Generic jig chords?
Generic jig chords?
Yeah... I usually haunt the whistle and flute part of these forums, but I've been acutely aware of the lack of accompaniment in my music so I've decided to pick up the guitar again after eight years. I wasn't involved in ITM back then so I was wondering if there were any generic chords that I could use to accompany a set of jigs I've arranged for whistle.
Re: Generic jig chords?
There's no such thing as generic chords.
The accompaniment is tied to what's going
on in the tunes. You can look up each tune
on JC's tunefinder and find a version that
has chords. That's usually a pretty good
starting point.
The accompaniment is tied to what's going
on in the tunes. You can look up each tune
on JC's tunefinder and find a version that
has chords. That's usually a pretty good
starting point.
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s1m0n
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Re: Generic jig chords?
Chris Smith's Celtic Back-Up For All Instrumentalists will tell you everything you need to know about chords for jigs.
~~
Briefly, the appropriate chords for a tune in Irish dance music depend on the scale/mode and key it's in. If you know that, it is safe to build chords by following the I III IV pattern using only the notes that occur in the tune.
If the notes of the tune are D E F# G A B C# and D is the tonic (D Major), triads (three note chords) built with only these pitches will work. You build can a triad on any note by selecting the 3rd and 5th note above it in that tune's scale.
With D E F# G A B C# and D, these become
1st D F# A
2rd E G B
3rd F# A C#
4th G B D
5th A C# E
6th B D F#
7th C# E G
If you use these chords, your accompaniment might be dull but it won't be wrong.
Of these chords, the ones that aren't bolded are technically correct but less often used. It is more common to use chords built on the first, fourth or fifth note of any tune's scale.
The tricky part is that because so many tunes in ITM are modal rather than Major or Minor, it's possible to have a tune which uses exactly the same notes as D major, but which has some other note as the tonic. When that happens, you need to select (bold) a different set of triads from the list above.
If you have a tune with the same set of notes but which resolves to E instead of D, you'd bold these triads instead:
1st E G BD
2nd F# A C#
3rd G B D
4th A C# E
5th B D F#
6th C# E G
7th D F# A
If A is the tonic, the bolds become
1st A C# E
4th D F# A
5th E G B
If I'm remembering correctly, these are the Dorian and Myxolydian modes, but you don't need to know the names.
~~
The same pattern follows if you have some other set of notes. Another set commonly used by whistle players are:
G A B C D E F# and G. If you have these notes and G is the tonic, you get:
1st G C E
2nd A C E
3rd B D F#
4th C E G
5th D F# A
6th E G B
7th F# A C
It, too, can be model. If these notes resolve to A instead of G, your bold set becomes:
1st A C E
2nd B D F#
3rd C E G
4th D F# A
5th E G B
6th D F# A
7th C E G
Are you following? You should be able to work out what happens when you have the same notes in a tune resolving to D instead of G.
~~
The other tricky part is that not all tunes in ITM have the full set of seven notes. Melodies based on six or even five notes are common. When you run into one, you can work out which is the tonic and then build the appropriate triads based on that tune's tonic, fourth and fifth notes. If one of these calls for a note that isn't in the melody, don't add it. Play the notes you have and leave that one out. In the guitar world chords based on I V (ie, with no III) are often called power chords, and they're very useful in ITM, too.
~~
Finally, take note that the above is far from the only right way* to build harmony in celtic or any other kind of music. The point to the above is that chords selected using this process are highly unlikely to be wrong.
* This process is the foundation that the more complex chords are build on, however.
~~
Briefly, the appropriate chords for a tune in Irish dance music depend on the scale/mode and key it's in. If you know that, it is safe to build chords by following the I III IV pattern using only the notes that occur in the tune.
If the notes of the tune are D E F# G A B C# and D is the tonic (D Major), triads (three note chords) built with only these pitches will work. You build can a triad on any note by selecting the 3rd and 5th note above it in that tune's scale.
With D E F# G A B C# and D, these become
1st D F# A
2rd E G B
3rd F# A C#
4th G B D
5th A C# E
6th B D F#
7th C# E G
If you use these chords, your accompaniment might be dull but it won't be wrong.
Of these chords, the ones that aren't bolded are technically correct but less often used. It is more common to use chords built on the first, fourth or fifth note of any tune's scale.
The tricky part is that because so many tunes in ITM are modal rather than Major or Minor, it's possible to have a tune which uses exactly the same notes as D major, but which has some other note as the tonic. When that happens, you need to select (bold) a different set of triads from the list above.
If you have a tune with the same set of notes but which resolves to E instead of D, you'd bold these triads instead:
1st E G BD
2nd F# A C#
3rd G B D
4th A C# E
5th B D F#
6th C# E G
7th D F# A
If A is the tonic, the bolds become
1st A C# E
4th D F# A
5th E G B
If I'm remembering correctly, these are the Dorian and Myxolydian modes, but you don't need to know the names.
~~
The same pattern follows if you have some other set of notes. Another set commonly used by whistle players are:
G A B C D E F# and G. If you have these notes and G is the tonic, you get:
1st G C E
2nd A C E
3rd B D F#
4th C E G
5th D F# A
6th E G B
7th F# A C
It, too, can be model. If these notes resolve to A instead of G, your bold set becomes:
1st A C E
2nd B D F#
3rd C E G
4th D F# A
5th E G B
6th D F# A
7th C E G
Are you following? You should be able to work out what happens when you have the same notes in a tune resolving to D instead of G.
~~
The other tricky part is that not all tunes in ITM have the full set of seven notes. Melodies based on six or even five notes are common. When you run into one, you can work out which is the tonic and then build the appropriate triads based on that tune's tonic, fourth and fifth notes. If one of these calls for a note that isn't in the melody, don't add it. Play the notes you have and leave that one out. In the guitar world chords based on I V (ie, with no III) are often called power chords, and they're very useful in ITM, too.
~~
Finally, take note that the above is far from the only right way* to build harmony in celtic or any other kind of music. The point to the above is that chords selected using this process are highly unlikely to be wrong.
* This process is the foundation that the more complex chords are build on, however.
And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')
C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis
Re: Generic jig chords?
Late reply, but after reading Simon's reply I'm thinking it might be easier for me to find an ITM guitar player than try to pick the instrument up again. Your post, though, actually made pretty good sense. However, I think I lost you a little when you were talking about chords in the G tonic. If you select the 3rd and 5th note above the base note for the chord, shouldn't the first chord in the G tonic be G B D instead of G C E?
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s1m0n
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Re: Generic jig chords?
Right you are - that was me making a cut-and-paste error. But if you found the error, you likely have a good idea what I was (trying) to talk about.
~~
I know that all those chords have names as well as letters, & that guitar players tend to know them by these names. The I, III and IV chords for major and minor tunes are easy to name, but I'm not enough of a guitar player to know how these change for modal tunes*. It's occurring to me that this might have been what you were really asking all along.
*They're different because the actual intervals between the root, third and fifth change when you rearrange the scale into a mode.
~~
I know that all those chords have names as well as letters, & that guitar players tend to know them by these names. The I, III and IV chords for major and minor tunes are easy to name, but I'm not enough of a guitar player to know how these change for modal tunes*. It's occurring to me that this might have been what you were really asking all along.
*They're different because the actual intervals between the root, third and fifth change when you rearrange the scale into a mode.
And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')
C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis
Re: Generic jig chords?
Thanks again Simon! As for my originally intended question, I was looking for a shortcut set of chords that work with any song you throw at it. I've never played accompaniment or been accompanied before so it seemed like a good idea at the time. Now that you've explained it though, it seems like a pretty silly idea.