In the last couple of months I’ve taken to teaching myself the keyboard. I wanted to learn the black art of of playing those mysterious things called “chords”
Anyhoo I’ve got proficient enough that I can just about pick out a tune from sheet music, and especially if I know a tune the sheet music keeps me right. The music specifically for keyboard (especially anything with “easy” in the title) is usually arranged with the melody on the treble cleff with the accompanying chords written above. I like this and find it very useful.
I’m looking for more sheet music written in this format. I can’t read anything written in full piano notation with the bass cleff. Does this way of writing music have a formal name? I’ve heard it described as “lead sheets” by guitarists who play the chords while signing the melody, but I don’t know if that is its proper name.
Thank you. My local music book shop owner told me that keyboardists will often use books intended for guitarists. Apparently in many respects it has more in common with the guitar than the piano, despite appearences.
Also, books full of lead sheets are call “fake books”. They have the song’s melody written out, with chord symbols on top. Fake books started out being for jazz and popular music, but now there are ones for traditional music as well.
Sometyhing you might find useful … Nigel Gatherer’s “Tune of the Week” pdf’s http://www.nigelgatherer.com/tunes/tow.html mostly have chord letters associated with the melody line
It doesn’t. Although I can see why he might be equating basic chordal keyboard (ie using stock chord shapes with auto-accompaniment features) to basic chordal guitar.
While we’re on the subject can anyone recommend me a good traditional music “fake book”? Specifically I’ve been hunting for a lead sheet to “Ailein Duinn” with no success. I’d gladly buy a whole book if it contained that one.
Sorry I can’t find a lead sheet for that song in specific…
One thing you could do is simply learn to read bass clef as well – at least well enough to pick out notes. It’s just like treble (or alto or baritone) clef only the vertical arrangement is offset. Even if you don’t actually want to “read piano music”, and even if all you end up doing is “counting down the lines and spaces”, you will at least be able to find an old arrangement of, for example, Ailean Donn, like this:
and translate the bass clef notes into the appropriate chord (leastways, the appropriate chord as devised by the arranger in question!) which you can then use to create your own lead sheet. The first measure, Gura mise, has A-E-A-Cnat-E, thus your chord is Amin. Same for the next measure with its broken chord, and so forth. A lot of old traditional music was arranged for piano, though it can be kind of schmaltzy – You can then work your own magic and find chords and accompaniments more pleasing to your ear!
Just something to think about!
Speaking of Name This Kind of Sheet Music, anyone here know what this is called and what’s the key to reading it and perhaps the history behind it? —
For what it’s worth, Ailean Donn is on page 12 of this book. Obviously, comparing with the standard notation, the symbols are a combination of note + duration symbols. I guess kind of like old school ABC!
wikifonia.com has quite a lot of music of different sorts. A person has to register, it’s free, and I receive no e mails or anything from these folks. The music is transposable and savable and if I remember quite correctly, will play for you too.
After studying piano for a few years, I figured out what was going on with chords and ruined my ability to play standard piano music. Sadly, I figured out what was going on with chords by decoding the guitar chords. I wish I would have asked a trained professional but that didn’t cross my mind.
A crucial point when there are myriad reasons* why the arranger might not be ‘right’.
*Including valid alternative readings, conscious or unconscious simplicity (perhaps due to avoidance or ignorance of distinctive ‘trad’ sounds and shapes), misreading the harmonic implications, lack of taste/judgement etc.
You are so right about that. A few years back, our church purchased new song books (we kept the old ones too Yay!). Whoever arranged the music did so for the preference of a keyboard and not a folk guitar. On many of the traditional hymns, the chord changes for every note.
Gracias Sr Guru! I figured it must be some kind of notation scheme, but didn’t know what it was called in general terms. If I’m trying to sort out a tune, I use a similar system, but note letter names rather than the D-R-M-F-S-L-T-D used here. And little flags or squiggles to note duration. Kind of like (one of) the Shaker letteral system(s). Then, if it sounds okay, I write it out in standard notation, just cos it’s easier for me to read.
Right! I of course am not suggesting that the arrangement I quoted is the One And Only Right Way to perform the song! Nowhere in music, whether art or traditional, is there such a thing. Some arrangers are simply better than others; also, tastes change, traditions change, the perceived need or desire to cling to tradition or move out of it or inject outside influences all come together to inform any given arranger’s end product. And let’s not forget, the collectors of songs like this that were gotten from what we might now call ITM performances – be they local singers or dance music players or harpists – did not have sound recordings at their disposal! They had to listen to the performance, absorb it, notate its melody and notate any harmony all on the fly. Either that or memorize it and write it down later. I’ve no doubt there’s much room for error, and that on top of all the reasons you supply!
One of the problems with finding tunes with Gaelic titles is the spellings differ greatly. I tries Aileen, Eileen, Eilean, Ailean, and separately Duin, Dunn, and Donn. Never did find it except the sol-fa version.
Listen, chaps. I’m in a grump to say the least this morning, so very impatient. I’m not even sorry.
Has anyone got a link to someone - anyone - singing this song straight, within the bloody awful electronic effects and faux romantic/tragic/whatever feel? I.E the song. Straight.
I don’t speak Gaelic, but I believe it is supposed to have 4 verses and I counted 3 in that video, so that’s most of it surely? Don’t know which one she skipped.
