Hello everybody,
I am French and play the flute. I discovered celtic music recently and enjoy it. I met another musician who plays the celtic harp and aggred to accompany me as long as I provide lovely tunes. I know there are some limitations to what a celtic harp can play as far as chromatism is involved, but that's not my instrument, so it's very difficult for me to select tunes with beautiful melodies for the flute and OK for the celtic harp. Would you please advise me? What tunes would you recommend?
Thank you very much.
Irish and other traditional music doesn't tend to modulate (ie change key) in the usual sense of the word, so there aren't too many challenges - only really, if you're doing a set of pieces where you move from one to another which is in a different key. The harpist will have time to change the levers or whatever. If I have to do this, I start with the ones which matter and add the other levers during the first few seconds of the new key.
The usual issue is where the melody goes between major and minor - but where the melody instrument is playing a major / minor third, I wouldn't normally double the third in the accompaniment. Usually on the harp if I'm accompanying an instrument, where there are major / minor thirds which conflict with the key I've set the harp to (for example, they're playing a C# where I've set the harp to A minor), I just play an open fifth at that point.
So - the upshot is, don't worry about it, a competent harp player should be able to work around any bits that clash by leaving them out of the accompaniment at that point. Less is more, with harp accompaniment, in any case.
Listen to a lot of tunes, not necessarily played on harp and/or flute. Pick ones that appeal to you and work on learning them. Some melodies that have too many accidentals to play (or play conveniently) on harp can still sound wonderful with harp accompaniment to flute. The key is to *listen*, especially if you use sheet music -- the "dots" -- to get started.
Harpers are usually happier playing in C, while Irish flute players prefer G, D, or the relative minors. Harpers are also not usually partial to the dance tunes, so that is another consideration. If you play Carolan tunes, I suggest using a Boehm flute as Carolan did not write in a traditional style or use the common ITM keys in many cases.
When playing airs and ballads, you just need to get together on keys and you'll be all right.
Thank you very much to all of you. Sorry for the mistakes I make writing in English, feel free to correct them.
I really liked listening to "Arianna's tower", and I am grateful for the dots since I don't know yet how to use my ears to reproduce a tune I hear. If I understood right, the composer belongs to this community : congratulations!!! And I would enjoy discovering other tunes by him!
I discovered celtic music when listening to James Galway. In addition to his classical recordings, I happened to buy his cds with the Chieftains, and that's how I fell in love with this music which makes me dream. Before that, I only played classical music, with dots. I have a C flute. I really love Loreena Mc Kennit too, her music helps me when I am painting, it boosts my creativity.
Ailin.... I play regulary with a wooden flute player, jigs, reels, polkas, slides, waltzes, O'Carolan. We rarely play in C. It all gels great and sounds fine.
That may be a harp with no levers you are thinking of perhaps, that might be stuck in C or whatever it's tuned to, then there is a tuning problem. I mostly accompany, but we do some tunes together too. It all flows very well.
I play fingerstyle guitar also, both melody and accompaniment, and if you are to accompany, you can use the same suggested chords if anyone has notated them for guitar on the tunes you pick. Do that with the left hand and improvise with some melody and/or counter melody with the right. Everyone accompanies a bit differently I find, you can sort of make it up as you go along. Does your harp player know this music well? That's a plus of course.
If the key changes in the next tune, you can sit out the first measure while you flip levers (I am assuming maybe wrongly a fully levered harp or one with at least C B & F levers?) or flip an octave at a time as needed, as you go.
As I find on guitar, sometimes a chord doesn't suit or a passage is too fleeting or convoluted, so there you can do a note instead. I do this on both instruments. Don't worry too much, if the harp is tuned and in the right key, it's sort of difficult to sound bad on it!
Check out Michael Rooney and June McCormack. Amazing duo!
celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
Hello everybody,
I am French and play the flute. I discovered celtic music recently and enjoy it. I met another musician who plays the celtic harp and aggred to accompany me as long as I provide lovely tunes. I know there are some limitations to what a celtic harp can play as far as chromatism is involved, but that's not my instrument, so it's very difficult for me to select tunes with beautiful melodies for the flute and OK for the celtic harp. Would you please advise me? What tunes would you recommend?
Thank you very much.
