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Showing posts with label dadgad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dadgad. Show all posts
Monday, April 21, 2014
Friday, January 27, 2012
"Bound for Botany Bay", John Doyle
"Bound for Botany Bay", performed by John Doyle (www.johndoylemusic.com) in concert at the Institute of Musical Traditions (www.imtfolk.org), Takoma Park, Maryland, USA on November 16, 2011.
John Doyle is renowned as one of the most talented guitarists performing in either the Irish or Appalachian traditions. As an accompanist, he adapts to and compliments the style of those he plays with, but his rhythmic and melodic contributions do much more than simply provide a background, creating complex, fascinating layers within the tunes without ever overshadowing the principal performer. Fans who have seen John Doyle perform as a band member or accompanist have also been treated to his solo guitar work, his wonderful, lyrical singing and, more recently, his dynamic fiddling.
John Doyle is renowned as one of the most talented guitarists performing in either the Irish or Appalachian traditions. As an accompanist, he adapts to and compliments the style of those he plays with, but his rhythmic and melodic contributions do much more than simply provide a background, creating complex, fascinating layers within the tunes without ever overshadowing the principal performer. Fans who have seen John Doyle perform as a band member or accompanist have also been treated to his solo guitar work, his wonderful, lyrical singing and, more recently, his dynamic fiddling.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Hits and misses at the Chamber Orchestra
Cover of Philadelphia OrchestraOn Sunday, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra presented its second concert of the season led by Mischa Santora in the Mayerson Theater at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, Over-the-Rhine. The highlight was a world premiere flute concerto, performed by the principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Jeffrey Khaner. Lowlights included a ragged performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 — and too much talking between movements.
It’s amazing that they were able to field an orchestra that day. Because, simultaneously, within about a few blocks in each direction, there were performances by the Cincinnati Pops in Music Hall, and by the CCM Philharmonia and choruses at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, Downtown.
The orchestra commissioned the Flute Concerto by Eric Sessler of Philadelphia. Two of the movements are named for the alternate guitar tunings that inspired his music: DADGAD/Poetic and Orkney. But aside from that — which was not obvious to those of us who don’t play guitar — the work was immediately appealing. It had a distinctly mid-century American feel, in the vein of Aaron Copland and Roy Harris, with a few moments minimalism. It seems destined to find a home among the established repertoire for the flute.
It’s amazing that they were able to field an orchestra that day. Because, simultaneously, within about a few blocks in each direction, there were performances by the Cincinnati Pops in Music Hall, and by the CCM Philharmonia and choruses at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, Downtown.
The orchestra commissioned the Flute Concerto by Eric Sessler of Philadelphia. Two of the movements are named for the alternate guitar tunings that inspired his music: DADGAD/Poetic and Orkney. But aside from that — which was not obvious to those of us who don’t play guitar — the work was immediately appealing. It had a distinctly mid-century American feel, in the vein of Aaron Copland and Roy Harris, with a few moments minimalism. It seems destined to find a home among the established repertoire for the flute.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Bill Mize - Grammy-winning acoustic guitarist
"Vintage Guitar Magazine" describes Bill Mize's guitar work as "...an amazing touch, killer tone, and a sense of taste that can't be beat."
The fingerstyle guitarist and composer appeared with the emerging acoustic guitar movement in the 1980s. He has continued to develop a style and sense of taste that influences many of today's guitarists.
Applauded by critics and guitar enthusiasts alike for his smooth "multi-part" style, the Tennessee musician is a past winner of The National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition at The Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kan.
"Guitar Player Magazine" described the event as the "US Open of guitar competitions."
Mize earned a Grammy Award for collaboration with David Holt on the recording "Stellaluna," and spots on the popular "Windham Hill Guitar Sampler" and "Masters of the Acoustic Guitar" by Narada Records. Mel Bay and John
August Music transcribed his CD, "Tender Explorations" into a book.
His songs have been included in other Mel Bay guitar books, Winfield Winners and DADGAD Music by Pierre Bensusan. He is a frequent clinician and performer at guitar camps including The Healdsburg Guitar Festival, The Newport
Guitar Festival, Steve Kaufman's Guitar Camp and The Swannanoa Gathering.
His music will be featured in the upcoming Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks, America's Best Idea" to be aired on PBS.
While Mize has drawn inspiration from legends of soul, hillbilly, jazz, classical and rock and roll, his original music is more difficult to peg. It has been described as varying from delicate highland melodies to soulful Memphis grooves executed with classical sensitivity.
Bill Milkowski of Jazziz Magazine writes, "...Mize's touch is magic, his ideas flow in rapid succession, and his execution remains flawless throughout this acoustic guitar showcase."
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Trad Guitar Tuning
This site is designed to help those interested in experimenting with alternate guitar tunings, specifically those tunings used most often in Irish traditional music. The contents could however be useful for anyone interested in finding out a little more about alternate tunings, their chord positions, scales and background. The chords and scales presented are meant as a taster, there are of course a myriad of others to be discovered and played with.
What are alternate tunings?
There are three main groupings within alternate tuning: open, regular and instrumental.
In "Open" tuning, the six strings are tuned to form a single chord when strummed without being fretted. This makes it easy to play unusual chord progressions by using "droning" (using one tone continuously in the background behind the tune) Open G plays a G major chord if played open. They are also perfect for playing harmonics on all six strings at the 5th, 7th and 12th frets.
What are alternate tunings?
There are three main groupings within alternate tuning: open, regular and instrumental.
In "Open" tuning, the six strings are tuned to form a single chord when strummed without being fretted. This makes it easy to play unusual chord progressions by using "droning" (using one tone continuously in the background behind the tune) Open G plays a G major chord if played open. They are also perfect for playing harmonics on all six strings at the 5th, 7th and 12th frets.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Introduction to Celtic Guitar
It may seem very strange nowadays, but in Ireland the guitar is not considered a traditional musical instrument, and even if many guitar players play Celtic music, this music has not been completely absorbed in the world of the six strings (1).
