Just what makes an "Air" an Air?

Kendra · Post by **Kendra** » Tue May 14, 2002 4:29 pm

This is probably a really stupid beginner's question, but I've been wondering what is the difference between an "Air", a "Lament", and a "Song?" I know it's not just how fast it's played because I've heard some songs that call themselves airs that are pretty fast, and I have a tendency to play some "slow airs" faster than THAT would suggest. I've noticed that most Irish music has a definite structure, and wonder if this is true about airs.

ChrisA · Post by **ChrisA** » Tue May 14, 2002 5:04 pm

An air is the tune to a song...
A song is an air with words set to it...
A slow air is a style of playing an air, more than anything, although certain tunes are traditionally slow airs... but, slow airs have 'lazy' timing... the timing slides around for effect, and has little to do with measures, even if you're learning it from sheet music...

Slow airs aren't necessarilly -slow-, but they're not as fast as a reel played at guiness-powered-late-night-session speed.

I think you'll find that slow airs that are 'fast' in their notes have notes that are close together, like, D'-C#-B-C#-B-A-G,
which could be played 'dee-da-da, dee-da-da, dum...' as if it were the end of a jig, but it's (to me) a transposed 'red is the rose' for solo-whistle and makes up the word 'forever' ... 'for - ehh.ehh.ahh.vehhh.hhhr' or something like that, so even if I played the notes fast (which I don't, really, but, for argument's sake...) someone singing along would have plenty of room for the word...

I'm not sure about Laments... my guess is that it means a memorial song, so that 'She Moved Through the Fair' is a lament and a slow air, memorializing an anonymous love of the writer, whereas 'Young Roddy McCorley' is a lament and a march (and an air if it's only the tune we're talking about

) memorializing Roddy's hanging. But that is a guess.

If you read many songbooks/history of irish music/whatever, you'll find phrases like 'the words are by so-n-so, the air is from such-n-such-song'.

--Chris

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Tue May 14, 2002 5:20 pm

Old hymnbooks also use the word air, to mean the tune. Usually it it is used to designate a folk melody, though. For example, the music credit might read, "an old English air."

Kendra · Post by **Kendra** » Tue May 14, 2002 5:30 pm

Hmmmmm, yes. I thought it was something like that

Thanks.

chas · Post by **chas** » Tue May 14, 2002 7:58 pm

A song is literally something that's sung -- ie, it has words.

An air has traditionally meant a song that's played without the words, or the tune to a song, as has been pointed out. It's often used now to mean a tune that can't be pigeonholed (jig, reel, etc).

A lament is a song or piece that laments something. The Unquiet Grave, in which the protagonist wishes for one more kiss from his/her late sweetheart, or When I was In my Prime/Seeds of Love, in which she laments a passing romance, are classic song laments. O'Carolan wrote a few instrumental ones, such as (whatzisname's) Lamentation on the Refusal of His Halfpence. These are usually written in minor or some other moody mode.

Charlie

Kendra · Post by **Kendra** » Tue May 14, 2002 9:29 pm

I was thinking that maybe a "Lament" was something like Londonderry Air/Danny Boy, the words of both are very mournful and lament a lover not present.

Musically, it probably doesn't make much difference - it's just that I like to know what I'm talking about

Thank you all for your input.

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Wed May 15, 2002 1:09 am

As I understand it an 'air' is a melody used as a vehicle for a song

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Wed May 15, 2002 6:39 am

Although the exact meanings of words often change when moved from one language to another, I'm sure the English term "air" comes from the same root as the Italian word "aria" which is used to denote a song, usually in an opera, that is sung as a solo or duet by the principal characters. It usually doesn't advance the plot but is used to present the character's feelings, motives, thoughts, etc. I don't know if this has anything to do with Irish airs but it's interesting, don't you think?
Mike Burns

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