25/04/2017 WhatmakesCelticmusicsoundCeltic?

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WhatmakesCelticmusicsoundCeltic?
73pontos(94%upvoted)
73 ( self.musictheory) shortlink: https://redd.it/3uy0f2
submitted1anoago*byshockwave_supernova

SoI'mtryingtowriteapieceonsologuitar nomedeusurio senha

thathasaveryCelticfeel,almostlikeanold
drinkingsongorpirateditty,thatkindoffeel, lembrardemim redefinirsenha login
butforthelifeofmeIcandescribethatstyle
succinctly.
Here'savideothatcapturessomeofthose
elements(apologiesforformatting,I'mon
mobile):https://m.youtube.com/watch?
v=jWObTfiovD8
Anyanalysis/thoughtsonwhatIcanfocuson
tocapturethatsound?
Edit:awesomeresponseseveryone,thankyou!

29comentrios compartilhar

all29comments
exibirprimeiro:melhores
[] saneliv 13pontos1anoago
Submitanewtextpost
Therhythmofthemusicandthemodeiewhat
notestendtofollowothernotes.Tofigureoutwhat
musictheory
theCelticmodeisIwouldtranscribeabunchof
subscribe 76.082leitores
Celticmelodiesandthenfindthelittlemotifsthey
allhaveincommon.Ibetitsallfromamyxolydian ~69usersherenow
modeifmajorsoundinganddorianifminor
sounding(hereusingthetermmodetomean Subredditrules
"scale")butIwouldgodeeperifIwereyou.. Pleaseusethe"report"buttonforpostsviolating
permalink embed therules!

[] ThrewUpThrewAway 37pontos1anoago*
Irishmanhere.Iplayalotoftraditionalmusicand
untilImovedtoAmericarecentlyIplayedata
sessioninmyhometownonceaweek.
Afewobservations:
Themosttypicaltimesignatureis6/8.
Nearlyallthejigsandreelstendtohavetwoparts:
A,andavariationonthatthemeB.Nearlyallof
themfollowthestructureAABBAABBAABB.
TheAandBsectionsthemselvescanbebrokenin
half.Thefirsthalfofeachsectiontendstobe
almostidenticaltothesecondhalf,apartfromthe
factthattheymelodyendsonthedominantchord
1.Becivilandconstructive.Disagreements
anddiscussionaregreat,buthostility,insults,and
soonaren't.Alongthesamelines,don'tjusttell
someonetoGoogletheanswer.Thereare
multiplereasonswhysomeonemightpreferto
getananswerfromredditinstead.
2.Nohomeworkhelponspecific
assignments.ItisagainsttheAcademicHonesty
Policyofmostschoolsandcourses.Our
subscribersgenerallydislikethiskindofbehavior.
PleaseaskyourIRLteacher/tutorforhomework
helpinstead.It'simportantthatwegetsuch
poststakendownASAP,soinadditionto
reporting,pleasemessagethemodsifyousee
someonebreakingRule#2.
3.Nomemes,imagemacros,ragecomics,
Facebookscreenshots,orothersimilarlow
contentmaterial.Theyarenotconducivetothe

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25/04/2017 WhatmakesCelticmusicsoundCeltic?:musictheory

atthehalfwaypoint,andthentherootchordat informativeatmospherewe'dliketomaintain
here.Postthemin/r/classicalmemesinstead.
theendpoint.LikewiseintheBsection.
TheAsectiontendstobeinamajorkey,andtheB
Helpfulsymbols,forcopypastingintocomments
sectiontendstobeinitsrelativeminor.