The guitar is an instrument older than the instruments typical of the Celtic tradition, such as the uilleann pipes, the Celtic harp, the whistle and the fiddle: it's instead the most important instrument of Spanish traditional music, and its ancestor, called the "oud" (in Arabic language "al'ud", and from there the word "lute") is widely played in classic and traditional music of Middle East (2).
Until a few decades ago, the guitar was an unusual instrument in Celtic music, and this probably more for social and historical rather than musical reasons. In the years since guitar appeared in the Irish musical scene, Irish music (which had absorbed the accordion and thus evolved in its musical style) wasn't in good health. A culture in decay tends to become more conservative, and the guitar, too often connected to the rock'n'roll culture, had a strong smell of revolutionary modernism. In spite of the growing popularity of the guitar in the sixties and seventies (or maybe because of it...) the gap between guitar and Irish traditional music stood still (3).
The first use of a guitar in Irish music dates to the 1930s, when some Irish musicians in the USA began recording their music with a rhythm guitar backup which, however, didn't add much to the music. Probably the most important guitar player of those years was Martin Christi whose "jazz-oriented" style can be heard on fiddler James Morison's recordings(4).
Some years later, an interesting accompaniment style was developed by the guitarist Willie Johnson in the Shetland Isles. He, too, was influenced by the 78 recordings of the great American jazz guitarists Eddie Lang, Eddie Durham and Lonnie Johnson. Willie Johnson adapted their swing style to the accompaniment of the traditional fiddle music of the Shetland Isles: the resulting "Shetland swing" remains an important part of the musical tradition of these islands, and is rich in the typical elements of jazz music, i.e., syncopated rhythm and passing chords, and often rich of harmonic embellishments (5).
***
The sound of Celtic music depends very much on the acoustic and stylistic features of its instruments; so the first (and one of the main) difficulties for the guitarist who wishes to play Celtic music is to try to maintain these musical colors and flavors. The main musicians who succeeded in maintaining these features in their approach to the guitar are Dave Graham, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, Dave Evans, Pierre Bensusan and Duck Baker. Stefan Grossman has also played an important role, especially in the diffusion of Celtic music for guitar. His recordings, his tablature books and his videotape lessons are precious tools for every guitar player who wants become a "Celtic guitarist".
***
Transferring Celtic music to the guitar implies several problems. The first one is that the guitarist is trying to play the parts of more than just one instrument: in other words he/she must play a melody line, a bass part and a rhythm part. In the case of some slow airs you have also to play some counterpoint, to keep their original flavor.
Another particular difficulty is that the "Celtic guitar player" is trying to imitate with his/her instrument the playing techniques typical of other instruments; for this reason, the first thing to do is to listen carefully to the sound of these instruments in their own context. After all, much of what we hear today comes, more or less directly, from direct listening! So, after many and many hours of careful listening to groups like Chieftains, De Dannan, Bothy Band and so on, probably the guitar player will succeed in developing a playing technique that will respect the musical styles of Celtic music. For the same reason it's very important for "live" listening, to catch the "drive" of this particular form of music and to transfer it in his/her own playing technique.
The Technique
If we listen carefully to this music, we'll notice quickly that the main keys are D and G: this is why instruments like the tin whistle, the Celtic harp and the uilleann pipes are "modal" instruments, and their playing key is somehow fixed: you can play only in few keys, and it's almost impossible to play in other keys.
The main strategy for the Celtic guitarist is to make the guitar a modal instrument. The famous DADGAD tuning is used by many Celtic-oriented guitarists and supports the keys of D, G and A. This tuning dates to the Sixties, and one of the first to use it was Dave Graham. A variation of this tuning is obtained lowering the fifth and sixth string one more tone: it's the so called "low-C tuning": CGDGAD, often used by Dave Evans and El McMeen. Another possibility is to lower the sixth string to D ("dropped D tuning"): this solution allows a richer sound in the key of D. Standard tuning (EADGBE) is possible, but makes life more difficult (...musically speaking...) to Celtic-oriented guitarists: for this reason most of them use alternate tunings, and anyway most of Celtic music for guitar today is not played in standard tuning. Obviously there are many other possibilities: personally I prefer EADEAE (I learned it from the wonderful album "The Complete Guitarist" by Dave Graham...) and DGDGBE (often used by the great John Renbourn): both of them are particularly useful to render the drone typical of the pipes, by just picking the "open" low strings.
The open tunings: DGDGBD; CGCGCE and DADF#AD have been often used with great results; sometimes, the "minor" tunings are used (for example, in G: DGDGBbD). Martin Carthy often used the DADEAE, that allows playing in D major and D minor, A major and minor, E minor and G major. Martin Carthy himself has then modified this tuning in DADEAB and CGCDGA, but only in few tunes.
The use of alternate tunings obviously is not mandatory in Celtic fingerstyle guitar: the great Duck Baker has always been reluctant in leaving the standard tuning, and nevertheless he gave us some of the most beautiful arrangements for Celtic guitar. Finally, the adoption of all these alternate tunings can be helpful, but requires an open mind, since the guitarist has to learn new positions and the fretboard becomes unfamiliar. The use of a particular tuning depends a lot on the personal taste and sensibility of each guitarist.
Turlough O'Carolan
The harpist and composer Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) lived in a particularly difficult period of the history of Ireland: in the years of his life the old Gaelic world suffered the invasion by the new Anglo-Irish culture, a consequence of the Cromwell wars. The harp style of Carolan, a mix of ancient tradition, old songs and popular dances with the influences of the Italian Barocco (Corelli, Geminiani were popular at that time in high classes in Ireland), was too eclectic and modern for the harpists of that age. More, he wasn't very good as harpist, since he learned this instrument not very early, after he had lost his sight. Also, he wasn't very good at writing the poetical texts that accompanied his compositions. There was something instead that made him very popular: his great disposition for melodic invention: he composed real gems that gave him an everlasting immortality.
