Re: "Dark" Fiddle Tunes?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
A 4
*I think. What I mean is A tunes that go to a G major chord, and have a G instead of G#, despite being in A. Mostly I hear this in A tunes. I'm sure there is a more correct way to identify these.
The key of A major with a G natural (flatted seventh) is called mixolydian.
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Re: "Dark" Fiddle Tunes?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
David L
The key of A major with a G natural (flatted seventh) is called mixolydian.
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Thanks. The folks I play with just say tunes are "modal" if they not are in a normal major key. I think many of the fiddle tunes I think of as "dark" are mixolydian*, but that "darkness" is not a feature of mixolydian, I don't think. Red Haired Boy doesn't seem dark to me.
*or just minor, or half major and half minor, like Kitchen Girl.
Re: "Dark" Fiddle Tunes?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
A 4
Thanks. The folks I play with just say tunes are "modal" if they not are in a normal major key. I think many of the fiddle tunes I think of as "dark" are mixolydian*, but that "darkness" is not a feature of mixolydian, I don't think. Red Haired Boy doesn't seem dark to me.
*or just minor, or half major and half minor, like Kitchen Girl.
Ok, Start of pontification:
"modal" is used for two different things:
- Fifths without a third - tunings, where the third is avoided in accompaniment are often called modal
- the 7 modal scales, each starting from one of the 7 notes of a given major scale, are known by Greek names. For instance, Ionian starts on the first note of a major scale and is therefore identical with major. Dorian starts on the second note, has a minor third and sounds like minor, but not quite. Mixolydian starts on the 5th note, has a major third and sounds like major, but with a sad touch in the upper half. Aeolian starts on the 6th note, has a minor third and is identical with minor.
These are the four most frequently used scales in Irish music, and they are all modal.
End of pontification.
I understand that - I once played with people who called all triads "major", and all tetrachords (e.g. A7, G6) "minor" :crying: