=============================================================================
= Scales and Modes in Scottish Traditional Music =
= Jack Campin =
=============================================================================
Tetrachords and Pentachords
===========================
For music theorists back as far as the ancient Greeks and as recently
as present-day ethnomusicologists, it has often been useful to think
of modes as constructed from smaller pieces; two chunks each spanning
a fourth or a fifth. This reduces the number of modes you need to
think about, since the pieces can be put together in different orders.
Curt Sachs, in his book "The Rise of Music in the Ancient World",
theorizes that melodies gradually expanded in range from the earliest
times, starting with tunes using very few notes, called "oligotonic"
by some theorists. These are found in music from many parts of the
world. In Maori music they seem to have arisen independently. Unlike
anywhere else in the world, pre-European New Zealand had an ecosystem
dominated by birds, where birdsong was never silent anywhere and filled
the forests with a volume of sound no human instrument could outplay.
Maori music adapted to it by creating melodies that stayed within the
narrow range used by birds, with the expressive interest created by
delicate microtonal inflections and variations of ornamentation. All
human music was effectively a concerto with a bird orchestra. But the
music of peoples related to the Maori, in Polynesia and south-east Asia,
uses wider range; the oligotonic idiom isn't necessarily a mark of the
ancient and primitive, and for the Maori it can only be a thousand years
old, younger than some notated Western chant.
At some point in the history of many Asian and European musics there was
a divergence in oligotonic music into two "oligo-modes" (this is not
standard terminology). One type of narrow-range melody spans a fourth,
with the tonal centre at the top (so a melody may fall at the start after
the tonal centre has been established, and will rise at the end to meet
it), and the other spans a fifth, with the tonal centre at the bottom (so
that a melody tends to rise at the start and fall at its close). Within
these spans, a variety of inner notes were added.
There were other possibilities. Chants used for the Hindu Sama Veda seem
to be a relic of a fourth-span melody type from ancient times: its melodies
usually descend from the fourth, and may have tightly clumped microtonal
intervals at the bottom of the range. It may derive from a period when
only the extreme pitches of a tune were consistent, and those within the
tetrachord could be varied at will. The ancient Greek ENHARMONIC and
INTENSE CHROMATIC tetrachords were similar to those of the Sama Veda, but
the Greeks didn't write down any melodic examples of them or pass any on
in tradition.
At some later stage tetrachords and pentachords were combined into scales
of a full octave, in one of two ways. Putting the pentachord at the bottom
and the tetrachord at the top gave an authentic mode (with the tonal centre
at both ends) and the opposite procedure (historically older) gave a plagal
mode. Sometimes other things could happen. The SABA tetrachord of Middle
Eastern music was (and still is) usually extended upwards to a scale with
no pure octave - the 8th step of the scale is about a semitone flat.
This construction was done in hardware in some kinds of ancient music -
double flutes or shawms had a tetrachord in one hand and a pentachord on
the other, and you could create composite modes by choosing two appropriate
instruments. (The fingering was like a Highland pipe: at any moment, one
or other hand was always fully closed, and since the overall length of both
pipes was the same, each pipe acted as a drone for the other). In Greece
the double shawm (aulos) was frequently depicted in art; it survives as the
triple pipe of Sardinia, the launeddas (it has a third pipe, a lower drone
without fingerholes). An instrument like the launeddas is depicted on a
Pictish stone, so the idea may have been used in Scotland before either
the Gaels or the Saxons got here, though there isn't much trace of it now.
This list of tetrachords and pentachords is set up for constructing modes
with tonal centre A, using Sachs's approach. So the tetrachords have A at
the top and the pentachords have A at the bottom. The names correspond to
the heptatonic modes you can make from them - in Scottish music the lydian
and phrygian pentachords only match with one possible tetrachord, whereas
the other pentachords and all three tetrachords have two possible partners.