Most of his compositions were dedicated to his friends or "patrons": so for example, "Doctor John Stafford" is about a receipt by my colleague Dr. Stafford who, after visiting O'Carolan, allowed him to drink again his beloved whiskey, against the opinion of another doctor (...mmmm, in my profession I've already heard something like that...and anyway this confirms my long time opinion: Medicine is not an exact science...; but maybe it's better if we return to Mr. O'Carolan...).
Among the most famous compositions, "Sheebeg & Sheemore" (one of the first ones by O'Carolan) talks about a legendary battle between the inhabitants of two fairy hills, and "Farewell to Music", composed few days before his death at the Castle of Mrs. McDermott Roe.
The music of O'Carolan survived in the centuries just thanks to a direct transmission from musician to musician, and only the melody lines were transmitted: we don't know anything about bass parts, harmonizations and/or embellishments. Probably the simplest arrangements are the most "authentic".
The reason why I'm talking about Turlough O'Carolan in this page, devoted to the Celtic fingerstyle guitar is because there isn't a Celtic guitarist who hasn't played some of the wonderful compositions of the blind harper: many of his tunes have been re-arranged in several guitar versions, and many tablatures exist; often these arrangements are not very difficult to play but the quality of the music makes them very impressive to the audience.
Dr. Alfredo de Pietra is a medical practitioner in Palermo, Italy and also contributes monthly articles on Celtic guitarists to the Italian newsstand publication "Keltika".
For more information on artists, CD's, available tablature and reviews, visit his web site at: http://space.virgilio.it/aldepi1@tin.it/keltika.htm
The guitar is an instrument older than the instruments typical of the Celtic tradition, such as the uilleann pipes, the Celtic harp, the whistle and the fiddle: it's instead the most important instrument of Spanish traditional music, and its ancestor, called the "oud" (in Arabic language "al'ud", and from there the word "lute") is widely played in classic and traditional music of Middle East (2).
Until a few decades ago, the guitar was an unusual instrument in Celtic music, and this probably more for social and historical rather than musical reasons. In the years since guitar appeared in the Irish musical scene, Irish music (which had absorbed the accordion and thus evolved in its musical style) wasn't in good health. A culture in decay tends to become more conservative, and the guitar, too often connected to the rock'n'roll culture, had a strong smell of revolutionary modernism. In spite of the growing popularity of the guitar in the sixties and seventies (or maybe because of it...) the gap between guitar and Irish traditional music stood still (3).
The first use of a guitar in Irish music dates to the 1930s, when some Irish musicians in the USA began recording their music with a rhythm guitar backup which, however, didn't add much to the music. Probably the most important guitar player of those years was Martin Christi whose "jazz-oriented" style can be heard on fiddler James Morison's recordings(4).
Some years later, an interesting accompaniment style was developed by the guitarist Willie Johnson in the Shetland Isles. He, too, was influenced by the 78 recordings of the great American jazz guitarists Eddie Lang, Eddie Durham and Lonnie Johnson. Willie Johnson adapted their swing style to the accompaniment of the traditional fiddle music of the Shetland Isles: the resulting "Shetland swing" remains an important part of the musical tradition of these islands, and is rich in the typical elements of jazz music, i.e., syncopated rhythm and passing chords, and often rich of harmonic embellishments (5).
***
The sound of Celtic music depends very much on the acoustic and stylistic features of its instruments; so the first (and one of the main) difficulties for the guitarist who wishes to play Celtic music is to try to maintain these musical colors and flavors. The main musicians who succeeded in maintaining these features in their approach to the guitar are Dave Graham, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, Dave Evans, Pierre Bensusan and Duck Baker. Stefan Grossman has also played an important role, especially in the diffusion of Celtic music for guitar. His recordings, his tablature books and his videotape lessons are precious tools for every guitar player who wants become a "Celtic guitarist".
***
Transferring Celtic music to the guitar implies several problems. The first one is that the guitarist is trying to play the parts of more than just one instrument: in other words he/she must play a melody line, a bass part and a rhythm part. In the case of some slow airs you have also to play some counterpoint, to keep their original flavor.
Another particular difficulty is that the "Celtic guitar player" is trying to imitate with his/her instrument the playing techniques typical of other instruments; for this reason, the first thing to do is to listen carefully to the sound of these instruments in their own context. After all, much of what we hear today comes, more or less directly, from direct listening! So, after many and many hours of careful listening to groups like Chieftains, De Dannan, Bothy Band and so on, probably the guitar player will succeed in developing a playing technique that will respect the musical styles of Celtic music. For the same reason it's very important for "live" listening, to catch the "drive" of this particular form of music and to transfer it in his/her own playing technique.
The Technique
If we listen carefully to this music, we'll notice quickly that the main keys are D and G: this is why instruments like the tin whistle, the Celtic harp and the uilleann pipes are "modal" instruments, and their playing key is somehow fixed: you can play only in few keys, and it's almost impossible to play in other keys.
The main strategy for the Celtic guitarist is to make the guitar a modal instrument. The famous DADGAD tuning is used by many Celtic-oriented guitarists and supports the keys of D, G and A. This tuning dates to the Sixties, and one of the first to use it was Dave Graham. A variation of this tuning is obtained lowering the fifth and sixth string one more tone: it's the so called "low-C tuning": CGDGAD, often used by Dave Evans and El McMeen. Another possibility is to lower the sixth string to D ("dropped D tuning"): this solution allows a richer sound in the key of D. Standard tuning (EADGBE) is possible, but makes life more difficult (...musically speaking...) to Celtic-oriented guitarists: for this reason most of them use alternate tunings, and anyway most of Celtic music for guitar today is not played in standard tuning. Obviously there are many other possibilities: personally I prefer EADEAE (I learned it from the wonderful album "The Complete Guitarist" by Dave Graham...) and DGDGBE (often used by the great John Renbourn): both of them are particularly useful to render the drone typical of the pipes, by just picking the "open" low strings.
