============================================================================= = Scales and Modes in Scottish Traditional Music = = Jack Campin = ============================================================================= Multiple Modes in the Same Tune =============================== Some tunes switch mode partway through. The oldest notated version of the song "Tibbie Fowler" is very simple: X:0 T:Owin at her G:song or reel S:Margaret Sinkler MS, Glasgow 1710 M:4/4 L:1/4 Q:1/2=160 K:Ddor A|GGGA|FFcA|GGGA|F>ED:| f|dddf|cAfc|ddde|f>edg| fdfc|AFcA|GGGA|F>ED|] Later versions are often like this one. It has a sixth gap, but the third varies between natural and sharp, making it a mixture of dorian and mixolydian: Varying the pitch of a note in the scale is a trick that is only possible with the human voice or a chromatic instrument like the fiddle. X:0 T:Tibbie Fowler of the Glen G:country dance S:Duke of Perth MS (NLS MS 21715) M:C| L:1/8 Q:1/2=96 K:DDor E|DGGA ^F>GAc|BGGA ^F>EDE|G/G/G GA ^FGAc|dGGA ^F>ED:| a|fddf c>dcA|fdde f>gag|fddf AFcA|dGGA ^F>ED:| And in this one (a Shetland tune said to be of Greenlandic Inuit origin) the G is variable. I'm not confident that it has a single tonal centre - E is my best guess. X:0 T:Da Greenland Man's Tune M:6/8 L:1/8 Q:3/8=84 K:EMix d2B c2A|BcB E3 |F2=G A2G|FD2 D3 | d2B c2A|BcB E3 |G2A B2G|A3 A3:| B2B B2c|d2d d2B|A2A A2F|D2E F2A| B2B B2c|d2d d2B|A2F F2D|E3 E3:| In some musical idioms, like the more archaic forms of Hungarian folk music, variable thirds originated as NEUTRAL thirds - the pitch used to be the same throughout the tune, midway between a major and a minor third, like the C on a Highland pipe. There are probably Scottish tunes that have developed like that. Mode-shifting is a common feature of Scandinavian music, where it may be used in local versions of non-Scandinavian tunes. In Playford's 1651 collection there is a tune, probably Scottish, called "Stingo", which is straightforwardly in the minor mode: X:0 T:Stingo G:dance song M:6/8 L:1/8 Q:3/8=108 K:GMin G2G d2B |cA2 F2F |G2G d2B|G3 B3:| B2B B2A/B/|c2c c2c |d2d g2g|d3 f3 | B2B B2A/B/|c2c c>de|dc>B cA2|G3 B3|] Thirty years later it had turned into "Lulle me beyond thee" in the dorian/minor hexatonic scale with sharpened leading notes: X:0 T:Lulle me beyond thee G:song or dance M:6/8 L:1/8 Q:3/8=96 K:DMin A2A f>ef|g>fg a3 |A2A f>ed|^c3 d3:| f2f g>fg|a>ba g2c|f2f g>fg| a3 g3 | a>ba g>fe|f>ed a3 |A2A f>ed|^c3 d3|] John Hamilton gave it new words early in the 19th century, with a dorian first half and the second half in the minor with sharpened leading note: X:0 T:Up in the Morning Early G:song S:Gall and Inglis, Select Songs of Scotland M:6/4 L:1/4 Q:3/4=92 K:GDor D|G2A B2c|d>ef F2F |G>AG d2c/A/|G3 d2D| G2A B2c|d>ef F2F |G>AG d2c/A/|G3 d2|| K:GMin B|B>cB B2B|c>dc c2z |d>ed f2e |d3 f2B| B>cB BcB A>G^F |G3 d2|] and it turned up in Shetland a few centuries