Do any of you have theories/opinions on how you do and do not string together tunes into sets? Obviously there are certain keys and types of tunes that just don't figure together, but what else?
--Is there anyone out there who follows steadfast "rules" or has broken the rules in an interesting way?
--Is the total number of bars important?
--What's the greatest set you've ever heard?
I look forward to hearing and feeding off your accomplishments...
I don't know rules people use, I just try things out. For example, in our session everyone always goes Bmin to Dmaj.. ..makes sense being the relative major and brings a lift. So for example on playing Jenny's Chicken's, they will go into Jenny Dang the Weaver or some other well known Dmaj tune. Recently, however I've been playing this set:
House of Hamill / Jenny's Chickens (played with a dragged D as per someone on a Boston fiddle festival set) / Steampacket (Gmaj)
the change from Jenny's Chickens (Bmin) to the bright Gmajor of then steampacket seems to work really really well and is quite a nice change from the usual!!
Hi Rob!
When I was first learning the harp, I almost always put 2 or 3 tunes of the same key together. It was easier because I didn't have to flip any levers to go to another key. Obviously that can get boring pretty quickly. So now that I am more advanced on the harp, it's no big deal to flip the necessary lever or two, so it's fun to go from say a minor-y sounding to a majory-sounding key, Or to take it "up" like from a tune or two in G to D or D to A. Sometimes major-y to minor-y sounds really dramatic, too.
And of course on the fiddle no levers to sharpen at all!
I also tend to see what other people put together at sessions, etc so that I can be prepared and join in on their sets, too.
Comhaltas has a list of commonly played sets that I have been learning tunes from lately. It's on their website. But I do like to think of ones on my own, too and just experiment with the tunes I already have and see what I come up with.
What's the best set I've ever heard? I'm sure in the moment there were many best sets at the time I heard them!
I'm partial to Lunasa's "Fleur de Mandragore" set these days. (Followed by "the Ashplant" and "Siobhan O'Donnel's"). I don't know about "best set ever" but it rocks.
Otherwise I have a rather chaotic approach to sets - I start playing some random tune , then another one pops into my head, I try to think what key it might be in, then I holler something that ought to be a clear indication of a key (such as "G major!") to the guitar player, but it usually sounds more like "jzawh mowaawaaa" and is sometimes accompanied by a bit of drool or beer I forgot to swallow before I started playing and a desperate, pleading look in my eyes. (I guess playing uses too much of my brain for there to be any left over for communication.)
The ubiquitous thread "tired old tunes" came up again not so long ago and it got me into thinking about tired old sets. Not the sets themselves but the tired old way they are put together. Typically: 3 tunes 3 each. Bmin to Dmaj. ect.
I agree with Jamie that Bmin to Gmaj is brighter, but it's not really about the keys, it should have more to do with the tunes. I like to think of phrases in tunes that might echo a phrase in another tune, or maybe a tune has an odd chord in it that you could use again in another tune in a different key.
Example:
The Old Bush
Sailing into Walpole's Marsh
The Chicago Reel
Rakish Paddy
The Dublin Reel (but make this a four part reel with an extra part at the start which is the normal first part only in C instead of D)
There's a common thread to this set which is the Cmaj chord, even though the tunes vary their keys and modes quite alot. C is a great chord for the strummes to get their teeth into and the whole set sounds great when the keys keep changing but that C keeps comming back.
String 'em along...
String 'em along...
Do any of you have theories/opinions on how you do and do not string together tunes into sets? Obviously there are certain keys and types of tunes that just don't figure together, but what else?
--Is there anyone out there who follows steadfast "rules" or has broken the rules in an interesting way?
--Is the total number of bars important?
--What's the greatest set you've ever heard?
I look forward to hearing and feeding off your accomplishments...
# Posted on April 15th 2004 by grymater
Re: String 'em along...
I don't know rules people use, I just try things out. For example, in our session everyone always goes Bmin to Dmaj.. ..makes sense being the relative major and brings a lift. So for example on playing Jenny's Chicken's, they will go into Jenny Dang the Weaver or some other well known Dmaj tune. Recently, however I've been playing this set:
House of Hamill / Jenny's Chickens (played with a dragged D as per someone on a Boston fiddle festival set) / Steampacket (Gmaj)
the change from Jenny's Chickens (Bmin) to the bright Gmajor of then steampacket seems to work really really well and is quite a nice change from the usual!!
# Posted on April 15th 2004 by Jamie
Re: String 'em along...
Hi Rob!
When I was first learning the harp, I almost always put 2 or 3 tunes of the same key together. It was easier because I didn't have to flip any levers to go to another key. Obviously that can get boring pretty quickly. So now that I am more advanced on the harp, it's no big deal to flip the necessary lever or two, so it's fun to go from say a minor-y sounding to a majory-sounding key, Or to take it "up" like from a tune or two in G to D or D to A. Sometimes major-y to minor-y sounds really dramatic, too.
And of course on the fiddle no levers to sharpen at all!
I also tend to see what other people put together at sessions, etc so that I can be prepared and join in on their sets, too.
Comhaltas has a list of commonly played sets that I have been learning tunes from lately. It's on their website. But I do like to think of ones on my own, too and just experiment with the tunes I already have and see what I come up with.
What's the best set I've ever heard? I'm sure in the moment there were many best sets at the time I heard them!
# Posted on April 15th 2004 by Andee
Re: String 'em along...
I'm partial to Lunasa's "Fleur de Mandragore" set these days. (Followed by "the Ashplant" and "Siobhan O'Donnel's"). I don't know about "best set ever" but it rocks.
Otherwise I have a rather chaotic approach to sets - I start playing some random tune , then another one pops into my head, I try to think what key it might be in, then I holler something that ought to be a clear indication of a key (such as "G major!") to the guitar player, but it usually sounds more like "jzawh mowaawaaa" and is sometimes accompanied by a bit of drool or beer I forgot to swallow before I started playing and a desperate, pleading look in my eyes. (I guess playing uses too much of my brain for there to be any left over for communication.)
# Posted on April 15th 2004 by Kerri Brown
Re: String 'em along...
The ubiquitous thread "tired old tunes" came up again not so long ago and it got me into thinking about tired old sets. Not the sets themselves but the tired old way they are put together. Typically: 3 tunes 3 each. Bmin to Dmaj. ect.
I agree with Jamie that Bmin to Gmaj is brighter, but it's not really about the keys, it should have more to do with the tunes. I like to think of phrases in tunes that might echo a phrase in another tune, or maybe a tune has an odd chord in it that you could use again in another tune in a different key.
Example:
The Old Bush
Sailing into Walpole's Marsh
The Chicago Reel
Rakish Paddy
The Dublin Reel (but make this a four part reel with an extra part at the start which is the normal first part only in C instead of D)
There's a common thread to this set which is the Cmaj chord, even though the tunes vary their keys and modes quite alot. C is a great chord for the strummes to get their teeth into and the whole set sounds great when the keys keep changing but that C keeps comming back.
# Posted on April 15th 2004 by ...