The open tunings: DGDGBD; CGCGCE and DADF#AD have been often used with great results; sometimes, the "minor" tunings are used (for example, in G: DGDGBbD). Martin Carthy often used the DADEAE, that allows playing in D major and D minor, A major and minor, E minor and G major. Martin Carthy himself has then modified this tuning in DADEAB and CGCDGA, but only in few tunes.
The use of alternate tunings obviously is not mandatory in Celtic fingerstyle guitar: the great Duck Baker has always been reluctant in leaving the standard tuning, and nevertheless he gave us some of the most beautiful arrangements for Celtic guitar. Finally, the adoption of all these alternate tunings can be helpful, but requires an open mind, since the guitarist has to learn new positions and the fretboard becomes unfamiliar. The use of a particular tuning depends a lot on the personal taste and sensibility of each guitarist.
Turlough O'Carolan
The harpist and composer Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) lived in a particularly difficult period of the history of Ireland: in the years of his life the old Gaelic world suffered the invasion by the new Anglo-Irish culture, a consequence of the Cromwell wars. The harp style of Carolan, a mix of ancient tradition, old songs and popular dances with the influences of the Italian Barocco (Corelli, Geminiani were popular at that time in high classes in Ireland), was too eclectic and modern for the harpists of that age. More, he wasn't very good as harpist, since he learned this instrument not very early, after he had lost his sight. Also, he wasn't very good at writing the poetical texts that accompanied his compositions. There was something instead that made him very popular: his great disposition for melodic invention: he composed real gems that gave him an everlasting immortality.
Most of his compositions were dedicated to his friends or "patrons": so for example, "Doctor John Stafford" is about a receipt by my colleague Dr. Stafford who, after visiting O'Carolan, allowed him to drink again his beloved whiskey, against the opinion of another doctor (...mmmm, in my profession I've already heard something like that...and anyway this confirms my long time opinion: Medicine is not an exact science...; but maybe it's better if we return to Mr. O'Carolan...).
Among the most famous compositions, "Sheebeg & Sheemore" (one of the first ones by O'Carolan) talks about a legendary battle between the inhabitants of two fairy hills, and "Farewell to Music", composed few days before his death at the Castle of Mrs. McDermott Roe.
The music of O'Carolan survived in the centuries just thanks to a direct transmission from musician to musician, and only the melody lines were transmitted: we don't know anything about bass parts, harmonizations and/or embellishments. Probably the simplest arrangements are the most "authentic".
The reason why I'm talking about Turlough O'Carolan in this page, devoted to the Celtic fingerstyle guitar is because there isn't a Celtic guitarist who hasn't played some of the wonderful compositions of the blind harper: many of his tunes have been re-arranged in several guitar versions, and many tablatures exist; often these arrangements are not very difficult to play but the quality of the music makes them very impressive to the audience.
Dr. Alfredo de Pietra is a medical practitioner in Palermo, Italy and also contributes monthly articles on Celtic guitarists to the Italian newsstand publication "Keltika".
For more information on artists, CD's, available tablature and reviews, visit his web site at: http://space.virgilio.it/aldepi1@tin.it/keltika.htm
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Alternate Guitar Tunings
Sometimes I like to use alternate guitar tunings to spice up my playing and creativity. It's not hard to do, but if you've never done it before, it might seem a little confusing at first.
One of the most common alternate guitar tunings is DADGAD. To get this tuning on your guitar...
1. Tune the 6th string down one octave from the open D on the 4th string.
- To check if it's right, compare the tone on 6th string at the seventh fret (now an A) with the open 5th string. They should match.
- The strings on the 5th, 4th and 3rd string remain the same as in standard tuning.
2. Change the 2nd string to an A by matching it with the A that is played on the 3rd string, second fret.
3. Finally, move up the 2nd string until you are on the fifth fret. This tone is now a D. Play the tone and then lower the first string until they blend and sound the same.
You now have DADGAD.
Whenever I use alternate guitar tunings I don't try to figure out what chord I'm playing, or what note, etc. Instead, I simply allow myself the freedom to explore sounds and rhythms. That way, my mood can express itself without restriction! It's great fun and very intuitive.
Of course, if I'm learning something written by another composer, I need to pay attention to the tab and notation. However, I only use the notation to read the rhythm because the tones on my fretboard have moved! Believe me when I tell you that it's a real cerebral challenge to try and read the music note for note. Besides, it's really unnecessary- with the exception, perhaps, of double-checking a particular trouble spot should the need arise.
Some of my favorite artists who frequently use alternate guitar tunings include: Michael Hedges, Alex DeGrassi, Andrew York, Ed Gerhard, David Crosby and Stephen Stills, all of whom I've been privileged to see in concert. I also admire and respect John Rehbourn.
Celtic instrumentals often incorporate the use of alternate guitar tunings, but there really isn't any limit regarding the style of music you play. Alternate tunings are used for fingerstyle blues, slide guitar and more! The child prodigy in the film August Rush even uses an alternate guitar tuning!
Experiment a little with playing in DADGAD tuning. Strum the open strings and listen to the sound. Try some standard chord shapes in different places and strings. Don't worry about making mistakes. Just play and have some fun!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
"Chord Scales" and accompanying Irish dance music.
by Han Speek © 1996
I - Which Scales Are Relevant ?
[You 'd better believe this. To prove it, one would have to collect numerous Irish trad. dance tunes and classify them according to the scales they use. This is a huge task. Breandan Breathnach is one who performed such a task, resulting in his 3-part tune collection "Ceol Rince na hEirann". He also published an analysis of Irish trad. music, in which he presents this classification of the scales used. I have used his work as one of my starting points.]
According to Breandan Breathnach in his "Folk Music & Dances of Ireland" there are only two major scales relevant to Irish folk music: the Dmajor scale and the Gmajor scale. Both of these scales fit naturally on the whistle/flute/pipes in D. [Note: Most Irish musicians who play an instrument in a different key than D still tend to think about it (and talk about it) as if it were in D. But the accompanists will have to transpose in such a case. Guitar/bouzouki players will usually resort to using a capo.]