later, adapted under Norse influence into a far more subtle tune that goes through dorian, mixolydian and major: X:0 T:Sister Jean G:slow air S:Catriona Macdonald M:6/8 L:1/8 Q:3/8=80 R:andante K:DDor D2E F2G|ABA G2F|E2C C2G|E3 D2C|D2E F2G|ABA A2G|A2d d2c|d3 D3:| K:DMix A2B c2d|efe e2c|A2B c2G|E3 C3 |A2B c2d|efe e2d|\ K:D f2d d2c|d3 A3 | K:DMix A2B c2d|efe e2c|A2B c2G|E3 C2B|A2A F2D|A2A F2D|A2d d2c|d3 D3|] The other way to shift mode in a tune is by filling in or opening gaps. X:0 T:The Kilt is My Delight G:reel S:Logan's Collection M:C| L:1/8 Q:1/2=108 K:D % major/mixolydian/dorian pentatonic, D-final CG-gap e|A>AA>B A>Bd>f|e>de>f d>BBAA>B A>Bd>f|ede>f d2d:| % major/mixolydian hexatonic, D-final C-gap e|g2 a>g f2 a>f|e>de>f d>BBg f2 a>f|ede>f d2de| g2 a>g f2 a>f|e>de>f d>BBAA>B A>Bd>f|e>de>f d2d|] This alternates in each section between mixolydian/dorian/minor pentatonic and dorian/minor hexatonic: X:0 T:The Wee Man from Skye C:P.M. Donald McLeod G:march M:2/4 L:1/16 Q:1/4=84 K:AMix BB |A4 A2 :| [2 e2ed deed |Beed B2AB |A4 A2 || Bd B2AB |dGG2 Bd B2d2| eAA2 BB |A4 A2 :| BB |A4 A2 :| [2 eAA2 BB |A4 A2 |] The pipe march "The Conundrum" is more complex, progressively filling in gaps from one section to the next. The first part omits both G and D, fitting the mixolydian/major/lydian pentatonic scale. The second part fills in one gap, inconspicuously adding a few Gs to make the tune major/lydian hexatonic. The third part makes them slightly more noticeable. The last part adds Ds as well; the tune only becomes unambiguously in the major mode near the end. X:0 T:The Conundrum C:Peter Macleod G:march M:2/4 L:1/16 Q:1/4=84 K:AMix A>B|c2A>c e>fc2 |A>ce>a f2e>f |a2e>f e>fc2|A>ce>c B2 A>B|c2A>c e>fc2 |A>ce>a f2e>f |a2e>f e>fc2|B2A2 A2:| f>g|a2e>f a>ea2 |e>fa>e f2e>f |a2e>f e>fc2|A>ce>c B2 [1 f>g|a2e>f a>ea2 |e>fa>e f2e>f |a2e>f e>fc2|B2A2 A2:| [2 A>B|c2A>c e>fc2 |A>ce>a f2e>f |a2e>f e>fc2|B2A2 A2|| e2 |A>Bc2 A>BcB c2e2 |f>ga2 e>fc2|A>ce>c B2 e2 |A>Bc2 A>BcB c2e2 |f>ga2 e>fc2|B2A2 A2:| a2 |f>ea>e f2eea>e|f>ga2 e>fc2|A>ce>c B2 [1 a2 |f>ea>e f2eea>e|f>ga2 e>fc2|B2A2 A2:| [2 A>B|c2d>c e>Ac2 |d>ce>A f2e>f |a2e>f eF EA|c>de>d c>AGG A2 a2 |ge {e}d2c2 | C2 C>F EA|c>de>d c>AGc |A>cG>c F>cE>c|d/c/B/A/ cfg>a g>ec>g|a/g/f/e/ d>f e>dcG |A/A/A a>g a2 c'2|ee {e}d2c>f| e>fg>a g>ec>g|a/g/f/e/ d>f e>dcG |A>cG>c F>cE>c|d/c/B/A/ ccA|e>cA B>cd|e3 e>cA|B>cd c>BA| e3 e>cA|e>cA B>cd|eed|c>dB A3 :| A>ce A>ce|B>df B>df|A>ce A>ce|B>cd c>BA| A>ce A>ce|B>df B>df|eed|c>dB [1 A3 :|\ [2 A2 || e|a2e e>dc|a2e e>dc|a2e e>dc|B>cd c>BA| a2e e>dc|a2e e>dc|eed|c>dB A2 :| % mixolydian B|ced|c>dB [1 A2 :|\ [2 A3 |] This procedure, of only filling in a gap at the very end of the tune to create a climax, is common in all kinds of Scottish music. The idea goes back a very long way. This tune from mediaeval Germany is hexatonic in its first half, and fills in the gap to become dorian in its second part: X:0 T:Palestine