It's like an addition table:
TTS TST STT
TTTS lyd - -
TTST maj mix -
TSTT - dor min
STTT - - phr
X:0
T:The Lydian/Major Tetrachord, TTS
M:6/4
L:1/4
F:http://www.campin.me.uk/Music/Modes/Modes-tetrachords.abc 2024-04-20 145350 UT
K:A
"_do"E2 "_re"F "_mi"G "_fa"A2 |\
"_fa"A2 "_mi"G "_re"F "_do"E2|]
X:0
T:The Mixolydian/Dorian Tetrachord, TST
M:6/4
L:1/4
K:ADor
"_re"E2 "_mi"F "_fa"G "_so"A2 |\
"_so"A2 "_fa"G "_mi"F "_re"E2|]
X:0
T:The Minor/Phrygian Tetrachord, STT
M:6/4
L:1/4
K:AMin
"_mi"E2 "_fa"F "_so"G "_la"A2 |\
"_la"A2 "_so"G "_fa"F "_mi"E2|]
X:0
T:The Lydian Pentachord, TTTS
M:7/4
L:1/4
K:ALyd
"_fa"A2 "_so"B "_la"c "_ti"d "_do"e2 |\
"_do"e2 "_ti"d "_la"c "_so"B "_fa"A2|]
X:0
T:The Major/Mixolydian Pentachord, TTST
M:7/4
L:1/4
K:A
"_do"A2 "_re"B "_mi"c "_fa"d "_so"e2 |\
"_so"e2 "_fa"d "_mi"c "_re"B "_do"A2|]
X:0
T:The Dorian/Minor Pentachord, TSTT
M:7/4
L:1/4
K:AMin
"_re"A2 "_mi"B "_fa"c "_so"d "_la"e2 |\
"_la"e2 "_so"d "_fa"c "_mi"B "_re"A2|]
X:0
T:The Phrygian Pentachord, STTT
M:7/4
L:1/4
K:APhr
"_mi"A2 "_fa"B "_so"c "_la"d "_ti"e2 |\
"_ti"e2 "_la"d "_so"c "_fa"B "_mi"A2|]
These can be gapped in the same way as modes spanning a full octave.
Narrow range is typical of children's songs all over the world, so it makes
sense to look for tetrachordal or pentachordal structures in Scottish
children's songs too. This song from 1950s Edinburgh is TTS-tetrachordal
with an added (unimportant) note above the tonal centre:
X:0
T:One Two Three A-Leerie
G:children's game song
B:James Ritchie: The Golden City
M:C|
L:1/8
Q:1/2=84
K:C
G2G2 GccB|A2A2 AddB |
G2G2 GccB|AdAB c2c2|]
while this one is gapped pentachordal, TTm:
X:0
T:How Many Miles to Babylon?
G:children's game song
B:James Ritchie: The Golden City
M:C|
L:1/8
Q:1/2=76
K:F
AA/A/ AA GFF2|A2AA G3 A|cccc AFF2|GFGA F4 |
AA/A/ AA GFF2|AAAA GFF2|ccc2 AFF2|GF/F/ GA GFF2|]
Another pentachordal children's song, maybe from England:
X:0
T:Merrily We Roll Along
M:C|
L:1/4
Q:1/2=96
K:D
F>E DE|FF F2|
EE E2|FA A2|
F>E DE|FF F2|
EE FE|D4 |]
This one is basically TTST-pentachordal with an unimportant sixth:
X:0
T:Katie Bairdie
G:children's game song
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=90
K:F
c>d c>B|A>B c2|B>c B>A|G>A B2 |
c>d c>B|A>B c2|F2 A<F|G2 F2|]
This Romanian "colinda" (Christmas carol) has a range of only
a major third:
X:0
T:Intreaba s'intreaba
S:Bartok, Rumanian Christmas Carols
N:middle line is the chorus
M:5/8
L:1/8
Q:1/4=126
K:GMix
G A B2 A|[M:2/4] G2 G2||
A B2 A|[M:3/8] B2 G|[M:2/4] A A A A||
[M:5/8] G A B2 A|[M:2/4] G2 G2|]
So does this Slovak lament:
X:0
T:Morena, Morena
Z:Jack Campin, http://www.campin.me.uk/
% last edit 26-02-2013