I II III IV V VI VII I
Dmajor: D E F# G A B C# d
Gmajor: G A B C D E F# g
By repeatedly applying a process that Breathnach calls "inversion", which simply means detaching the first note from the scale, and appending it (actually, it's octave higher equivalent) to the end of the scale, 7 alternate scales can be derived from this major scale: the "modal" or church music scales. Of these "modal" scales (again according to Breathnach) only 3 are relevant for Irish folk music: the ones based on the 2nd, 5th and 6th note of the major (or Ionian, as it is called in church music) scale, resulting respectively in Dorian, Mixolydian and Aeolian scales.
Scales based on Dmajor:
-----------------------
D major/D Ionian: D E F# G A B C# d
E Dorian: E F# G A B C# d e
A Mixolydian: A B C# d e f# g a
B Natural minor/Aeolian: B C# d e f# g a b
Scales based on Gmajor:
-----------------------
G major/G Ionian: G A B C D E F# g
A Dorian: A B C D E F# g a
D Mixolydian: D E F# g a b c d
E Natural minor/Aeolian: E F# g a b c d e
These 8 scales are the basis for Irish folk/dance music, and will lead us to deriving the appropriate chords for providing backup for this type of music. [Note: occasionally you will come across a tune in Amajor, a key which is not listed here. I've heard a theory (I think it was Arty McGlynn who told me this) that these tunes are not originally Irish, but imported from Scotland. The ideas presented here do not apply to such tunes - these can be dealt with using ordinary "Western art music" chord theory.]
II - From Scales To Chords.
Generally speaking, a chord is formed for any note in a scale by stacking 2 3rd intervals on top of it:
pick a note (any note) in the scale (call it the "root").
skip the next note in the scale
use the next note (call it 3rd)
skip another
use the next (3rd of the "3rd", but 5th of our "root")
(If you run into the end of the scale, then treat it like the snake that bit it's own tail - continue counting at the start of the scale. Mind the octave note; it should be discarded in this case.) This way you can derive the basic triad for each chord.
For the Dmajor scale it would result in:
root: D E F# G A B C#
3rd : F# G A B C# D E
5th : A B C# D E F# G
(The same method can be applied to the other 7 scales. The results of that will be presented later. For now, we will continue the discussion, looking only at the Dmajor scale, since this is probably the most familiar to everyone.)
So far, making the step from scale to the elementary triads doesn't differ from what the chord theory for "Western art music" also teaches us.
The next step would be to analyze, and name, the chords we have found. We used 3rd intervals to build these triads, and there are 2 kinds of 3rd intervals: major 3rd (skip 3 positions on guitar/bouzouki fretboard: D - F#) and minor 3rd (skip 2 positions on fretboard: E - G). A chord with a minor 3rd between root and 3rd is called a "minor" chord.
chord on D : D major 3rd F# minor 3rd A : Dmajor
chord on E : E minor 3rd G major 3rd B : Eminor
chord on F#: F# minor 3rd A major 3rd C# : F#minor
chord on G : G major 3rd B minor 3rd D : Gmajor
chord on A : A major 3rd C# minor 3rd E : Amajor
chord on B : B minor 3rd D major 3rd F# : Bminor
chord on C#: C# minor 3rd E minor 3rd G : Edim (2 minor 3rds stacked
is called a "diminished" chord in Western art music)
Here we encounter our first difference between "Western art music" theory, and what applies to Irish dance music accompaniment: "diminished" chords are _NOT_ used. So instead of the G in the chord on C#, we use the next note in the scale: A, which is 2 _major_ 3rd's away from C#. This results in:
chord on C#: C# minor 3rd E
|
----- our new note ----- A : A/C#, 1st inversion of Amajor
[Note: An inversion of a chord can be obtained by applying the same circular shift as we used to get the derived scales from the major scale to the 3 notes that form the basic triad of a chord. The first shift results in a chord with the same 3 notes, but the 3rd as the root note - "1st inversion"; the second shift gives us the 5th as the root note - "2nd inversion".]
III - Extending on the basic triads.
Since on both guitar and bouzouki (piano is a different case altogether) it is possible to play more than 3 notes simultaneously, our next step could be to see which notes might be added to the basic triads we have just derived.
Note doubling.
The simplest way to extend on the basic triad is note doubling: adding a note already present in the chord, either in the same octave or in a higher/lower octave than what we already have. Example: the D chord can be played as D - F# -A - D, or D - F# - A - F#, or even D - F# - A - F# - D (if you can find a fingering for this). This doubling of notes doesn't change the name of the chord, since we still only use notes of the basic triad.
The 7th note.
Another likely note to add to a chord is the 7th step of the scale. Since we found our triads by stacking 3rd intervals, you might be tempted to find out what happens if you stack another 3rd. If you do so, you will have added a 7th - and it works. But the resulting chord's use in Irish trad. music is not so frequent as it is in classical, pop, or for instance American folk music. In fact, there are only 2 chords in the chord scale where this 7th note isn't obtrusive: the II and the V position of the chord scale. In all other positions of the scale it tends to stand out - it adds a jazzy flavour to the chord that often violates the character of the music.<.br> Applied to the II chord in the scale this adds to the chord the note which is the root note of the scale. This is something that works out quite pleasing for the other chords in our chord scale as well, and brings us close to a concept that is native to Irish music: droning, i.e. having one tone (usually the root) continuously present behind the actual tune. This is quite common practice in accompanying Irish music, no matter on what instrument, and is one of the reasons why open guitar tunings are so popular for backing up this type of music - the open strings are usually tuned to convenient drone notes.
