Can't realy do this with dances (Unless coreographed I guess) but for a sit down listening concert it goes great.
We start it painfully slow, one fiddle. Then added a second fiddle through the 2nd "A" part kind of doing a drone thing, Then on the second time through picked it up a bit and add a guitar. As we move along, add accordian, bazoukie (Please forgive spelling)and then mandolin. About the 4th time through we are flying!
Then after the fith time through drop everything but the 2 fiddles on the "A" part while cooking along. (That'll get an audiance's attention) Then every body kicks back in on the "B" and then for one last round. After the last "B" put the binders on, and the two fiddles run through it one last time slowly, almost like an air, milking out the "B" part in the end.
I am interested in your suggested arrangement but dont have any other such similar ideas to contribute other than to suggest trying to combine the A part of a tune with the B part as they often follow the same general melodic/harmonic shifts and so can harmonise nicely. You may need to try a lot of tunes before you find one that works nicely. (?Tenpenny Bit).
What I was wondering also was if anyone had any ideas on the use of (tasteful) harmony in tune arrangements. Please bear in mind that I am aware that really all ARRANGEMENTS tend to go against the session ethic. They are more a part of concert performance or recording but can be fun with small informal sessions.
Many of the top groups use harmony extensively but very little is said about it in the ITM community.
Cheers
Donough
I like the idea of playing around with the speed and adding / subtracting. Also, for some reason, just bare 2-part harmonies seem to work well with ITM - just a second part which you've worked out yourself, no other "chords" along with it. Restraint can be very effective - again a bit of a "performance" thing rather than a session (where people will just join in!).
The "Earl's Chair" works nice when the Guitar guitar starts on a G major for the first bar than moves to a Em on the second bar. It adds a nice feel to the tune.
Another thing is to move from D Minor to D major and start the transition with a F nat sliding into F#.
I guess I like to hear the Minor played against the Major.
One time a person told me that they thought that changing from minor to major was wrong - but it's OK in my book.
I like Jigs into reels but not vice versa - it doesn't flow as well. My rule of thumb is to not go from a faster rhythm to a slower one. For instance a jig to a hornpipe, hormpipe to a reel is ok .
As a guitar player I enjoy improvising "arrangements" on the spot. Usually I'm the sole rhythm instrument so playing drones, emphasizing beat patterns, or varying the dynamics on guitar really changes the feel of a tune, even if melody instruments are playing straight ahead. A player in my position needs to exercise restraint, but I like riding the edge at times and the other players usually enjoy the surprises (usually
Lately, I'm exploring unusual chord substitutions - by mistake the other night I started playing along with OKeefe's Slide in Am instead of Em. Then second time through switched and played it in Em (from Am mixolydian to Em dorian? . . .) Anyway, it's part of our arrangement now!
I play a long-neck bouzouki and sometimes play the tune (when it's slow enough and I actually know it), sometimes play an improvised counterpoint to the tune (which plays well in session) and sometimes, like with Farewell to Erin for instance, like to get in there and strum away.
What is troubling to me sometimes, with all due respect to guitar players like Steve who are better in their music theory than I am, it is very frustrating when you come across an a guitar player who *always* plays a complex chord accompaniment that is not the traditional (I-IV-V) stuff.
I don't want to offend the player, but occasionally, I'd like to do a more standard accompaniment - any suggestions? So far, I've opted to just do the single note counterpoint deal, which works quite well, but sometimes I wanna come down on those chords like Pete Townsend (especially when I know what they are in advance).
Hello, I'm new. I write arrangements as a matter of need. I live in deep south Texas. If I want to play a style other than the local disco or symphonic literature, then I have to recruit players that read music and give them parts to play. The advantage is that I get to do what I want. The down side is that I'd rather participate in a local scene with like-minded others and maybe learn more of the authentic tunes and styles. Lately, I've been lifting Scottish and Irish tunes off of the web and arranging them for string orchestra (2 violins, viola, 'cello and bass). I harmonize them and add accompaniment as it strikes me. Sometimes, I add some Texas swing solo stuff somewhere in the piece ( usually after the original tune has been introduced ). I think these tunes have a natural swing feel to them already and they easily morph into jazzy stuff. I got play about an hour of my arrangements today at a charity event and had a great time. Of course, the group had to meet before the show to learn their parts. It is hard to get a groove feeling going when most of the group is still sight-reading, but there were some really fun moments. I know this is not the traditional experiance of the tunes but it serves me for now. I enjoy reading through this site and will return soon.
That's...interesting. Of course, the more traditional the player, the more they'll shudder (if you're lucky, shuddering is better than yelling) at the thought of trad tunes with harmonies and arrangements, although it's hard to imagine how anyone could not like Lunasa and Solas and such (although I know there are people who don't).
I can imagine it's indeed hard to get some kind of lift and lilt from such a group on the tunes. I've never heard it myself, but there's often much hilarity involved when talking about The Boston Pops doing their infamous arrangement of Toss the Feathers.
Anyway, don't let the more purist among us get you too down -- I'm glad that you're enjoying your own version of the music, even if it couldn't really be classified as traditional Irish.
Am I at risk here? Would a purist try to get me.....down? Why would traditional players shudder at anything that other musicians might choose to do? Time and exposure to other influences are constants.
Tune arrangments anyone?
Tune arrangments anyone?
Try this with Humours of Tulla.
Can't realy do this with dances (Unless coreographed I guess) but for a sit down listening concert it goes great.
We start it painfully slow, one fiddle. Then added a second fiddle through the 2nd "A" part kind of doing a drone thing, Then on the second time through picked it up a bit and add a guitar. As we move along, add accordian, bazoukie (Please forgive spelling)and then mandolin. About the 4th time through we are flying!
