> I had an experience recently with a tune which we were playing for a > particular purpose. It was Morrison's (jig) which is Irish in origin > but much loved, with a life of its own in Scotland. > A double bass player looked at the sheet music and played along with > the tune. He then complained that it was in two sharps but was in E > minor. My explanation that it was a dorian not an aeolian tune (I do > hope I got this bit right) was greeted with some derision. OK, if > modes do not mean anything to you how do you explain this one?
God made bass players to plunk not think. Here's something he can plunk; I tried to come up with a bass line/ countermelody. (Almost everybody would do the same thing in the first part, I think; the second is less obvious). X:1 T:Morrison's Jig M:6/8 L:1/8 Q:3/8=124 % the following two lines are BarFly-isms V:1 midi program 1 11 V:2 bass middle=d transpose -24 midi program 1 33 K:E Dorian [V:1] E2E BAB|E2B AFD|EDE BAB|dcB AFD|E2E BAB|EBE AFD|G3 FGA|dAG FED:| [V:2] e6 |e3 d3 |e6 |G3 D3 |e6 |e3 d3 |e3 d3 |G3 D3 :| % [V:1] B2e fee|aee fed|Bee fee|fag fed|Bee fee|aee fee|gfe d2A|BAG FED | [V:2] e3 B3 |A3 B2G|G3 B3 |d3 B3 |e3 B3 |A3 B2E|E3 F3 |G3 A3 | % [V:1] Bee fee|aee fed|Bee fee|faf def|g2f g2e|def g2d|edc d2A|BAG FED|] [V:2] e3 B3 |A3 B2G|G3 B3 |d3 A3 |d3 B3 |A3 B2D|G3 F3 |E3 D3 |] It doesn't use any C's at all. The tune is nearly hexatonic (you would hardly notice if that c were made natural or avoided by lengthening the previous d) and the countermelody is completely so. Challenge him to come up with something similar featuring a C natural that doesn't sound wrong. (Well actually God also made Mingus, who could undoubtedly think, but Mingus knew what the dorian mode was). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jack Campin: 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU; 0131 6604760 <http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack> * food intolerance data & recipes, Mac logic fonts, Scots traditional music files and CD-ROMs of Scottish music. ----> off-list mail to "j-c" rather than "scots-l" at this site, please <---- Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