IV - "Will-do" Chords
Up to now we 've gone strictly "by the book", so to speak. Everything I said up to now is thoroughly documented in literature. Now we've come to the point where we will leave this path, and introduce a concept that make life a lot easier. One thing you will probably have noticed about Irish dance music is that it's usually played rather fast. And reading the above you will have thought: I won't have time to change chords so often and so fast. Not to worry - most musicians, even the pro's, don't. Often they will substitute the theoretically correct chord with something that's easier to change to, or even the chord they were already holding down, with a suitable bass note to create the impression that they were using the proper chord progression. These chords I have, just for ease of discussion, named "will-do" chords, because they "will do" the job of an other chord with a lot less work. One very frequently used example of this would be the 1st inversion of D, the D/F#, which is almost always used in the place of an F#m in the D scale. Similarly, the G/B can be used instead of the Bm. Some people, including Arty McGlynn, will often even use a D chord with an E bass instead of an Em, something that wouldn't make sense normally (how's that for a chord - D, E and F# together in one chord. Try naming this one :-)), but in places where you're just "passing thru'" the Em chord in a chord progression, it works. And it's a lot easier (especially if you're using DADGAD) than trying to quickly change from fingering a D chord to an Em.
V - The Most Useful Chord Scales.
[Note: the indicated 7ths (between brackets) are optional]
Dmajor chord scale:
root: D E F# G A B C#
3rd : F# G A B C# D E
5th : A B C# D E F# A
7th : (D) (G)
Name: D Em F#m G A Bm A/C#
(7) (7)
E Dorian chord scale:
root: E F# G A B C# D
3rd : G A B C# D E F#
5th : B C# D E F# A A
7th : (E) (A)
Name: Em F#m G A Bm A/C# D
(7) (7)
A Mixolydian chord scale:
root: A B C# D E F# G
3rd : C# D E F# G A B
5th : E F# A A B C# D
7th : (A) (D)
Name: A Bm A/C# D Em F#m G
(7) (7)
B Natural minor/Aeolian chord scale:
root: B C# D E F# G A
3rd : D E F# G A B C#
5th : F# A A B C# D E
7th : (B) (E)
Name: Bm A/C# D Em F#m G A
(+B) (7)
G major/G Ionian chord scale:
root: G A B C D E F#
3rd : B C D E F# G A
5th : D E F# G A B D
7th : (G) (C)
Name: G Am Bm C D Em D/F#
(7) (7)
A Dorian chord scale:
root: A B C D E F# G
3rd : C D E F# G A B
5th : E F# G A B D D
7th : (A) (D)
Name: Am Bm C D Em D/F# G
(7) (7)
D Mixolydian chord scale:
root: D E F# G A B C
3rd : F# G A B C D E
5th : A B D D E F# G
7th : (D) (G)
Name: D Em D/F# G Am Bm C
(7) (7)
E Natural minor/Aeolian chord scale:
root: E F# G A B C D
3rd : G A B C D E F#
5th : B D D E F# G A
7th : (E) (A)
Name: Em D/F# G Am Bm C D
(+E) (7)
[Since many players I've met find Em hard to deal with in DADGAD, an option
would be to capo at 2nd fret, and play Dm. But then you would need a scale for
Dm. Here it is.]
D Natural minor/Aeolian chord scale:
root: D E F G A Bb C
3rd : F G A Bb C D E
5th : A C C D E F G
7th : (D) (G)
Name: Dm C/E F Gm Am Bb C
(+D) (7)
[This one shouldn't be here, really, since it's derived from the scale of C.
But I've come across it a couple of times, mostly for Irish tunes that were
arranged by American musicians. So it may be handy to have available.]
D Dorian chord scale:
root: D E F G A B C
3rd : F G A B C D E
5th : A B C D E G G
7th : (D) (G)
Name: Dm Em F G Am G/B C
(7) (7)
I - Which Scales Are Relevant ?
[You 'd better believe this. To prove it, one would have to collect numerous Irish trad. dance tunes and classify them according to the scales they use. This is a huge task. Breandan Breathnach is one who performed such a task, resulting in his 3-part tune collection "Ceol Rince na hEirann". He also published an analysis of Irish trad. music, in which he presents this classification of the scales used. I have used his work as one of my starting points.]
According to Breandan Breathnach in his "Folk Music & Dances of Ireland" there are only two major scales relevant to Irish folk music: the Dmajor scale and the Gmajor scale. Both of these scales fit naturally on the whistle/flute/pipes in D. [Note: Most Irish musicians who play an instrument in a different key than D still tend to think about it (and talk about it) as if it were in D. But the accompanists will have to transpose in such a case. Guitar/bouzouki players will usually resort to using a capo.]
I II III IV V VI VII I
Dmajor: D E F# G A B C# d
Gmajor: G A B C D E F# g
By repeatedly applying a process that Breathnach calls "inversion", which simply means detaching the first note from the scale, and appending it (actually, it's octave higher equivalent) to the end of the scale, 7 alternate scales can be derived from this major scale: the "modal" or church music scales. Of these "modal" scales (again according to Breathnach) only 3 are relevant for Irish folk music: the ones based on the 2nd, 5th and 6th note of the major (or Ionian, as it is called in church music) scale, resulting respectively in Dorian, Mixolydian and Aeolian scales.
Scales based on Dmajor:
-----------------------
D major/D Ionian: D E F# G A B C# d
E Dorian: E F# G A B C# d e
A Mixolydian: A B C# d e f# g a
B Natural minor/Aeolian: B C# d e f# g a b
Scales based on Gmajor:
-----------------------
G major/G Ionian: G A B C D E F# g
A Dorian: A B C D E F# g a
D Mixolydian: D E F# g a b c d
E Natural minor/Aeolian: E F# g a b c d e
These 8 scales are the basis for Irish folk/dance music, and will lead us to deriving the appropriate chords for providing backup for this type of music. [Note: occasionally you will come across a tune in Amajor, a key which is not listed here. I've heard a theory (I think it was Arty McGlynn who told me this) that these tunes are not originally Irish, but imported from Scotland. The ideas presented here do not apply to such tunes - these can be dealt with using ordinary "Western art music" chord theory.]
II - From Scales To Chords.