Whenitcomestojigs,there'sanoteonpretty
mucheverybeat.Ratherthanholdingaparticular
note,arelevantarpeggioisfrequentlyused. Beginner'sresources
Obviouslythereareexceptionstoallofthis,butif
youlearnafewtunes(trythesession.org),you'll
Textbooks
seewhatImean. OpenMusicTheory,anopenaccessonline
textbook
Goodluck,andposttheresultsheresothatwecan Recommendedmusictheorytextbooks
hear'em!
permalink embed
Musictheoryappsandwebsites
[] DRL47 8pontos1anoago musictheory.net,lessonsandexercises
teoria.com,lessonsandexercises
Themosttypicaltimesignatureis6/8. Recommendedtheoryandeartraining
Nearlyallthejigsandreelstendtohavetwo appsforAppledevices
parts:A,andavariationonthatthemeB. DaveConservatoire,aKhanAcademystyle
website
Nearlyallofthemfollowthestructure "MusicTheoryforMusiciansandNormal
ABABAB. People"byTobyRush,convenient,one
pagesummarieswrittenby
Although6/8isfoundinIrishjigs,reelsand /u/keepingthecommontoneofjustabout
manyothersare4/4. everymusictheorytopicyoumightcome
acrossinfreshmanorsophomoretheory!
Themostcommonstructureis
AABBAABBAABB. Eartrainingappsandwebsites
permalink embed pai
Recommendedtheoryandeartraining
[] ThrewUpThrewAway 1ponto1anoago appsforAppledevices
chrisco_madness'sEarTrainingResource
Mybad.I'llfixthatnow.
Guide
permalink embed pai TonedEar
http://www.musictheory.net/
[] hufreema 3pontos1anoago
teoria.com
Justtriedthisout(inarudimentaryway).Spot
on. CheckourFAQ!
Whatchordprogressionsdoyouuse?I'd PleaseknowthatWikipediaisespeciallybad
imagineitcan'tbeanythingtoocomplex'cause formusictheorytopics.Theabovelisted
resourcesareathousandtimesmore
ofthewhole"folk"aspect. reliable!
permalink embed pai

[] ThrewUpThrewAway 6pontos1anoago
Relatedsubreddits
Someofthetunesareinadoriankey,but
thevastmajorityarediatonic.Sofor /r/Composer/
/r/ComposerTalk/
exampleintheKeyofG,typicalchords
/r/Ethnomusicology
wouldbeG,Eminor,C,andD.You'llalso /r/Musicology
occasionallyhearBminorandAminor, /r/MusicEd
/r/MusicCognition/
thoughnotasfrequently.Thatbeingsaid,
/r/LearnMusic/
thebestbackingmusiciansplayallsortsof /r/EarlyMusicalNotation
variantsandvoicingsandmessaroundwith /r/Transcribe/
/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/
thepulsealittletoo.CheckoutPaulBrady
/r/ELI5Music
forexample.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=P2bTczkYv0U Flairlegend
permalink embed pai Graduatestudent

Highschoolstudent
https://www.reddit.com/r/musictheory/comments/3uy0f2/what_makes_celtic_music_sound_celtic/ 2/7
25/04/2017 WhatmakesCelticmusicsoundCeltic?:musictheory
[] Debusatie tonal/jazzharmony,rhythm&meter 1 Highschoolstudent
ponto1anoago
Musicprofessor
Andmixolydian.
Other(formalmusiceducation,butnota
permalink embed pai professionalmusician)

[] psychguy Celtic|multipleinstruments 1ponto1anoago* Professionalmusician

Selftaught
"Chordprogressions"tendtobe
UndergraduateStudent
nonfunctional.Theaccompanistroleisto
addcolortothetune,nottooutlinea Readaboutflairin
harmonicprogression.Ifthereisa
/r/musictheoryandgetyour
progressionthemelodywillimplyit,so
whenyouchooseachordyourmaingoalis own!
justnottoscrewupwhatisalreadygoing acommunityfor8anos
onplayingsimplyisagoodidea.Typical
guitar(usuallytunedDADGAD)and
bouzouki(usuallytunedGDAD)
accompanistswilluseopendrones(theroot
and5thofthescale)asthebasisofthe
accompaniment.Youoftenwillhearbass
movementthatimplieseitheraIviiorIIV
progression,andlessoftenaVI.More
complexprogressionsareusuallyjust
substitutionsbasedonsharedtones(e.g.,
iiiorviorevenVfortheI).Chordsoften
avoidthethirds,particularlyfortheroot
chord,andyouarealwaysfreetoaddthe
dronenotestoanychordformorecomplex
MODERADORES messagethemoderators
voicings.
ejanaox harmony,jazz,latin
Also,thechordprogressionsaregenerally m3g0wnz pop/rock,timbre,arranging/transcribing
improvisedandchangethroughoutthe secher_nbiw
20th/21stc.,Americanmusic,criticaltheory
tune,whereasthemelodyisfixed.This
vornska form,schemas,18opera
completelyflipstherelationshipbetween nmitchell076
accompanimentandmelodythat AutoModerator
rock/blues/jazzplayersareusedto(fixed aboutmoderationteam

progressionswithroomtoimprovisethe
melody). < > discussionsinr/musictheory X

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DualFunctionalityofSuperlocrian
[] psychguy Celtic|multipleinstruments 8pontos1anoago*