Song T:Nu alrest lebe ich mir werde C:Walther von der Vogelweide, 1204 N:a bloodthirsty recruiting song for the Fourth Crusade, which N:turned into a looting expedition like the war on Iraq - Walther N:went on the crusade and it seems he later regretted writing it. M:C L:1/8 Q:1/4=80 K:DDor A|D2 D2 F2 F2 |D2 D/E/F/E/ D2 DC | E2 G2 A2 A/G/F |E2 (3D/C/D/ E/F/E HD2:| A|A2 c2 c2 AG |A2 cB A3 z | A2 cB A2 A/G/F/E/|F2 G/F/E/D/ C3 z | D2 A2 A2 GF |EF/E/ (3D/C/D/ E/F/E HD2|] This is a mediaeval piece in the style of a French religious song, and perhaps composed by a Frenchman; it's one of the oldest pieces of music known from Scotland. It's in the dorian mode, but the first three sections are dorian/minor hexatonic, with progressively more dorian E's introduced as the piece builds to a climax. X:0 T:Margaret-Eric Epithalamium G:song S:Codex Upsaliensis C233 S:Proc Soc Antiq Scot LXXIII (1939) plate LXXXV N:Composed for the marriage of Princess Margaret N:of Scotland and King Eric of Norway, 31/8/1281 N:I have rebarred it - the PSAS version was notated in 4/4. N:Warning! ABC has a strange concept of 6- and 5-plets; BarFly N:implements this in a way that displays them twice as long as N:they are meant to be played. As notated here, playback is N:correct and display is wrong. N:H means a fermata. If your ABC implementation doesn't have that N:feature just edit the H's out. M:3/4 L:1/8 Q:1/4=108 K:GDor GF| G2 A2 cd |c2 BA G2|A2 B2 A2 |G2 (3FGF GF| G2 A2 cd |c2 BA G2|A2 B2 AG |F2 HG2:| d2| c2 d2 (cB)|A2 G2 A2|c2 A2 B2 |G2 (3FGF A2| c2 d2 c2 |B2 A2 F2|GA B2 AG |F2 HG2:| F2| G2 A2 B2 |A2 G2 G2|A2 B2 c2 |B2 A2 A2| c2 d2 cB |A2 G2 F2|GA B2 AG |F2 HG2:| c2| c2 de f2 |e2 d2 c2|d2 e2 (fe)|d2 (3cBA A2| c2 c2 d2 |d2 G2 F2|GA B2 AG |F2 HG2:| g2| e2 f2 (gf)|e2 d2 e2|f2 e2 d2 |d2 c2 c2| d2 e2 f2 |e2 d2 e2|c2 d2 (cB)|A2 HG2:| c2| c2 de f2 |ed c2 e2|f2 d2 e2 |dc d2 c2| c2 de f2 |ed c2 e2|f2 d2 e2 |dc Hd2:| c2| e2 (3def ed |e2 c2 d2|dc d2 e2 |c2 A2 c2| e2 (3def ed |e2 c2 d2|c2 d2 (cB)|A2 HG2:| d2|(6:2:defedc c2 c2 |cB AG A2|c2 d2 GF |G2 (3ABA A2| c2 (5:2:defed c2 |cB AG F2|GA B2 AG |F2 HG2:| d2| d2 (5:2:defed c2 |cB AG A2|c2 d2 GF |G2 (3ABA A2| c2 (5:2:defed c2 |cB AG F2|GA B2 AG |F2 HG2:| GF| G2 A2 cd |c2 BA G2|A2 B2 A2 |G2 (3FGF GF| G2 A2 cd |c2 BA G2|A2 B2 AG |F2 HG2:| The same idea is used in this imitation folk song from 600 years later and the other end of Europe, which is dorian/minor hexatonic until near the end: X:0 T:Legend C:Tchaikovsky N:words are a Russian translation of an American antisemitic fakelore ballad M:2/4 L:1/8 Q:1/4=100 K:FMin f2 fe|A3 B|c2 c2|F2 zc|f2 e2|A3 B|c2 c2|F4 | F2 FG|A3 G|F2 E2|F4 |F2 FG|A3 G|F2 E2|F2 zc| f2 e2|A3 B|c2 c2|F2 zc|f2 e2|A3 B|c2 c2|F4 | zF FG|A3 G|F2 E2|F4 |F2 FG|A3 G|F2 E2|F4 | f2 fe|A3 B|c2 c2|F2 zc|f3 e|A3 B|c2 c2|F4 | F2 FG|A3 G|F2 E2|F4- |FF FG|A3 G|F2 E2|F4 | G2 GG|A3 A|B3 B|c3 c|e2 d2|c2 F2|A3 G|F4 | G2 GG|A3 A|B3 B|c3 c|e2 d2|c2 