Generally speaking, a chord is formed for any note in a scale by stacking 2 3rd intervals on top of it:
pick a note (any note) in the scale (call it the "root").
skip the next note in the scale
use the next note (call it 3rd)
skip another
use the next (3rd of the "3rd", but 5th of our "root")
(If you run into the end of the scale, then treat it like the snake that bit it's own tail - continue counting at the start of the scale. Mind the octave note; it should be discarded in this case.) This way you can derive the basic triad for each chord.
For the Dmajor scale it would result in:
root: D E F# G A B C#
3rd : F# G A B C# D E
5th : A B C# D E F# G
(The same method can be applied to the other 7 scales. The results of that will be presented later. For now, we will continue the discussion, looking only at the Dmajor scale, since this is probably the most familiar to everyone.)
So far, making the step from scale to the elementary triads doesn't differ from what the chord theory for "Western art music" also teaches us.
The next step would be to analyze, and name, the chords we have found. We used 3rd intervals to build these triads, and there are 2 kinds of 3rd intervals: major 3rd (skip 3 positions on guitar/bouzouki fretboard: D - F#) and minor 3rd (skip 2 positions on fretboard: E - G). A chord with a minor 3rd between root and 3rd is called a "minor" chord.
chord on D : D major 3rd F# minor 3rd A : Dmajor
chord on E : E minor 3rd G major 3rd B : Eminor
chord on F#: F# minor 3rd A major 3rd C# : F#minor
chord on G : G major 3rd B minor 3rd D : Gmajor
chord on A : A major 3rd C# minor 3rd E : Amajor
chord on B : B minor 3rd D major 3rd F# : Bminor
chord on C#: C# minor 3rd E minor 3rd G : Edim (2 minor 3rds stacked
is called a "diminished" chord in Western art music)
Here we encounter our first difference between "Western art music" theory, and what applies to Irish dance music accompaniment: "diminished" chords are _NOT_ used. So instead of the G in the chord on C#, we use the next note in the scale: A, which is 2 _major_ 3rd's away from C#. This results in:
chord on C#: C# minor 3rd E
|
----- our new note ----- A : A/C#, 1st inversion of Amajor
[Note: An inversion of a chord can be obtained by applying the same circular shift as we used to get the derived scales from the major scale to the 3 notes that form the basic triad of a chord. The first shift results in a chord with the same 3 notes, but the 3rd as the root note - "1st inversion"; the second shift gives us the 5th as the root note - "2nd inversion".]
III - Extending on the basic triads.
Since on both guitar and bouzouki (piano is a different case altogether) it is possible to play more than 3 notes simultaneously, our next step could be to see which notes might be added to the basic triads we have just derived.
Note doubling.
The simplest way to extend on the basic triad is note doubling: adding a note already present in the chord, either in the same octave or in a higher/lower octave than what we already have. Example: the D chord can be played as D - F# -A - D, or D - F# - A - F#, or even D - F# - A - F# - D (if you can find a fingering for this). This doubling of notes doesn't change the name of the chord, since we still only use notes of the basic triad.
The 7th note.
Another likely note to add to a chord is the 7th step of the scale. Since we found our triads by stacking 3rd intervals, you might be tempted to find out what happens if you stack another 3rd. If you do so, you will have added a 7th - and it works. But the resulting chord's use in Irish trad. music is not so frequent as it is in classical, pop, or for instance American folk music. In fact, there are only 2 chords in the chord scale where this 7th note isn't obtrusive: the II and the V position of the chord scale. In all other positions of the scale it tends to stand out - it adds a jazzy flavour to the chord that often violates the character of the music.<.br> Applied to the II chord in the scale this adds to the chord the note which is the root note of the scale. This is something that works out quite pleasing for the other chords in our chord scale as well, and brings us close to a concept that is native to Irish music: droning, i.e. having one tone (usually the root) continuously present behind the actual tune. This is quite common practice in accompanying Irish music, no matter on what instrument, and is one of the reasons why open guitar tunings are so popular for backing up this type of music - the open strings are usually tuned to convenient drone notes.
IV - "Will-do" Chords
Up to now we 've gone strictly "by the book", so to speak. Everything I said up to now is thoroughly documented in literature. Now we've come to the point where we will leave this path, and introduce a concept that make life a lot easier. One thing you will probably have noticed about Irish dance music is that it's usually played rather fast. And reading the above you will have thought: I won't have time to change chords so often and so fast. Not to worry - most musicians, even the pro's, don't. Often they will substitute the theoretically correct chord with something that's easier to change to, or even the chord they were already holding down, with a suitable bass note to create the impression that they were using the proper chord progression. These chords I have, just for ease of discussion, named "will-do" chords, because they "will do" the job of an other chord with a lot less work. One very frequently used example of this would be the 1st inversion of D, the D/F#, which is almost always used in the place of an F#m in the D scale. Similarly, the G/B can be used instead of the Bm. Some people, including Arty McGlynn, will often even use a D chord with an E bass instead of an Em, something that wouldn't make sense normally (how's that for a chord - D, E and F# together in one chord. Try naming this one :-)), but in places where you're just "passing thru'" the Em chord in a chord progression, it works. And it's a lot easier (especially if you're using DADGAD) than trying to quickly change from fingering a D chord to an Em.
V - The Most Useful Chord Scales.