Inadditiontotheothercommentshere,another
keyfeatureisthatthemelodysensibilitypredates
concernsaboutharmony.Historically,themost
commonaccompanimentwaseitherastaticor
shiftingdrone.Therearefourmainconsequences
ofthis:
1.Melodiesoftenstrategicallyomitcertainnotes
thatnormallywouldbeconsideredessential
forestablishingtonality,whichlendsthe
musicaveryenigmaticcharacter.Oneofthe
mostcommonscalesinIrishmusicisa
gappedscalewithamissing3rdandaminor
7th.Modernearshaveagreatdealof
difficultymakingsenseofthisscale,andyou
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25/04/2017 WhatmakesCelticmusicsoundCeltic?:musictheory

willfindaccompanistswhoharmonizeitwith
eitheramajor(mixolydian)orminor(dorian)
tonicchord.Asaresult,standardsession
practiceistoeliminatethethirdoftheroot
chordinalmostallcircumstances.
2.Melodiesareoftenverydifficulttoharmonize
withchordtones.Forexample,themost
commonphraseinIrishmusicisamelody
runthatgoesDEGA,withaDtonic.In
comparison,arpeggiosthatimplyafunctional
chord(suchasDF#A)arerarerinolder
tunes.Thishasasecondaryeffectuponchord
voicings,suchthataccompaniststrytoutilize
open/sparsevoicingssoasnottoconflictwith
themelody.Guitaristswhoplayfull
barre/triadicchordsaregenerallydespisedin
sessionsbecausetheycaneasilyruinthefeel
ofthetuneortransformaCelticfeelintoa
bluegrassfeel.Themostcommonchord
progressionthatanaccompanistwilluseisa
simpleI5vii5progression,oftenusing
suspendedtonesfromthetonicwhenplaying
thevii5.Forexample,inaDmodaltunethe
tonicchordwouldjustbeDAandthe
subdominantchordwouldbeCGwithD
and/orAadded.Modernearshearthese
chordsassuspendedchords,butthatis
probablynothowancientearsinterpreted
them.
3.Melodiesoftendonotseemtocometo
resolution.Modernearsliketohearamelody
thatimpliesadominanttonicresolution,but
Celticmelodiesareoftenmeanderingand
circular.
4.Therelationshipbetweenthemelodyand
accompanimentisfundamentallydifferentin
CelticmusicthatinmostWesternmusic.
Celtictuneshavenoneedforaccompaniment
themelodiesarecompletelyselfcontained
rhythmicallyandharmonically.Ifamelody
doesnotmakesenserhythmicallyor
melodicallywithoutsomeaccompaniment,it
willnotsoundCeltic.Dancetunes(jigs,reels,
slipjigs,hornpipes,slides,polkas,etc.)havea
breathlessphrasingandrhythmic
suspensionsarealmostunknown(infact,if
youhearoneitoftencanbeusedto
determinetheregionthetunecamefrom
e.g.,atieacrossthefirstbeatofanAsection
isuniquetotheShetlands,etc.).Airs,in
contrast,donothaveanunderlyingpulse.

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[] BlancaBlanca 9pontos1anoago

TheinstrumentsareahugepartofwhatmakesitsoundCeltic.
http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2012/09/top10celticinstruments2471964.html
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[] BlancaBlanca 8pontos1anoago

Youcanalsogoogle"celticguitartuning".
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DADGAD
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[] BlancaBlanca 2pontos1anoago

MoreDADGADtuning:
Learn"TheButterfly"https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VZmyuVaIt5A
DADGADTutorial:http://www.jjshermanmusic.com/dadgad_tutorial/
permalink embed pai

[] MRiddickW 5pontos1anoago

I'dsaythemajorityofCelticsongsI'veplayedareineitheraDorianmodeoraMixolydian
mode.MostcommonlyEDorianorAMixolydian,ifyou'rewondering(bothofwhichsharetheD
majorscalepreferredbyfiddleplayers).
Celticmusicisdispersedprettyevenlybetweenjigsandreelsinmyexperience.Slipjigs(9/8)
andhornpipes(whichareusuallybouncyandcheesyformytaste)arealsosomewhatcommon.
Ifyou'regoingforaseashantysound,I'drecommendputtingitinEDorianandgiveitatime
signatureof6/8or3/4.CheckoutErinBoatSongasanexample."WhatShallWeDowitha
DrunkenSailor"isanothersonginEDorian,butthisoneisusuallyastraight4/4time
signature.
Source:IusedtoplayrhythmguitarinvariousCelticmusicgroupsalotafewyearsback.I
can'tmatchnamestotunes,butstartplayingthemelodyandI'llimmediatelystartplaying
thecorrectchordsasifhypnotized.
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[] funkinthetrunk 3pontos1anoago*

