Hanging on at a Fast Irish Session

Hanging on at a Fast Irish Session

My fast is moderate. My moderate is slow. If left to my own devices, I wouldn't exceed 80 bpm for a reel or 90 bpm for a jig. So an Irish session that runs 20% over my comfort zone can be a shock to the system. If I were to try to play every single note as I might have them memorized, in the sequence that I know them, I’d fall behind very quickly. So I have to make adjustments on the spot.

In an effort to stay in sync and not lag behind, I might only grab about 75% of the notes I would normally play when trying to keep up at a fast-for-me Irish session. You’ve just got to know which notes to leave in and which notes to take out, and the more familiar you are with the sound of the tune, the easier that may be. I don't actually practice or rehearse this. It's just something I improvise in the moment based on what I am feeling capable of.

If I were to actually practice this at home, a good first step would be to remove everything but the quarter notes. In other words, remove the notes that are pick-direction “up strokes”. Then once you have it stripped down to those bare essentials, you can add back in whatever up-stroke notes you feel are necessary to make the tune sound more like itself. Pretty much every tune can be simplified in this manner.

Another way to do it is to take the full sheet music version of the tune and then whittle away at it by identifying places in each measure or two where you can make adjustments. Places where you are like “nope my fingers aren’t going to do that” when playing fast. The sequence of triplets in Harvest Home comes to mind, as does the little end-tag thing at the end of each part of Rakes of Mallow. There are less "notey" ways to play those sections. 

The more that a tune is under your fingers, the more equipped you are to make variations to that tune when you need to or want to. In a beginner-level slow session this might mean going hog wild with attempting triplets or other ornaments, but in a high-speed setting where you are pushed beyond your normal limits, it might mean getting rid of everything but the basic melodic line so that you can still play in the sandbox.

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Key Signature in Irish Music

Key Signature in Irish Music

When looking at the sheet music for a garden variety Irish session tune, seeing one sharp in the key signature does not tell me that the tune is in G, just like seeing two sharps does not inform me that the tune is in D. What one sharp can tell me is that some or all of the following notes are expected to be in the tune: D, E, F#, G, A, B and C. What two sharps lets me know is that some or all of the following notes should be present: D, E, F#, G, A, B and C#. 

The notes D, E, F#, G, A and B are pretty much expected to be there, so what I’m really looking for is whether the sheet music thinks the tune is more reliant on a C or a C# note within its melody. You might even observe C natural accidentals within the notated music when there are two sharps in the key signature, since it’s not unusual for a tune to have both a C and a C#. 

On the rare occasion that the key signature shows three sharps, I check the notation to see if that’s really true. Does the tune really use the notes D, E, F#, G#, A, B and C# or are there G-natural “accidentals” present? If you see three sharps in the key signature but then G-natural “accidentals” throughout the tune itself, it might just mean that the person writing the score was trying to convey an A modality. 

Another thing the key signature does not explicitly tell you is what drone note is going to sound the most correct for the duration of the tune, and this is important for understanding the modal aspect of Irish music. This is more of an ear thing. Generally speaking, the tonal center could be either D, G, A or E.  I recommend separately playing each of those four home notes - D, G, A and E - over a recording of the tune to decide for yourself which one resonates the best. 

One sharp could mean D-Mixolydian, G-Ionian, A-Dorian or E-Aeolian and each of these have different feels despite having the same key-signature. Two sharps could mean D-Ionian, A-Mixolydian, or E-Dorian. You can kind of rule out G as a home base when the key signature has two sharps because, you know, there ain’t gonna be no Lydian up in there. This is Irish music we’re talking about, not the Disco Biscuits!

Another thing I’d like to mention is that Irish tunes can be hexatonic, which means a six-note scale. (I had to look up what a six note scale is called). And the funny thing is, when only six different notes are required to play the basic tune, the note which gets omitted is often C/C# or F/F#! Think on that for a minute. This is another indication that the key signature chosen by the transcriber/arranger doesn’t tell the whole story.

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Where to add Triplets and Double Stops in Irish Tunes on Mandolin or Tenor Banjo

First off, I'm not really qualified to be commenting on where to add triplets or double stops in Irish tunes. But I do have a theoretical idea of where they could go. So this post is to help document what I am in the process of figuring out.

Where to Add Triplets

There are lots of places to add triplets, but here are two that are probably the most simple or obvious. 

Triplet Rule Number One: Any time there's a quarter note/long note/crotchet you can add a triplet. By quarter note or long note I simply mean a note that has a brief pause after it. For example, look at the G note at the beginning of measure one of The Sally Gardens, or the D note at the beginning of measure 3. Those are quarter notes and a perfect place to add a triplet. You can just do GGG in place of that G. Or DDD in place of that D. That's going to sound OK. You don't have to get any fancier than that at first.

Triplet Rule Number Two: Any time there's a 3rd interval on one string, you can add a triplet, whether you are going up or down. There's an interval like that in measure two of The Sally Gardens. The first two notes of that measure are D and B, fret 5 to fret 2. So you could make that a triplet by playing D-C-B, frets 5-3-2. Or take a look at measure three. You could do it going the other direction by adding a C note between B and D for a B-C-D triplet. Or if you miss that one, there's another chance at the end of that measure where the last two notes are (3rd fret) G and (open) E. You could do G-F#-E as a triplet.  