[Note: the indicated 7ths (between brackets) are optional]
Dmajor chord scale:
root: D E F# G A B C#
3rd : F# G A B C# D E
5th : A B C# D E F# A
7th : (D) (G)
Name: D Em F#m G A Bm A/C#
(7) (7)
E Dorian chord scale:
root: E F# G A B C# D
3rd : G A B C# D E F#
5th : B C# D E F# A A
7th : (E) (A)
Name: Em F#m G A Bm A/C# D
(7) (7)
A Mixolydian chord scale:
root: A B C# D E F# G
3rd : C# D E F# G A B
5th : E F# A A B C# D
7th : (A) (D)
Name: A Bm A/C# D Em F#m G
(7) (7)
B Natural minor/Aeolian chord scale:
root: B C# D E F# G A
3rd : D E F# G A B C#
5th : F# A A B C# D E
7th : (B) (E)
Name: Bm A/C# D Em F#m G A
(+B) (7)
G major/G Ionian chord scale:
root: G A B C D E F#
3rd : B C D E F# G A
5th : D E F# G A B D
7th : (G) (C)
Name: G Am Bm C D Em D/F#
(7) (7)
A Dorian chord scale:
root: A B C D E F# G
3rd : C D E F# G A B
5th : E F# G A B D D
7th : (A) (D)
Name: Am Bm C D Em D/F# G
(7) (7)
D Mixolydian chord scale:
root: D E F# G A B C
3rd : F# G A B C D E
5th : A B D D E F# G
7th : (D) (G)
Name: D Em D/F# G Am Bm C
(7) (7)
E Natural minor/Aeolian chord scale:
root: E F# G A B C D
3rd : G A B C D E F#
5th : B D D E F# G A
7th : (E) (A)
Name: Em D/F# G Am Bm C D
(+E) (7)
[Since many players I've met find Em hard to deal with in DADGAD, an option
would be to capo at 2nd fret, and play Dm. But then you would need a scale for
Dm. Here it is.]
D Natural minor/Aeolian chord scale:
root: D E F G A Bb C
3rd : F G A Bb C D E
5th : A C C D E F G
7th : (D) (G)
Name: Dm C/E F Gm Am Bb C
(+D) (7)
[This one shouldn't be here, really, since it's derived from the scale of C.
But I've come across it a couple of times, mostly for Irish tunes that were
arranged by American musicians. So it may be handy to have available.]
D Dorian chord scale:
root: D E F G A B C
3rd : F G A B C D E
5th : A B C D E G G
7th : (D) (G)
Name: Dm Em F G Am G/B C
(7) (7)
Saturday, November 8, 2008
DADGAD tuning
DADGAD, D modal tuning or Celtic tuning is an alternate guitar tuning most associated with Celtic music, though it has also found use in rock and other genres. Instead of the standard EADGBE tuning, the six guitar strings are tuned, from low to high, DADGAD. When tuning to DADGAD from standard tuning, this is accomplished by tuning the first and sixth strings down a whole tone (two steps) from E to D, as well as the second string from B to A.
DADGAD was popularised by British folk guitarist Davey Graham. Graham employed the tuning to great effect in his treatments of celtic music, but also the folk music of India and Morocco. The first guitarists in Irish traditional music to use the tuning were Mícheál Ó Domhnaill and Dáithí Sproule; today it is a very common tuning in the genre. Other proponents of the tuning include Russian Circles, Stan Rogers, Jimmy Page, Artie Traum, Pierre Bensusan, Eric Roche, Laurence Juber, Tony McManus, Bert Jansch, Richard Thompson, Dick Gaughan, Soig Siberil, Gilles Le Bigot, Imaad Wasif, Jeff Tweedy, Paul McSherry, Ben Chasny and Trey Anastasio.
The suitability of DADGAD to Celtic music stems from the fact that it facilitates the use of a number of moveable chords which retain open strings. These act as a drone on either the bass or treble strings, approximating the voicings used in traditional Scottish and Irish pipe music.
The DADGAD tuning was used extensively by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and The Yardbirds in the late '60s and '70s. While with The Yardbirds, Page recorded an instrumental entitled White Summer, itself heavily derived from the first recorded DADGAD tune, Davey Graham's arrangement of the traditional Irish tune 'She Moved Through the Fair'. On Led Zeppelin's eponymous first album, Led Zeppelin, he used this guitar tuning to perform "Black Mountain Side", though he detuned the entire guitar by one-half a step for the recording, so it was really Db-Ab-Db-Gb-Ab-Db (where the 'b' denotes a flattened note)--the piece which was strongly influenced by Bert Jansch's earlier arrangement of a traditional Irish song called "Blackwater Side" (though Jansch actually used a simpler 'drop D' tuning). Page later revisited the DADGAD tuning for the song "Kashmir", which appeared on the band's sixth album Physical Graffiti.
DADGAD was popularised by British folk guitarist Davey Graham. Graham employed the tuning to great effect in his treatments of celtic music, but also the folk music of India and Morocco. The first guitarists in Irish traditional music to use the tuning were Mícheál Ó Domhnaill and Dáithí Sproule; today it is a very common tuning in the genre. Other proponents of the tuning include Russian Circles, Stan Rogers, Jimmy Page, Artie Traum, Pierre Bensusan, Eric Roche, Laurence Juber, Tony McManus, Bert Jansch, Richard Thompson, Dick Gaughan, Soig Siberil, Gilles Le Bigot, Imaad Wasif, Jeff Tweedy, Paul McSherry, Ben Chasny and Trey Anastasio.
The suitability of DADGAD to Celtic music stems from the fact that it facilitates the use of a number of moveable chords which retain open strings. These act as a drone on either the bass or treble strings, approximating the voicings used in traditional Scottish and Irish pipe music.
The DADGAD tuning was used extensively by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and The Yardbirds in the late '60s and '70s. While with The Yardbirds, Page recorded an instrumental entitled White Summer, itself heavily derived from the first recorded DADGAD tune, Davey Graham's arrangement of the traditional Irish tune 'She Moved Through the Fair'. On Led Zeppelin's eponymous first album, Led Zeppelin, he used this guitar tuning to perform "Black Mountain Side", though he detuned the entire guitar by one-half a step for the recording, so it was really Db-Ab-Db-Gb-Ab-Db (where the 'b' denotes a flattened note)--the piece which was strongly influenced by Bert Jansch's earlier arrangement of a traditional Irish song called "Blackwater Side" (though Jansch actually used a simpler 'drop D' tuning). Page later revisited the DADGAD tuning for the song "Kashmir", which appeared on the band's sixth album Physical Graffiti.
DADGAD Backing Patterns
Chord patterns for backing in DADGAD, from Michael Eskin's excellent website
Click here to download the .PDF chord charts with the patterns.
The patterns are written out relative to the position of the capo on the fretboard.The numbers in the small circles represent the finger to use to fret the note.
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