DorianandMyxolydianmodalkeys,6/8timesignatures,emphasisofspecificpulses,
instrumentation.
Forexample,playajigasstraighttripletsanditlosesalotofitscharacter.Playitwithan
emphasisonbeatoneandhearitcometolife.
Forreels,playoneasstraighteighthnotes,thendothesamewhileemphasizingbeat2ofeach
measure(and4,butespecially2).You'llquicklyhearthedifference
AlotofAmericanfiddletunesaresimilartoIrishstylebutalmostalwaysaremajorkeyand
seemtospreadouttheemphasizedpulsesmoreevenly,withswungeighthnotes.
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[] IFUCKINGLOVEMUSIC 3pontos1anoago

Alotofithastodowithmodesasmanyhavesaid(IonianDorianMixolydian)butalsohowyou
playthemusic.Ifyoulookatthedotsonthepage,there'sa99%chanceyouwon'tplaythe
musicright.Thisisavernacularmusic,meaningcarriedinthemind'searandmemory.
Forinstance,forstrummingjigsonguitar,bouzouki,tenorbanjo,etc,thepatternisdownup
downdownupdown.Anyotherpatterndoesnotreplicatethesamefeel.
Moreonthefeel,allthismusicstemsfromuilleannpipes.Becauseofthewaytheinstrument
behaves,otherinstrumentsreplicatethatsoundwhichiswhyyouhavecuts,turns,andother

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ornamentationsthathavetobeperformedthiswaybecauseoftheconstantairflowofthe
pipes.
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[] theworldbystorm 2pontos1anoago

Asatraditionalfolkmusician,Ialsowantedtopointoutthatthereisabiggulfbetween
traditionalCelticmusicandseashantiesordrinkingsongs.SeaShantiesoriginatedaswork
songs,sotheytendtobehighlyrhytmic,withverysimplemelodies,usuallytunedinC/G.
SometimesD.There'susuallyonlyeverthreechordsinthem.Thefunismostlyinthe
performance.
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[] shockwave_supernova [S]1ponto1anoago

IsupposeIpoorlyphrasedthequestion,Iwasmoreinterestedincomposingsomething
likeaseashantybutIwantedaCelticfeeltoit
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[] theworldbystorm 2pontos1anoago

I'dsaylistenandlookatthechordstructuretosomesongslike"MaidofAmsterdam",
"NewYorkGirls","BarrackStreet","FathomtheBowl","TheSailor'sPrayer","Whiskey
Johnny"or"MySonJohn".
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[] shockwave_supernova [S]1ponto1anoago

Thanksforthelist,I'llcheckthemout!
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[] SoulDrivenOlives 1ponto1anoago

Ican'trememberthenameofthemodebuttryplayingsomethinginthekeyofsaydminor
anduseGmajorinthere.TheyusethatiIVchangeeverywhereinthere.
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[] [excludo]1anoago

[deleted]

[] SoulDrivenOlives 1ponto1anoago

Yeahthat'stheone.Very"sugary".
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[] [excludo]1anoago

[deleted]

[] SoulDrivenOlives 8pontos1anoago

Ittastessweetforsomereason.Personalpreferencesprobably.Somepeople
hearcolors,ItasteFantawhenIhearDorian.
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[] FlorDeRelos 1ponto1anoago

Nah,thatwillmakeitsoundmorelikeaseachant.
Edit:Woops,wronganswer.Sorry:P
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[] young_yeller TenorSax,Jazz,Modern 1ponto1anoago

I'dliketoaddtothemeterdiscussion.Tradmusichasdifferenttimesignaturesdependingon
the"dance"beingplayed.
Jigsaremainlycompoundtime.Singlejigsin3/8,doublejigsin6/8,slipjigsin9/8,then
polkasandslideswhichIthinkarein12/8(think4/4with4tripletsinsteadofstraightbeats)

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Thereelisanotherpopulardanceandit'sin4/4,asisthehornpipe,howeverthehornpipe
songstendtobeatalowertempoandwithuneven,slightlysyncopatedrhythms.
Harmonically,tradsongsinmajortonalityfavourflattenedseventhdegrees,sotheMixolydian
modefeaturesextensively.
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[] fluteitup 1ponto1anoago

IsuggestwatchingsomeIrishSetDancingtoseehowthedancessetupwiththe
accompaniment,BIGpartofCelticmusicishowyoudancetoit.
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[] japaneseknotweed 1ponto1anoago

Drones,flatted7s,andlotsofreverb.
)
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[+] FlorDeRelos ospontosdocomentrioficaramabaixodomnimo(0filhos)

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