f a b (namely 1 b3 4 5 b7 8 )
With the “g” (the minor 6th to B) the above is a hexatonic variant (1 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8 ).
If I want a hexatonic variant I prefer the C# (major 2nd to B) to be added
in a more baroquish variant (1 2 b3 4 5 b7 8 ) in delta blues scale.
i like to do this on an Irish flute transposed to F# min in core pentatonic minor with the low “C# hole” (D vent) taped over for the lowest note.
eg
K: F#m
C E|F2F2 etc
)