I often play flute at weddings( in the church) and one of the most requested pieces Im asked to play is 'Inisheer'. It's a lovely air, possibly overplayed, but still very popular. I'm playing it at another wedding shortly and a close relation of the bride, who is a very good flute player, wants to play it along with me. He is reluctant to play on his own but will play if I play along. I feel it would be great if I could get my hands on a harmony arrangement for this well-known tune to try out with him at the wedding. Any ideas where I might get it? Thanks!
If you have a few minutes, write out the notes of the tune on a piece of paper (ABC is easiest) double spaced, then start moving the notes up 3 places, starting on the original note. So G would become B, and A would become C etc. Hey presto, harmony!!
Another way is to find a school music student, studying harmony and composition, and ask them to harmonise the tune in 2-part harmony/counterpoint for flutes. A local school should be able to help.
A suitable reward might be in order
Galwayfiddle, your method only works to a point, parallel harmonies start sounding pretty alien after a while.
lilt--If you are wedded to the written note, I would suggest finding someone who knows the chord structure of the tune (like a guitarist), find notes in the chord structure to play along with those key notes in the tune, and then connect those notes notes with moving notes.
But another way is just to tape the melody, and then try things out until you find something you like.....this is the aural tradition, after all.
Lilt, following on from Al's post, something you could play around with what is technically known as "canonic imitation". Looking at the dots of Inisheer in the Tunes section I think you could do something like this, certainly in the A-part, by having the second flute start off say 2 bars after the first and playing the same tune. With this sort of thing it doesn't always work out exactly, so be prepared to make minor alterations to what the second flute is playing, or perhaps change its starting point (it doesn't necessarily need to start on a bar line). The old French tune "Frere Jacques" is a good example of what I mean by a tune playing in canon.
I agree with what Al says about playing in thirds. It only works for a short while in certain parts of a tune, and elsewhere it will upset the tune's natural harmonic structure - which is what Al meant by "sounding pretty alien" - as well as sounding tacky.
harmony arrangement for popular tune!
harmony arrangement for popular tune!
I often play flute at weddings( in the church) and one of the most requested pieces Im asked to play is 'Inisheer'. It's a lovely air, possibly overplayed, but still very popular. I'm playing it at another wedding shortly and a close relation of the bride, who is a very good flute player, wants to play it along with me. He is reluctant to play on his own but will play if I play along. I feel it would be great if I could get my hands on a harmony arrangement for this well-known tune to try out with him at the wedding. Any ideas where I might get it? Thanks!
# Posted on September 2nd 2006 by lilt
Re: harmony arrangement for popular tune!
If you have a few minutes, write out the notes of the tune on a piece of paper (ABC is easiest) double spaced, then start moving the notes up 3 places, starting on the original note. So G would become B, and A would become C etc. Hey presto, harmony!!
# Posted on September 2nd 2006 by galway-fiddle
Re: harmony arrangement for popular tune!
Another way is to find a school music student, studying harmony and composition, and ask them to harmonise the tune in 2-part harmony/counterpoint for flutes. A local school should be able to help.
A suitable reward might be in order
# Posted on September 2nd 2006 by Trevor Jennings
Re: harmony arrangement for popular tune!
Galwayfiddle, your method only works to a point, parallel harmonies start sounding pretty alien after a while.
lilt--If you are wedded to the written note, I would suggest finding someone who knows the chord structure of the tune (like a guitarist), find notes in the chord structure to play along with those key notes in the tune, and then connect those notes notes with moving notes.
But another way is just to tape the melody, and then try things out until you find something you like.....this is the aural tradition, after all.
# Posted on September 5th 2006 by AlBrown
Re: harmony arrangement for popular tune!
Lilt, following on from Al's post, something you could play around with what is technically known as "canonic imitation". Looking at the dots of Inisheer in the Tunes section I think you could do something like this, certainly in the A-part, by having the second flute start off say 2 bars after the first and playing the same tune. With this sort of thing it doesn't always work out exactly, so be prepared to make minor alterations to what the second flute is playing, or perhaps change its starting point (it doesn't necessarily need to start on a bar line). The old French tune "Frere Jacques" is a good example of what I mean by a tune playing in canon.
I agree with what Al says about playing in thirds. It only works for a short while in certain parts of a tune, and elsewhere it will upset the tune's natural harmonic structure - which is what Al meant by "sounding pretty alien" - as well as sounding tacky.
# Posted on September 5th 2006 by Trevor Jennings