F2|A2 G2|F4 |] All the examples so far are of gradual and subtle shifts, moving between adjacent points in the mode diagram. Shifts follow the lines marked in the Big Picture (that is, there are no shifts between gapped scales with the same number of gaps; the only moves that occur are the opening and filling of gaps, or changes of one step at a time in seven-note modes). This is quite unlike the usual procedure in art music, where changes of mode tend to be dramatic and unmistakable, usually between major and minor. There are some examples like that in folk music, but they usually feel like conscious exercises in weirdness. There is nothing subtle about this: X:0 T:The Flowres of the Forrest S:Skene MS via Dauney G:lament, arranged for lute M:4/4 L:1/8 Q:1/4=72 K:D [d2D2] d2 efab | afed B2A2 |\ [d2D2] d2 efab | afed [d4A4D4] :| AB =c2 Bc [d2D2]|[A2D2] fe d/B/A3 |\ [A2D2] Bd b2 af |[e3A,3] d/e/ [d4A4D4] |] That startling shift is from the lydian/major/mixolydian pentatonic mode direct to the mixolydian; the gap at the fourth (G) is not filled in first, as a move through the major/mixolydian hexatonic mode would require. The tune is from a manuscript of lute music predating the general use of the fiddle, and from the Borders, where the bagpipe had a long history. It may even be as old as the event it is thought to commemorate, the Battle of Flodden in 1513; perhaps it records an old and local kind of tonality. The basic melody has a nine-note range from A to b, suggesting a chanter with either one extra note above a one-octave A dorian scale, or two above a G mixolydian scale. This tune, noted down in the Borders around 1800, shifts in a similarly emphatic way from minor to major, and more subtly back again: X:0 T:Young Hynd Horn G:song S:C.K. Sharpe/Lady John Scott, MS.843 M:4/4 L:1/8 Q:1/4=100 K:GMin GA |B2BA G2GA|B2c2 d2||\ dd |e2dd c2cc|d2^f2 g2|| g^f|g2GG G2GA|B2cB A2||\ GF |B2BB c2c2|dcBA G2|] This tune (originally for the harp, but best known in a slightly modified version for the whistle) is dorian/minor/phrygian pentatonic till near the end, where a grinding unexpected F natural momentarily throws it into the phrygian mode: X:0 T:Da mihi Manum G:harp tune C:Rory Dall (Scotland, 17th century) N:not the Irish harper of the same name 100 years N:previously, despite what you read in some books S:Dan Wright, Aria di Camera c.1726 N:arrangement for the transverse flute M:6/4 L:1/4 Q:1/4=120 K:EMin D|EGG G2E |EGG G2E |EGG GAB |Bed B2A/G/| AAe BBd |A>BA/G/ E2D |EGG g2D |EGG g2D | EGG gab |d>ba/b/ g2D |EGG GAB |Bed B2A | AAe BBd |ABd e2d/B/|dde g2e/d/|eeg a2g/e/| ggd/e/ ggd/e/|gga b3 |bbb b2a/g/|a/g/a/b/a/b/ a2g | eeg/e/ dde/d/|BBd/B/ A2G |GGB/d/ =f2e/d/|eeg e2d/B/|\ ddg BBd |A>BA/G/ E2D |] Breathnach points out that this high F natural is common in Irish music, where it's generally reached by a slide from below. Whistle players often play that tune with one of