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= Scales and Modes in Scottish Traditional Music =
= Jack Campin =
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Pien Notes and Cheating
=======================
Many Scottish tunes almost have gaps; that is, some the notes in the pitch
set are used only in inconspicuous places in the tune, and if these were
omitted, the tune would be in one of the standard hexatonic or pentatonic
modes. The usual term for such notes is PIEN (from ancient Chinese theory,
adopted for Western musicology by Zoltan Kodaly). This tune is pentatonic,
apart from the pien f-sharps in the last line:
X:0
T:Sunset on the Somme
C:Pipe Major George S. McLennan
G:Retreat March
M:3/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=56
F:http://www.campin.me.uk/Music/Modes/Modes-pien.abc 2024-04-26 064557 UT
K:AMix
B<d e2 e2|d>e g2 g2|B<d e2 e2|d>B B4 |
A>B e2 e2|d>e g2 a2|ge g2- gB|BA A4:|
B<d e2 e2|d>B B2 A2|G>B d2- de|dB d4 |
e>f g2 g2|a>g e2 d2|e>f g2- gB|BA A4:|
This tune is a bit ambiguous, but seems to be centred on G, despite
the ending on A. It would be lydian/major/mixolydian pentatonic if
it weren't for the inconspicuous F sharp in a descending run:
X:0
T:The Night We Had the Goats
G:Reel
B:The Athole Collection
M:C|
L:1/8
Q:1/2=100
K:G
e|d>G G/G/G dBBd|e/e/e g2 dBBe|dG G/G/G dBBd|egdB A2A:|
g|e/e/e g2 dBBd|e/e/e g2 dBg2|b/a/g/f/ g2 dBBd|egdB A2A:|
Often these nearly-gapped tunes are the result of a historical process of
gap-filling. Either going back to an older version of the tune, or else
imagining a retrograde evolution to a gapped scale even if there never was
one, may make it playable on a diatonic instrument that otherwise couldn't
do it. In practice, Scottish players do this instinctively all the time.
X:0
T:Johnnie Cope
G:march
S:Allan: 110 Songs of Scotland without Words
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/2=72
K:AMin
EG|A2A2 A2Bd|e2A2 A2GE|\
G2G2 GABc|dedc B2AG|
c2c2 d3d |e2g2 B2AG|\
E2g2 edcB|A4 A2 ||
AB|c2cc cGEG|cdef g2dc|\
B2AG d2G2|Bcde d2cB|
cBcd edea|gedc B2AG|\
E2g2 edcB|A4 A2 |]
Like almost all Scottish tunes in the minor mode, the sixth occurs rarely
and only in the middle of a scale run: the F is a pien note. Suppose you
haven't got an F natural on your instrument, but do have all the other
notes (for example, a tin whistle in D or a G/D melodeon). Nobody will
notice if you play this instead:
X:0
T:Johnnie Cope (cheat's version)
G:march
M:C|
L:1/8
Q:1/2=72
K:AMin
EG|A2A2 A2Bd|e2A2 A2GE|\
G2G2 GABc|dedc B2AG|
c2c2 d3d |e2g2 B2AG|\
E2g2 edcB|A4 A2 ||
AB|c2cc cGEG|c2e2 g2dc|\
B2AG d2G2|Bcde d2cB|
cBcd edea|gedc B2AG|\
E2g2 edcB|A4 A2 |]
Or if all you've got is a diatonic mouth organ in A, you can still play
some mixolydian tunes from the pipe repertoire. It's unusual for the
high g's to really matter; lengthening the preceding note will generally
cover their absence. (The low G's are usually non-negotiable).
This also works in the many tunes using the full major scale, but where
the seventh only occurs in descending scale runs. Again, lengthening the
previous note will shift the tune into the major/mixolydian hexatonic and
make it playable on more instruments.
X:0
T:The Stool of Repentance
G:jig
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:3/8=120
K:G
g2d B2d|gfe dcB|gee e2d|ege e2d |
g2d B2d|gfe dcB|c2d e2d|egB A2G:|
BGG dGG|BGG dcB|cAA eAA|cAA edc |
BGG dGG|BGG dcB|c2d e2d|egB A2G:|
X:0
T:The Stool of Repentance (cheat's version)
G:jig
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:3/8=120
K:G
% tweaked to remove the f's
g2d B2d|g2e dcB|gee e2d|ege e2d |
g2d B2d|g2e dcB|c2d e2d|egB A2G:|
BGG dGG|BGG dcB|cAA eAA|cAA edc |
BGG dGG|BGG dcB|c2d e2d|egB A2G:|
This tune, from a flute collection, is a reel probably composed for the
fiddle:
X:0
T:Dalkeith Fair
G:reel
S:NLS Glen.127
M:C
L:1/8
Q:1/2=108
K:G
g2dB g2dB|A>GAB A/A/A A2|g2dB g2dB|A>GAB G/G/G G2:|
GBdB gBdB|GBdB A/A/A A2|GBdB gBdB|A>GAB G/G/G G2:|
g2bg afge|dBgB A/A/A A2|g2bg afge|dBcA G/G/G G2:|
GBdB gbgd|GBdB A/A/A A2|GBdB gbgB|dBcA G/G/G G2:|
The range is too wide for the pipes and the scale doesn't fit either. It
takes more than that to stop a determined piper from playing a tune; here
it is in a pipe arrangement with the offending high B dropped a fourth and
the C simply left out, even though it's too prominent to be pien and the
change affects the implicit harmony. The result is in a very unusual key
for the pipes, G lydian/ionian hexatonic.
X:0
T:Dalkeith Fair
G:reel
S:Glen's Collection for the Great Highland Bagpipe part 3rd (Eighth Thousand)
N:J. & R. Glen 497 Lawnmarket price 1/6
N:see my Dalkeith site, <http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/dalkeith/Dalkeith.htm>
N:for the full setting with the gracenotes
M:C|
L:1/8
Q:1/2=96
K:GLyd
B|GBdB gBdB|GBg>B AA<AB|GBdB efge|gfg>B GG<G:|
f|g2dB g2dB|AGAB AA<AB|g2dB g2dB|AGAB GGG>f|
g2dB g2dB|AGAB AA<Af|efge afge|d<Bg>B GG<G||
f|g2fg afge|d<Bg>B AA<Af|g2fg afge|d<Bg>B GG<Gf|
g2fg afge|d<Bg>B AA<Aa|geaf gaeg|d<Bg>B GG<G|]
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== (c) Jack Campin http://www.campin.me.uk/ April 2011 ==
== 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland ==
== ==
== these pages: http://tinyurl.com/scottishmodes ==
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