That's all I'm going to say about triplets for now! On to double stops.

Where to Add Double Stops

I think of a double stop as being a two note mini-chord. Basically, you still play the same melody note as you would normally but you find a note on the next lower string that harmonizes with it. I've been thinking about some choices you can make that the odds should be in favor of. I'll go string-by-string since it's not always the same. Note: sometimes there are two choices that can be used interchangeably. Other times it may be one or the other depending on the harmony of the moment.

D String/3rd String Melody (Double Stop on G String/4th String)

Open D. Double stop on 2nd fret A (D chord) or 4th fret B (G chord / B minor chord).

2nd fret E. Double stop on open G (C major chord / E minor chord) or 4th fret B (E minor chord).

4th fret F#. Harmonize with 2nd fret A (D chord) or 4th fret B (B minor chord).

5th fret G. The obvious choice that will always work is the octave 4th string open G. Another good choice is the 4th fret B (G chord).

A String/2nd String (Double Stop on 3rd String / D String)

Open A. Double stop on 2nd fret E (A chord) or 4th fret F# (D chord).

2nd fret B. Harmonize with open D (G chord) or 4th fret F# (B minor chord).

3rd fret C. Double stop on 2nd fret E (C chord / A minor chord).

4th fret C#. Double stop on 2nd fret E (A chord).

5th fret D. Octave with open D or double stop on 4th fret F# (D chord).

E String / 1st String (Double Stop on 2nd String / A String)

Open E. Harmonize with 2nd fret B (E minor chord), or 3rd fret C (C chord or A minor), or 4th fret C# (A chord). The choice of C and C# is not an either/or. You have to know which of those notes is part of the mode the tune is in.

2nd fret F#. Double stop on open A (D chord).

3rd fret G. Double stop on 2nd fret B (G chord).

5th fret A. Octave with open A or double stop on 3rd fret C (A minor chord) or 4th fret C# (A chord). Once again, C vs. C# depends on the tune.

You may notice there are some common shapes or patterns. 

With any of these, use sparingly until you figure out what sounds good. If it's adding to the music great! If it's taking away from it then don't.

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The Modes and Scales of Irish Tunes

One thing I’ve noticed about Irish session tunes, at least those played at intermediate level sessions in both Oregon and Virginia, is that over 90% of the tunes use notes from either the D scale or the G scale, including the various modal variations of those scales (D mixolydian, E dorian, E aeolian, A dorian, A mixolydian). This means the the majority of the tunes require only the notes D E F# G A B plus either C or C#. I think this is because some of the common instruments used by hobbyists of Irish music, such as tin whistle, aren’t entirely chromatic and can only play certain notes, with the notes in the key of D being the most accessible.

This observation has me feeling empowered to make broad generalizations about the scales and modes commonly heard in Irish sessions! As categorized below.

D through D with a C#

This is your standard D major scale. D Ionian. The notes used are D E F# G A B C#. Tons of reels have this: Lady Anne Montgomery, Maid Behind the Bar, Merry Blacksmith, Silver Spear, Wind that Shakes the Barley, Wise Maid.

D through D with a C

This is what they call a “modal” scale, although it’s one with a major sound. It uses the same notes as the G major scale but with D as the tonal center. Also known as D Mixolydian. The notes used are D E F# G A B C. Common in jigs such as Banish Misfortune, Blarney Pilgrim and I Buried My Wife. 

G through G with a C

This is your standard G major scale. G Ionian. The notes used are G A B C D E F#. Examples include Father Kelly’s, Kesh Jig, and Miss Mcleod’s Reel. Sometimes these dip into a minor feel as heard in Temperance Reel or maybe even Out on the Ocean. E minor is the relative minor of G, after all!

A through A with a C

This is another modal scale but it has a minor sound. In Irish music, it’s often referred to as simply “A minor”, but to be more exact it’s usually A Dorian. The notes of that being A B C D E F# G, although sometimes the F# (or implied F natural?) is not present, which means it could pass for either A Dorian or A Aeolian since it omits the note which would distinguish it as one or the other. “A Minor” is a catch-all term that works either way. Check out Geese in the Bog, Lilting Banshee, Star of Munster, and so on. The Ballydesmond polkas as well.

A through A with a C#

You could easily mistake these types of tunes as being in D major because they use the same notes as the D major scale: D E F# G A B C#. However, they like to center around the note A of that scale so that with that tonal world in mind, the notes of the mode are A B C# D E F# G. Same notes, just starting at a different part of the clock or the wheel. This is called A mixolydian. You might hear it in reels such as Dinky’s, the High Reel, Monaghan Twig, and the jig Atholl Highlanders.