those Irish-style slides; obviously Rory Dall's harp can't have done that, and applying the trick to this tune must be a folk-revival idea of very recent times. A common idea in art music is to shift between major and minor keys using the same pitch set ("relative" major and minor keys, like C major and A minor). This is an example from Scottish music, mostly in A major but moving into F# minor at the start of the second part: X:0 T:The Laird o' Thrums C:J. Scott Skinner M:C L:1/8 Q:1/4=110 K:A g|(3 agf (3 efg ({g}a2) (e>d) | (ca) (c>B) (B>g) | (3.a.g.f (3.e.f.g ({g}a2) (e>c) | (d>f) (B>e) ({cd}c>A) (A>g) | (3.a.g.f (3.e.f.g ({g}a2) (e>d) | (ca) ({cd}c>B) (B>g) | (3.a.g.f (3.g.f.e (3.f.e.^d (e>c) | (de) ({cd}c<)A A || c| f2 (c>f) (A>f) (c>f) |(3.c.f.g (3.a.g.f (3.c'.f.g (3.a.g.f| ({^d}e2) (B>e) (G>e) (B>e) |(3.B.e.f (3.g.f.e (3.b.e.f (3.g.f.e| {g}a2 (e>a) (c>e) (A>g) |(3.a.g.f (3.g.f.e (3.f.e.d (3.e.d.c| (3.d.e.f (3.B.c.d (3.c.d.e (3.A.B.c|(3.d.e.f (3.e.f.g ({g}a2-) a |] This pipe tune has one part centred on D and the other three on A: X:0 T:Liberton Polka S:simplified version played in sessions around Edinburgh M:2/4 L:1/8 Q:1/4=96 K:D AB/>A/ GA|dA f2|fe/>f/ ge|dc/>e/ fa | AB/>A/ GA|dA f2|fe/>f/ gc|ed d2:| K:AMix ef/>e/ ce|ac e2|ef/>e/ dB|fe e2 | ef/>e/ ce|ac e2|ef/>e/ dB|BA A2:| Ac ce|ef/>e/ c2|ef/>e/ dB|Ac c2 | Ac ce|ef/>e/ c2|ef/>e/ dB|BA A2:| af fa|ef/>e/ c2|ef/>e/ dB|Ac c2 | af fa|ef/>e/ c2|ef/>e/ dB|BA A2:| Shifting tonal centre also works with other modes and with gapped pitch sets, like this pentatonic song from the North-East of Scotland: X:0 T:Rhynie S:101 Scottish Songs M:C L:1/8 Q:1/4=140 K:C c2|e3d c2G2|A2c2 A2G2|e3 d c2G2|Ac3 d3 c|e3d c2c2|c2c2 A2G2|c3 G G2G2|E2G2 A4|| G3C C2C2|E2D2 EA3 |G2C2 C2C2|E2G2 c2|] The Skye Boat Song is a confusing example. The tune is pentatonic, but the tonal centre of the chorus is not the final note: it's really centred on G, and some singers end it that way. But the middle section goes into the relative minor with no ambiguity at all. Its origins are uncertain, and there seems to be no verifiable Scottish source for it before it was published in England in 1884, but it is at least Scottish by adoption. X:0 T:Skye Boat Song G:rowing song or lullaby S:Loesberg, Traditional Folksongs and Ballads of Scotland M:6/8 L:1/8 Q:3/8=54 K:G D>ED G2 G/G/|A>BA d3 | B>AB E2 E |D3- D3 | D>ED G2 G |A>BA d3 | B>AB E2 E |D3- D3-|D3 z3|| K:EMin B>GB B3|AEA A3|GEG G2G|E3 -E3 | B>GB B3|AEA A3|G>EG G2G|E3- E3|| K:G D>ED G2 G/G/|A>BA d3 | B>AB E2 E |D3- D3 | D>ED G2 G |A>BA d3 | B>AB E2 E |D3- D3-|D3 z3|| ============================================================================= == (c) Jack Campin http://www.campin.me.uk/ December 2010 == == 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland == == == == these pages: http://tinyurl.com/scottishmodes == =============================================================================