Celtic Guitar Masterclass with Anton Emery Celtic Backup
Welcome to the first instalment of the Celtic Guitar Masterclass here at Guitarbench. This month, we are going to look at topic very near and dear to my heart, Celtic backup. When playing rhythm the guitar plays a secondary role, accompanying a melody player. This is usually with a flatpick, but a hybrid pick and fingers approach, or even fingerpicking, are sometimes used. You will want to refer to the pdf sheet music to follow along with the chords. The sheet music is at the end of the article. There are many different ways to back up Celtic tunes, and no one way is absolutely correct. In the end it comes down to supporting the melody player. Listen to how the melody player drives the tune, where the rhythmic accents are, and try to emphasize those with your rhythm playing. Playing with a good backer feels effortless, like the music is just floating along. Playing with someone that does not understand the lilt and rhythm of the music makes it very difficult for the melody players. There are a variety of tunings to choose from when backing Celtic music, and these vary from player to player. Rhythmic powerhouse John Doyle is best known for his propulsive work in Drop D. Daithi Sproule of Altan used DADGAD almost exclusively. Dennis Cahill uses Standard tuning to employ his jazzy and understated style. Ged Foley uses CGCGCD, often with a capo at the second fret. I like to use CGDGCD, or the Orkney tuning, which is very similar. To me, the open tunings create a more droning approach, while with standard its easier to find jazzy voicings. I do not think any one tuning is better than another, it just depends on the sound you are looking for.