E through E with a C or E through E with a C#

Unlike A through A with a C and A through A with a C#, which sound very different, the two E through E scales used in Irish music both sound pretty similar. For one thing, they are always going to have an E-minor sound. Sometimes an E minor tune will eschew having either a C or a C# note, making the difference between E Dorian and E Aeolian open to interpretation. With the exception of E minor hornpipes which seem to have a C note, I tend to assume these are in E Dorian which would make the notes E F# G A B C# D. Although it could also be E F# G A B C D. There’s a long list of E minor tunes including Road to Lisdoonvarna, Cooley’s Reel, Drowsy Maggie, The Butterfly, A Fig for a Kiss, King of the Fairies, Jacky Tar and more.

Some other observations:

Some tunes could go either way. Star Above the Garter is one that I hear as having D as its tonal center, so I put it in the D through D with a C category, while others might say it’s just in the key of G.

On the rare occasion that a tune does have an F natural note built-in, it stands out. Like in Chief O’Neill’s hornpipe or the errant D-Dorian reel. It brings an F-chord or D-minor chord into the options.

In Virginia I would hear Irish tunes in A major sometimes as well, but I think this is because the instruments that could play in A major like fiddle and accordion were alpha in the session. Boys of Malin for example. I would call this A through A with a C# and a G# instead of a G.

Some tunes toggle between C and C#.

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The Secret to Learning Irish Tunes by Ear

Disclaimer: I’m not really someone who learns tunes 100% by ear. What I do is more like memorize and visualize the tune. I like to have both an audio play along track and matching sheet music or tab handy. It helps me to “see” the tune written out measure by measure. I can’t resist the urge to cheat and look at the music. That said, I do have advice about learning a tune by ear that has worked for me before. And that advice is…

Write it yourself!

If you’ve ever written a melody of your own before this should be fairly easy for you. If you’ve never tried to write your own tune before, then this can be a start. When writing an Irish tune that already exists a lot of the work is already done for you. You don’t have to write Silver Spear, Out on the Ocean, or Boys of Bluehill completely from scratch. You just have to write a tune that sounds exactly like the one you are trying to write! Or as close to it as you can get at this moment in time*.

The first step is to listen to the tune you want to learn until you can hear it in your head. Find a YouTube video or some other simple source that sounds like the way they play it at your local session. For the purposes of this exercise, once you can hear it in your head the distinction between a tune you are composing vs. a tune that already exists is insignificant. 

Take what you are hearing in your head and find those notes on your instrument. I recommend knowing the names of the notes you are playing and writing them down. At least know where then notes D, E, F#, G, A, B, C and C# are. You don’t have to write this in sheet music format. You can do it in whatever shorthand method works for you. You can also skip writing it out altogether and keep it entirely aural. I happen to like writing it out so that I can put the notes into some sort of context. 

Have the recording on loop and play along with it. Play the rhythm even if you can’t play the notes. Imagine that the tune is a wheel that’s spinning and if you get off the tune doesn’t stop. It just keeps on spinning until you jump on again. Or imagine that it’s a block of wood and you are chipping away until you have carved something that looks like an approximation of the original. At first you might only get 10% of the notes correct and you have to fudge the other 90%. If you stay on the wheel and slowly chip away, you’ll start to connect more dots and the notes or phrases that you land on become like little stepping stones to get across the pond without falling in.

Things to listen for and make note of

How many parts does the tune have? Plenty of Irish tunes have just two parts: an A part and a B part each played twice through AA/BB. However, sometimes there are three or even four parts. Or other times it is just a two part AA/BB tune but the second time through the B-part maybe you play a different ending than the first time through the B-part. Like AA/B1B2.

Where is the tonal center? AKA where does it want to resolve to? Irish session tunes tend to have tonal centers resolving to the notes D, G, A or E and there are certain sounds these keys or modes make that distinguishes one from the other. 

Does it have a C natural or a C sharp note? Assuming that your melody has one of these notes, are you hearing a C natural or a C sharp? If this distinction becomes significant to you, then it can act as a shortcut that helps other connections fall into place. 

Does the B-part go higher? Quite often the B-part of a tune will be in a higher octave, or at least use some higher notes than the A-part did. After a while you can almost guess where a tune is going to go.

Are there any patterns or scalar things that you notice? Being able to recognize things like this can really help with your ear learning. I don’t really know the musical term for it, but for example a tune might be doing something over an A-minor arpeggio for a measure and then do the same type of pattern but over a G-major arpeggio for the next measure. Or there might be a scalar phrase that starts on a G. Then that phrase gets repeated starting on an F# note. Then it repeats again starting on E note. Stuff like that.

Are there any repeated sections? It’s not unusual for the B-part of an Irish tune to re-use portions of or even half of the A-part. So if you’ve learned the A-part, you sometimes have a head start on learning the B-part because something you already went over is going to be re-used in the B-part.

Grade Yourself

Give yourself 30 minutes to write the tune. After you’ve “written” the tune, compare what you have to an actual transcription of the tune you were trying to play. What did you get right? What did you get wrong? For the parts that you got completely wrong, could you already tell that you were unclear about that part or did you think you had it right? Comparing your version to the original and making note of where you were off vs. where you were on track can help so that next time you get even closer to the actual notes.

*On the bright side, if you are really, really bad at transcribing what you hear then the worst thing that happens is you accidentally write an original tune!