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by roseau chantant
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
Hi. Here's a link that might help you :
http://www.free-scores.com/boutique/boutique-style.php?CATEGORIE=120&style=14
but i'd advise you to do like most of us : most irish tunes aren't chromatic, or in a way you can manage the chromatism on the celtic harp. So just learn the tunes you like best, and try them with your harpist friend, and he or she will manage, or tell you if it's too difficult... I play regularly with a harpist (clarsach), and that's how we work.
There are also beautiful harp tunes that sound good on the flute : try the O'Carolan répertoire...
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by Nikita Pfister
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
If it were me, I would go to the master, Turlough O'Carolan, and pick out a few pieces. You can find the complete works at: http://www.oldmusicproject.com/occ/tunes.html
Pat
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by plunk111
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
Irish and other traditional music doesn't tend to modulate (ie change key) in the usual sense of the word, so there aren't too many challenges - only really, if you're doing a set of pieces where you move from one to another which is in a different key. The harpist will have time to change the levers or whatever. If I have to do this, I start with the ones which matter and add the other levers during the first few seconds of the new key.
The usual issue is where the melody goes between major and minor - but where the melody instrument is playing a major / minor third, I wouldn't normally double the third in the accompaniment. Usually on the harp if I'm accompanying an instrument, where there are major / minor thirds which conflict with the key I've set the harp to (for example, they're playing a C# where I've set the harp to A minor), I just play an open fifth at that point.
So - the upshot is, don't worry about it, a competent harp player should be able to work around any bits that clash by leaving them out of the accompaniment at that point. Less is more, with harp accompaniment, in any case.
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by Mark Harmer
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
http://www.draiochtmusic.com/
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by ∅
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
Check thisone out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6T19fm7PoA
The dots are availabale on this sight.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1548
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by neilowen
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
Available
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by neilowen
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
site too
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by showaddydadito
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
Listen to a lot of tunes, not necessarily played on harp and/or flute. Pick ones that appeal to you and work on learning them. Some melodies that have too many accidentals to play (or play conveniently) on harp can still sound wonderful with harp accompaniment to flute. The key is to *listen*, especially if you use sheet music -- the "dots" -- to get started.
Do you have some favorite artists?
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by Tracie
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
Harpers are usually happier playing in C, while Irish flute players prefer G, D, or the relative minors. Harpers are also not usually partial to the dance tunes, so that is another consideration. If you play Carolan tunes, I suggest using a Boehm flute as Carolan did not write in a traditional style or use the common ITM keys in many cases.
When playing airs and ballads, you just need to get together on keys and you'll be all right.
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by Ailin
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
Thank you very much to all of you. Sorry for the mistakes I make writing in English, feel free to correct them.
I really liked listening to "Arianna's tower", and I am grateful for the dots since I don't know yet how to use my ears to reproduce a tune I hear. If I understood right, the composer belongs to this community : congratulations!!! And I would enjoy discovering other tunes by him!
I discovered celtic music when listening to James Galway. In addition to his classical recordings, I happened to buy his cds with the Chieftains, and that's how I fell in love with this music which makes me dream. Before that, I only played classical music, with dots. I have a C flute. I really love Loreena Mc Kennit too, her music helps me when I am painting, it boosts my creativity.
# Posted on January 13th 2010 by roseau chantant
Re: celtic harp and flute : what tunes?
Ailin.... I play regulary with a wooden flute player, jigs, reels, polkas, slides, waltzes, O'Carolan. We rarely play in C. It all gels great and sounds fine.
That may be a harp with no levers you are thinking of perhaps, that might be stuck in C or whatever it's tuned to, then there is a tuning problem. I mostly accompany, but we do some tunes together too. It all flows very well.
I play fingerstyle guitar also, both melody and accompaniment, and if you are to accompany, you can use the same suggested chords if anyone has notated them for guitar on the tunes you pick. Do that with the left hand and improvise with some melody and/or counter melody with the right. Everyone accompanies a bit differently I find, you can sort of make it up as you go along. Does your harp player know this music well? That's a plus of course.
If the key changes in the next tune, you can sit out the first measure while you flip levers (I am assuming maybe wrongly a fully levered harp or one with at least C B & F levers?) or flip an octave at a time as needed, as you go.
As I find on guitar, sometimes a chord doesn't suit or a passage is too fleeting or convoluted, so there you can do a note instead. I do this on both instruments. Don't worry too much, if the harp is tuned and in the right key, it's sort of difficult to sound bad on it!
Check out Michael Rooney and June McCormack. Amazing duo!
# Posted on January 14th 2010 by irisnevins