Guitarbench Magazine Issue 4. Celtic Masterclass Lesson on arranging Celtic music. by Terence Tan

Celtic Guitar Masterclass with Anton Emery Arranging Celtic Music For Guitar

Welcome to Guitarbench Issue Four and the next instalment of the Celtic Guitar

column. In this edition I want to look at the process I use when arranging tunes and talk about a simple arrangement of the South Wind. Arranging Celtic music for guitar can be a very satisfying endeavour. Many of these beautiful melodies are hundreds of years old, if not older. How can we respect the tradition of the music while giving them a new and fresh voice on the guitar? Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at some basic musical and technical considerations. 1. Step away from the guitar. Once I hear a tune I want to arrange, I will find a recording of it on one of the traditional instruments. Usually that is something like the fiddle, flute, pipes or whistle. Ideally I like to listen to a fairly stripped down arrangement, just an instrument or two. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easier for me to hear the melody and what is going on. 2. Listen, listen, listen. I put the track on my iPod and in my car and, play it over and over. I want to get the melody ingrained in my ear to the point where I can hum or hear it without listening to the recording. Listening is also the best way to get the subtle lilt and rhythm of Celtic music under your skin.

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“Listening is also the best way to get the subtle lilt and rhythm of Celtic music under your skin.”

3. Now it’s time to learn the melody on the guitar, preferably by ear. Celtic music is a primarily aural tradition. Tunes are passed down from player to player in kitchens, living rooms, and pubs. Though there are many tune books available these days I find the best use of your time is learning by ear. Yes, the initial learning curve may be difficult.

If I am playing in G and using the Orkney (CGDGCD) tuning I’ve got the root on the open fifth string, the fourth note of the scale on the open sixth string, and the fifth on the open fourth string. That gives me the key bass notes on open strings, leaving my left hand free to tackle a complicated melody. If the melody is difficult sometimes I will just drone a simple bass line.

Once you get past that, you will be able to pick up tunes faster, easier to retain and a lot more fun to participate in a session. In a dark and crowded pub there is no time to go flipping through a tune book trying to find the right piece of music.

If I can I like to vary it with chord substitutions, passing notes, and throwing in bass notes off the beat. If its a slower piece like a harp tunes or an air then we have room to add in a middle part or perhaps take more variety with the bass.

Many of these tunes go by at a lightning quick pace, so being able to slow down a recording and keep it at pitch is helpful. Quicktime for the Mac and Windows Media Player on Windows have a feature to slow down mp3’s. If you want to spend a little bit of money on software like the Amazing Slow Downer allows you to loop a section of music, and will also work with a wider variety of audio formats. 4. Add in the bass part and inner voicings. Once I have the melody down on guitar I will start to map out the accompaniment parts. Most Celtic tunes are based around fairly simple chords and tend to stay in one key. So often I will just play the bass part that revolves around the chord changes. It can be handy to have some open strings available for this, especially on the jigs and reels.

5. Vary where you play the melody. Once I have a basic arrangement fleshed out I like to fine tune it. Perhaps some parts might sound better on a different string up the neck for a warmer tone. Are you playing most of the melody linearly, with consecutive notes on the same string? Perhaps some of that might sound better harp style, with consecutive notes played on different strings, allowing them to ring together like a harp. How can you best hold down the bass notes you need while juggling the melody? 6. Practice, practice, practice. After I get an arrangement worked out it’s time to get it into muscle memory. For me the best way is just plenty of practice time. If I am having trouble with a certain passage I will focus in on it and worry less about the parts that are easy. This is particularly beneficial when I am short on time.

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The South Wind I have tried to illustrate some of these things in my arrangement of the wonderful tune, The South Wind. It has been covered by a number of guitarists and I have heard it in both G and D. I arranged it here in G and it works well in the CGDGCD tuning without a capo. I have notated the tune once through, taking some varieties the second time through the A and B parts to illustrate the concepts discussed above. The first time through the A part I am just plucking the accompaniment chords along with the melody. Notice how the first pickup measure contains notes on adjacent strings. This is a small example of the harp style technique- be sure to let those notes sustain into each other. The second time through the A part starts at measure 8. Notice how I have chosen to play those notes on the third string up the neck instead of on the open 1st and 2nd string. Instead of plucking the chords this time through I have chose to appregiate them. An appregio is the notes of a chord played in sequence. So you pluck the melody note and then appregiate the chord, being sure to let the melody note sustain. Its just a simple thing but I think it adds a lot to the arrangement, especially on melodies like this one that are sparser. The B part starts in on measure 17. Instead of harmonizing that first G note with a G major chord I have chosen to substitute in E minor, the relative minor. This kind of substitution is common and darkens up the sound a bit. Measure 22 takes the melody up the third string and uses the open 4th string as a middle voice. Compare that to measure 10 where we play the passage harp style, with the addition of a harmonized bass line. The South Wind is a good tune to start with because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a relatively simple melody that can be arranged a number of ways. Experiment with other approaches, perhaps try a simple drone accompaniment, or harmonize it with different chords in a different key/tuning. If you have any questions feel free to reach me at http://www.celticfingerstyleguitar.com

Anton Emery lives in Portland Oregon and plays guitar, flute, and clawhammer banjo. He enjoys playing at irish sessions around town, teaching students, and drinking far to much coffee.