S:Slovenske Ludove Pienske v.3
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=120
K:G
B2AG|B2AG |\
B2AG|B2AG |
B2AG|B2AG |\
B2AG|B2AG |
BBAG|BBA2 |\
BBAG|BBA2 |
BBAG|BBA2 |\
BBAA|GGGz|]
This Welsh lullaby uses the same range, apart from the appogiaturas
(decorations added for the harp?):
X:0
T:Suo-Gan
S:Davidson's Musical Miracles: 250 Welsh Airs, 1859
M:C
L:1/4
Q:1/4=90
K:C
c d {c}e2|d c d3/ z/|c d {c}e2|d e c2||
c d {EGc}e2|d c {GB}d3/ z/|c d {EGc}e2|d e c2|]
This Breton tune has the same range, apart from the outlying low A
thrown in for dramatic effect (a common feature of Breton tunes):
X:0
T:Ronde de Landeda
M:3/2
L:1/8
Q:1/2=60
K:D
f|fedd d>def f2ef|fedA d>def f2 [1 e :|[2 e2||
f2fe ede>f fefd|f2fe ede>f fe [1 d2:|[2 d |]
This mediaeval art song uses a range from a third above to a semitone
below the tonic (with the B as a reciting tone):
X:0
T:Under der linden an der heide
C:Walther von der Vogelweide, c.1200
S:composite of versions I've heard
M:3/4
L:1/4
Q:1/2=60
K:G
B2 B/A/|B2 B/A/|G2 F|G3 | \
B2 B/A/|B2 B/A/|G2 F|G3 |
A2 A/G/|B2 B |A2 B|F2 G| \
A2 A/G/|B2 B |G2 F|G3 |
B2 B |B2 B |B2 B|B3 | \
B2 B/F/|G3 | \
A2 A/G/|B2 B |G2 F|G3 |]
This chant-like Spanish song from Andalusia uses a fragment of the
Phrygian scale, but doesn't go high or low enough to include the fifth:
X:0
T:Saeta
B:Cancionero Musical, Madrid 1928
M:3/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=90
K:APhr
AA AA AG|(B3/A//G// A4) |
c2 d4 | c B2 A GA|(B>A) B4|
AA AA AG|(B3/A//G// A4) |
FG AB cB| AF- F4 |
GA AA AA|(A>G A4)|]
And there are some examples from adult music, like this TTST-pentachordal
song from the North-East of Scotland:
X:0
T:The Lichtbob's Lassie
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=72
K:F
FF/F/ GA/A/|F3 F|A>A AB|A G3 |
c>c cc |c F2 F|G>A BA|A G3|]
showing that even pentachordal tunes don't need to end on the tonal centre.
This pentachordal tune is a klezmer dance from southern Ukraine. It uses
a TTST pentachord most of the time with a break in the TSTT pentachord.
Very few klezmer tunes are modally like this and its origins are unknown.
X:0
T:Khotinskaya
S:Belf's Romanian Orchestra, 1912
Z:Simon Carlyle
M:2/4
L:1/16
Q:1/4=80
P:ABCB
K:G
P:A
z2 |GGGG {AB}A2G2|{B}c2{Bc}B2 A2G2|{Bc}BGBd c2A2|{B}c2B2 {cB}A2G2 |
GGGG {AB}A2G2|{B}c2{Bc}B2 A2G2| BGBd c2A2| G6 :|
P:B
(3GAB|c2c2 G4 |{d}cBcB A4 |{d} cB{e}dc {c}BAcB|{B}AGBA G2:|
P:C
z2 |d8 | d8 | Td4 Td4 | Td4 Td4 |
d2G2 {G}d4 | d{cd}c2B {G}d4 | d2G2 {G}d4 | d{cd}c2B {G}d4 |
c2G2 {G}c4 |{G}d2{_Bc}_B2 A2G2| _BBBd cccd| G6 :|
These Turkish songs are TSTT-pentachordal. Minor tetrachordal and
pentachordal tunes seem to be rare in Scotland.
