Improvising a slow tune = slow air?

[Rhadge]

That's something I like doing. Playing improvised slow tunes with the whistle.
But I'm wondering if it can be called a slow air, since from what I've gathered a slow air is the melody from a sean nós song?

[sackbut]

from what I've gathered a slow air is the melody from a sean nós song?

So someone who knows their Gaelic has said. And if the English words 'slow air' are the only possible translation of an ITM technical term, well and good.

But this is the Whistle forum, not the ITM forum, so it's legit to use the English words in their English sense.
There is precedent. One of the pieces in Purcell's incidental music to 'The Virtuous Wife' (ca 1690) is called 'Slow Aire'.

Can anyone provide evidence of the words being used as a translation of the Gaelic before that date?

[jemtheflute]

Rhadge, have you read this recent thread?

I reckon it deals well enough, if indirectly with your query. As there are new-written, instrumental only, never-were-songs (let alone sean nos songs) tunes that are accepted as Slow Airs in modern ITM usage, I don't see why you can't improvise or noodle such things. Just a straight free-form impro would perhaps not quite qualify other than as "in the style of a slow air": I think it would have to solidify into some kind of structured, repeatable melody to qualify for application of the word "air", which as we hammered out in that thread, means "tune". I have certainly "composed" tunes by just such a process.

[Denny]

The creative artist should never attempt to assign their noodlings to a specific genre.

There will always be someone devoted the genre and the understanding of it that will take offense.

Jazz is fairly unlimiting, assuming that you don't become wildly popular and make a lot of money while displaying no talent.

[Rhadge]

Rhadge, have you read this recent thread?

I reckon it deals well enough, if indirectly with your query. As there are new-written, instrumental only, never-were-songs (let alone sean nos songs) tunes that are accepted as Slow Airs in modern ITM usage, I don't see why you can't improvise or noodle such things. Just a straight free-form impro would perhaps not quite qualify other than as "in the style of a slow air": I think it would have to solidify into some kind of structured, repeatable melody to qualify for application of the word "air", which as we hammered out in that thread, means "tune". I have certainly "composed" tunes by just such a process.

I had managed to miss that thread. And your answer summed up the answer well.
Thanks.

The creative artist should never attempt to assign their noodlings to a specific genre.

There will always be someone devoted the genre and the understanding of it that will take offense.

Jazz is fairly unlimiting, assuming that you don't become wildly popular and make a lot of money while displaying no talent.

Not really my intention. I'm not that genre-fixated, but still it's interesting to know the commonly used names for things, for discussing the music.
Jazz is nice. It contains a lot of variety, yes.

[jim stone]

One of the pieces in Purcell's incidental music to 'The Virtuous Wife' (ca 1690) is called 'Slow Aire'.

Ah ha! The illicit spelling!

[jemtheflute]

One of the pieces in Purcell's incidental music to 'The Virtuous Wife' (ca 1690) is called 'Slow Aire'.

Ah ha! The illicit spelling!

Not illicit if spelled thus in an original, quoted period source - just a ghastly, twee affectation if used in ordinary writing today as it is not (accepted/able) current normal usage in an age of (fairly) standardised spelling!

[jiminos]

snip... standardised spelling!

standardised? hmmm... in my copy of the Unabridged Merriam-Webster it is spelled "standardized." but maybe that's just on this side of the pond. there is bit difference in the spelling of many "standard" words, depending upon the side of the pond where the spellilng is done. i.e. centre/center, flavour/flavor, standardise/standardize, authorise/authorize.... i dunno, maybe spelling isn't as standarized as we would like.

be well,

jim

[jemtheflute]

I anticipated someone (American) spotting that "s"! ("Predictable iawn" as might well be said in Wales!) Sure, there are well known divergences between American and British (AKA "proper" ) English, and there will always be some words even within one branch of the language and one set of conventions where there may be controversy over spelling....... nonetheless, within any given branch (at least, the mainstream ones), modern usage and conventions are pretty standardised, very much so by comparison with the (pre mid C19th) past.

[Rhadge]

One of the pieces in Purcell's incidental music to 'The Virtuous Wife' (ca 1690) is called 'Slow Aire'.

Ah ha! The illicit spelling!

That is a misquote. I never said that. :-O

[jiminos]

I anticipated someone (American) spotting that "s"! ("Predictable iawn" as might well be said in Wales!) Sure, there are well known divergences between American and British (AKA "proper" ) English, and there will always be some words even within one branch of the language and one set of conventions where there may be controversy over spelling....... nonetheless, within any given branch (at least, the mainstream ones), modern usage and conventions are pretty standardised, very much so by comparison with the (pre mid C19th) past.

no argument, jem. i figured you put the "s" there in anticipation of a poke. so, i obliged. that said, i used to spend a lot of time bemoaning the abuses of language that i had seen in various forums. then i realized (realised?) that the point of the post was to communicate a thought or an idea or a point of view. if i "got the point" of the post, then the post was successful (spelling, syntax, grammar, semantics and pedantics aside.) any nattering beyond that was just that... nattering, and rarely served any purpose within the context of the post (other than to advertise that i thought i had a better grasp of the language than the poster.)

people misspell... so what? people use the wrong punctuation... so what? people have horrid grammar... so what? people use the wrong word... so what? some people rarely, if ever, use uppercase letters (can't remember if it's capital or capitol)... so what? did you get the point of the post? if yes.. cool. if no... ask for clarification. if the pedantics are more important than the idea/topic of the post, then perhaps i've missed the point of these forums.

sorry to have hijacked (hi-jacked) the thread and wandered so far off topic. i'll be quiet now.

be well,

jim

[Denny]

ya, der ya go, eh!

[jim stone]

We, even in the USA, have multiple spellings for some words.
For instance, the plural of 'bus' is both 'buses' and 'busses'
on many signs, even in the same city.

The quotation from Purcell shows that there are a number of paths
that might lead a person innocent of affectation, and not entirely 'clueless'
either, to use the word 'aire.' This even though there may be people who
use 'aire' due to affectation.

One response is not to care, just to treat 'aire' as a less common
and more old fashioned spelling of 'air.' That tends to defuse
the affectation, in fact. What would be objectionable to me would be
an effort to enforce 'aire.'

On the other hand maybe it's good that people care about that extra 'e'--a measure of
their interest and erudition. We must draw lines somewhere after all,
or we will sooner or later lose our civilization.
From this perspective, my proposed response might be
viewed as tweesonous!

[Denny]

I think that the real problem with Aire is:

if ya got more than one Aire then ya got Aires.

Now you're an airline company based in Bogotá
or a a cappella group in Dartmouth
or Automatic Integration of Reusable Embedded Software.