Aires, Jigs and Reels

[DreamOgreen]

An earlier thread about favorite Airs got me thinking about a related topic. For those of you steeped in the Irish/Scotish etc. traditional music the question of what is an Aire or a jig or reel for that matter is like asking a person why is water wet. The answer is so basic that the question does not even need asking. For those of us less familiar with the genre of "trad" music, it is more of a valid question. The very basic tutor book that I have lists various Jigs, Reels and Aires to play but does not comment on what makes them what they are. Obviously one can look at them and tell that the Jigs are usually in 6/8 time, the Reels in 4/4 time etc. would anyone like to comment on the defining characteristics of these songs for those of us who are 'traditional' music challenged....

[Tia]

hmm good question, and not sure I can answer, Airs, are clearer, they're slow and more ballad like, jigs adn reels? I think its as you play you can tell the difference, adn yes its mosently just the time signatures, I used to do irish dance, and thats how I tell the difference now, I think that with more playing and hearing the music, being able to tell will come as well...hope this helps a little...

[Guinness]

This one blows me away:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0KQTv8qvkE

Some other examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtm7i9No3zs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvPXbIfu9_Y
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhal ... _mcnamara/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF3fW4Nox9U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Fn4nEC5gE
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhal ... _harbison/
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=-_9s9BthXcw

[talasiga]

I wanted to say that all jigs and reels are also airs – they are fast airs whereas what we commonly call an air is more precisely called “slow air”. I wanted to suport that by googling research but I got distracted by this beautiful excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Ireland

It should be noted that, as an aural music form, Irish traditional music is rather artificially confined within time signatures, which are not really capable of conveying the particular emphasis for each type of tune. An easy demonstration of this is any attempt to notate a slow air on the musical stave.

Isn’t that so nicely written? I do meet a lot of people who can play their fast pieces and evoke authenticity and verve. Then they play a slow air so precisely and according to a regulated tempo as per the score sheet that it sounds like a super super slow march.

There’s also some nice things in that article said about the ancient chant style

Unaccompanied vocals ar sean-nós ("in the old style") are considered the ultimate expression of traditional singing, usually performed solo, but sometimes as a duet. Sean-nós singing is highly ornamented and the voice is placed towards the top of the range; to the first-time listener, accustomed to pop and classical singers, sean-nós often sounds more "Arabic" or "Indian" than "Western". A true sean-nós singer will vary the melody of every verse, but not to the point of interfering with the words, which are considered to have as much importance as the melody. Non-sean-nós traditional singing, even when accompaniment is used, uses patterns of ornamentation and melodic freedom derived from sean-nós, and, generally, a similar voice placement.

[DreamOgreen]

Thank you all for the comments. Well it sounds like Jigs and Reels, being originally meant as dance music (with different steps, thank you Tia) have a much more definite and steady (fast) rythm. Aires on the other hand , if I understand talasiga correctly are much more (always?) slower with a rythm which ebbs and flows with the emotional state of the music and player. That first clip of the piper that Guiness put up seemed to me to have no real discernable rythm that one could even put a label on. I guess that's the piont.
I am still not too clear about something though. In an earlier thread regarding people's favorite Aires, many tunes were named as "Aires" which I had previously thought of as Ballads in that they were of a modest tempo, usually had words to sing with and generally told a story. Would anyone care to "straighten me out" on that point?

[A-Musing]

Ever since I listened to Miko (Micho?) Russell sing, I haven't tried to strictly "time" the way I play aires. Seems more toward what a lung-full of air will carry...with the notes (words) coming out as the "emotion" dictates.

This "organic," as opposed to "metronomed" approach just feels right, to me. But, then again, I'm not much for a "one-size-fits-all" philosophy, in most anything...

[MTGuru]

By way of a pet peeve from a grouchy whistler (me) ... Why "Aire", and not the perfectly acceptable - and correct - word "Air"? I see this frequently. But no contemporary reference - OED, Merriam-Webster, Grove's - lists "Aire" as proper spelling.

I suspect there's a mistaken notion that the spelling "Aire" distinguishes it from "Air" with it's many meanings. But the added e is pseudo-historical, like "Ye Olde Musick Shoppe". If anything, the Elizabethan spelling "Ayre" is at least attested in a lute context. And the derivation seems to be from Italian "aria".

My working definition of an air is very simple:

1) The tune or melody of a song, i.e. vocal piece, played as a pure instrumental piece without vocal accompaniment. It's often perceived as "slower" - or, more properly, less melodically dense - than dance music, reflecting the performance characteristics of the human voice (melismas, portamento, etc.). But speed is not the key issue. The phrasing of the instrumental line should reflect the lyric phrasing of the original song.

2) Any non-vocal instrumental piece performed in the style of 1) above.

I think the last bit of 1) above is critically important. It seems to me that trying to play a vocal air without at least a calqued and translated understanding of the associated lyrics almost guarantees a wrong performance. Sean-nós whistlers take heed.

Of course, there's a lot of crossover. Dance tunes can acquire lyrics, and songs become tunes. It's interesting to play a tune like "Rocky Road to Dublin" as a dance tune and as a fast air, and to sense the difference that keeping the lyrics in mind can make.

[A-Musing]

MTGuru...
Wow. I can see it'd take an incredible amount of time and study, to aire/air/ayre without actually erring. Especially for those, like me, who haven't been steeped in the Tradition!
I really love to hear somebody, who IS thusly steeped, play an air. But find myself, at this late stage, just "leaning" into the proper way to play! sigh
Wish I'd started this whistling as a youngun'!!!
Guess I'll just keep it simple...and enjoy what reflection of the True Renditions I can muster. I love these tunes/songs.
You're way ahead of me, my friend!
Cheers.

[lalit]

I really love to hear somebody, who IS thusly steeped, play an air. But find myself, at this late stage, just "leaning" into the proper way to play!

Do you play by ear? As a starting point, you could play along with a recording of a good traditional singer singing a song you like, and emulate their phrasing and feel for the song (which will be driven by the words). If you learn how to phrase that way, you will have accomplished a lot!

[A-Musing]

lalit...
Good advice. Thanks...

[Guinness]

It seems to me that trying to play a vocal air without at least a calqued and translated understanding of the associated lyrics almost guarantees a wrong performance. Sean-nós whistlers take heed.

I remember Ellis Marsalis saying something to that effect in the liner notes of a Courtney Pine album but I think it's only true for people who know the actual lyrics (which are often in Irish) and/or have a particular version deeply etched into their psyche--"...songs are like tatoos...." (Joannie Mitchell). As we get older, a re-make of any classic, movie or song, seems like butchery.