X:0
T:Tren Gelir
T:The Train Comes
S:Eftal Dodur, Meshur Oyun Havalari, book 2
G:Turkish children's song
M:2/4
L:1/16
Q:1/4=100
K:CDor
F2F2 C2C2|F2F2 C4|E4 FGFG|EFDE C4:|
E2ED C2C2|E2EF D4|EFEF D2E2|D2C2 C4:|
F2F2 C2C2|F2F2 C4|E4 FGFG|EFDE C4:|
X:0
T:Hamsi Kurban O Goze
G:Turkish ballad
S:Hamdi Tanses, Oykuleriyle Halk Turkuleri, 2005
M:5/8
L:1/8
Q:5/8=50
K:DDor
DA AA2|AA AGF|GG GEG|FE D3:|
GG GEG|FE D2E|GG GEG|FE D3:|
This dorian/minor hexatonic tune has a six-note range, with a note
below the tonic and the gap at the top:
X:0
T:Alasdair of the Dun
T:Hulla mucka doo
D:Andrew Rankine
Z:Nigel Gatherer
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
K:GMin
GG B2 |BA/G/ A2 |cc/c/ FF |c/c/c/c/ FF |
GG B2 |BA/G/ AB/c/|dB cA |G2 G2:|
dc GA/c/|dc G2 |cA FA/B/|cA F2 |
dc GA/c/|dc GA/c/|dB cA |G2 G2:|
This French tune uses the same pitches:
X:0
T:Washerwoman's Branle
M:C|
L:1/4
Q:1/2=92
K:GDor
GGGG|FFB2|cBAG|GFG2::GdBd|cBAG:|
|:GGF2|G2A2|AAAB|cBAG |\
GGF2|G2A2|cBAG|GFG2:|
A Hungarian example:
X:0
T:Kinyilt a rozsa
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
K:EMin
B2 AA|B2 E2 |\
A2 AA|B2 G2 |
GA BB|BA GE |\
DD DD|E2 E2|]
This Hungarian one (one of the many Hungarian tunes for the ballad
"Laszlo Feher", often known in English as "Anna Feher" or mangled
into "Anathea" thanks to Judy Collins) has a Dorian sixth but the
seventh is missing, both at the top and the bottom:
X:0
T:Feher Laszlo lovat lopott
M:3/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=80
K:EDor
EE EF GE|E G3 z2|\
BB cB BE|G2 F2 z2|
c3 B EF|GE E G2 z|\
[M:2/4]FG AB|GG F2|[M:3/4] E4|]
This kind of mode is so common in European folk music that it needs a name:
I don't know of an existing one so I'll call it TOPLESS DORIAN and its
relative TOPLESS MINOR.