Then after the fith time through drop everything but the 2 fiddles on the "A" part while cooking along. (That'll get an audiance's attention) Then every body kicks back in on the "B" and then for one last round. After the last "B" put the binders on, and the two fiddles run through it one last time slowly, almost like an air, milking out the "B" part in the end.
The crowd went nuts!
Anybody else got any neat arrangments?
# Posted on February 27th 2002 by flyinfiddler
Re: Tune arrangments - Harmony?
I am interested in your suggested arrangement but dont have any other such similar ideas to contribute other than to suggest trying to combine the A part of a tune with the B part as they often follow the same general melodic/harmonic shifts and so can harmonise nicely. You may need to try a lot of tunes before you find one that works nicely. (?Tenpenny Bit).
What I was wondering also was if anyone had any ideas on the use of (tasteful) harmony in tune arrangements. Please bear in mind that I am aware that really all ARRANGEMENTS tend to go against the session ethic. They are more a part of concert performance or recording but can be fun with small informal sessions.
Many of the top groups use harmony extensively but very little is said about it in the ITM community.
Cheers
Donough
# Posted on February 27th 2002 by Donough
Re: Tune arrangments anyone?
I like the idea of playing around with the speed and adding / subtracting. Also, for some reason, just bare 2-part harmonies seem to work well with ITM - just a second part which you've worked out yourself, no other "chords" along with it. Restraint can be very effective - again a bit of a "performance" thing rather than a session (where people will just join in!).
Mark
# Posted on March 1st 2002 by Mark Harmer
Re: Tune arrangments anyone?
The "Earl's Chair" works nice when the Guitar guitar starts on a G major for the first bar than moves to a Em on the second bar. It adds a nice feel to the tune.
Another thing is to move from D Minor to D major and start the transition with a F nat sliding into F#.
I guess I like to hear the Minor played against the Major.
One time a person told me that they thought that changing from minor to major was wrong - but it's OK in my book.
I like Jigs into reels but not vice versa - it doesn't flow as well. My rule of thumb is to not go from a faster rhythm to a slower one. For instance a jig to a hornpipe, hormpipe to a reel is ok .
# Posted on March 2nd 2002 by Mad Baloney
Re: Tune arrangments anyone?
As a guitar player I enjoy improvising "arrangements" on the spot. Usually I'm the sole rhythm instrument so playing drones, emphasizing beat patterns, or varying the dynamics on guitar really changes the feel of a tune, even if melody instruments are playing straight ahead. A player in my position needs to exercise restraint, but I like riding the edge at times and the other players usually enjoy the surprises (usually
Lately, I'm exploring unusual chord substitutions - by mistake the other night I started playing along with OKeefe's Slide in Am instead of Em. Then second time through switched and played it in Em (from Am mixolydian to Em dorian? . . .) Anyway, it's part of our arrangement now!
Steve M.
# Posted on March 3rd 2002 by SteveM
Re: Tune arrangments anyone?
I play a long-neck bouzouki and sometimes play the tune (when it's slow enough and I actually know it), sometimes play an improvised counterpoint to the tune (which plays well in session) and sometimes, like with Farewell to Erin for instance, like to get in there and strum away.
What is troubling to me sometimes, with all due respect to guitar players like Steve who are better in their music theory than I am, it is very frustrating when you come across an a guitar player who *always* plays a complex chord accompaniment that is not the traditional (I-IV-V) stuff.
I don't want to offend the player, but occasionally, I'd like to do a more standard accompaniment - any suggestions? So far, I've opted to just do the single note counterpoint deal, which works quite well, but sometimes I wanna come down on those chords like Pete Townsend (especially when I know what they are in advance).
Cheers,
-danno
# Posted on March 4th 2002 by dannochaffer
Re: Tune arrangments anyone?
Hello, I'm new. I write arrangements as a matter of need. I live in deep south Texas. If I want to play a style other than the local disco or symphonic literature, then I have to recruit players that read music and give them parts to play. The advantage is that I get to do what I want. The down side is that I'd rather participate in a local scene with like-minded others and maybe learn more of the authentic tunes and styles. Lately, I've been lifting Scottish and Irish tunes off of the web and arranging them for string orchestra (2 violins, viola, 'cello and bass). I harmonize them and add accompaniment as it strikes me. Sometimes, I add some Texas swing solo stuff somewhere in the piece ( usually after the original tune has been introduced ). I think these tunes have a natural swing feel to them already and they easily morph into jazzy stuff. I got play about an hour of my arrangements today at a charity event and had a great time. Of course, the group had to meet before the show to learn their parts. It is hard to get a groove feeling going when most of the group is still sight-reading, but there were some really fun moments. I know this is not the traditional experiance of the tunes but it serves me for now. I enjoy reading through this site and will return soon.
# Posted on May 18th 2002 by ubasshudson
Re: Tune arrangments anyone?
That's...interesting. Of course, the more traditional the player, the more they'll shudder (if you're lucky, shuddering is better than yelling) at the thought of trad tunes with harmonies and arrangements, although it's hard to imagine how anyone could not like Lunasa and Solas and such (although I know there are people who don't).
I can imagine it's indeed hard to get some kind of lift and lilt from such a group on the tunes. I've never heard it myself, but there's often much hilarity involved when talking about The Boston Pops doing their infamous arrangement of Toss the Feathers.
Anyway, don't let the more purist among us get you too down -- I'm glad that you're enjoying your own version of the music, even if it couldn't really be classified as traditional Irish.
Zina
# Posted on May 19th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: Tune arrangments anyone?
Am I at risk here? Would a purist try to get me.....down? Why would traditional players shudder at anything that other musicians might choose to do? Time and exposure to other influences are constants.
# Posted on May 19th 2002 by ubasshudson