"Katie Bairdie" was extended to a popular dance tune (the title is from a
19th century bawdy song) with an octave-range second part, but preserving
the pentachordal original in the first half:
X:0
T:Kafoozalum
M:C
L:1/8
K:D
a2 a>g f>ga2|e>fg>f e>fg2|a2 a>g f>ga>f|d>ef>d e2d2:|
f>dA>d f>df2|g>ec>e g>eg2|f>dA>d f>df2 |d>ef>d e2d2:|
And this two-part English dance tune manages to stay strictly within a
pentachord:
X:0
T:Shepherd's Hey
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=120
K:G
B2d2 c4 |BcdB A4|BcdB ccBc|d2A2 G4:|
B2G2 c3A|B2G2 A4|BcdB cBcA|d2A2 G4:|
This late mediaeval Spanish song uses the same pentachord:
X:0
T:De los alamos vengo
N:15th century Spain
B:Cancionero Musical, Madrid 1928
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=120
K:A
cd|e2 ed |c2 A2|B c2 B|c2
cd|ee e>d|c2 AA|B4 |A4 |z2
cd|e2 ed |c2 A2|B c2 B|c2
cd|ee e>d|c2 AA|B4 |A2
cd|ee e>d|c2 AA|B4 |A4 |z2
cd|e2 ed |c2 A2|B4 |A2
cd|e2 ed |c2 A2|B c2 B|A2
cd|ee e>d|c2 AA|B4 |A4 |z2
cd|e2 ed |c2 A2|B c2 B|c2
cd|ee e>d|c2 AA|B4 |A2
cd|ee e>d|c2 AA|B4 |A4-|A2|]
There are many tunes where the first part is basically tetrachordal or
pentachordal, but with some outlying notes added by octave shifts that
make no real difference to the structure:
X:0
T:Glenburnie Rant
T:Sma Coals for Nailers
G:reel
M:C
L:1/8
Q:1/2=112
K:EMin
% dorian/minor hexatonic, sharp D leading notes
e2|E2EF E2EF|DEFG AFDF|E2EF E2B2|efe^d e2:|
B2|e2ef g2fe|defg afdf|e2ef g2fe|efe^d e2
B2|e2ef g2fe|defg afdf|g2ag f2gf|efe^d e2|]
Where there is a large gap created this way, Russian ethnomusicologists
call these tunes CHASMATONIC (maybe "chasm" doesn't sound as melodramatic
in Russian). This Hungarian nationalist song is in topless minor except
for a chasmatonic low D:
X:0
T:Huszargyerek, huszargyerek
M:C|
L:1/8
Q:1/2=96
K:GMin
BA3 GG3|dd3 dd3 |ed3 cB3 |A4 D2 z2 |
BA3 GG3|dd3 dd3 |e3 d cB3 |A4 D2 z2 |
cc3 dd3|d2A2 B2 zB|A2G2 d2d2|c4 F2 z2 |
Bc3 dd3|d2c2 B2 zB|dc3 B2A2|G4 G2 z2|]
The verse of this song is TTST-pentachordal with just one outlying note,
the low E. Like "Katie Bairdie", the second part has been extended in
range:
X:0
T:Killiecrankie
S:my memory of the singing of Bobby Eaglesham 20 years ago
M:C|
L:1/8
Q:1/2=60
K:G
GA|B2 B2 B2 AG|c4 c2 BA|B2 B2 cB AG|B2 A2 A2
GA|B2 B2 cB AG|c4 c2 BA|Bc dB A3 G|E2 G2 G2||
Bc|d2 D2 D2 EF|G2 C2 C2 c2|B2 B2 cB AG|B2 A2 A2
Bc|d2 D2 D2 EF|G2 C2 C2 c2|Bc dB A3 G|E2 G2 G2|]
Indian and Middle Eastern music consciously retain the idea of ragas
or makams being composed of stacked tetrachords - it's common for
improvisations in these traditions to start in the lower tetrachord and
stay there for some time before adding notes from the upper tetrachord.
Some old Scottish tunes, like "Killiecrankie", have a similar form. In
the first half of this tune there is a melodic core that stays within the
lower tetrachord, with the upper tetrachord used in a more stereotyped way,
as a descending scale, only after the basic idea of the tune is established.
Some of the higher notes sound as if they've been jumped up an octave as
a trick dramatic effect, which stuck as part of the tune.
X:0
T:The White Cockade
M:C
L:1/8
K:D
DE|F2 F2 F2 ED|F2 F2 F2 d2|A2 F2 F2 ED|F2 E2 E2
DE|F2 F2 GF ED|F2 A2 d2 de|fe dc ed cB|A2 F2 F2||
FG|A2 F2 d2 F2|A2 A2 A2 B2|A2 F2 d2 cd|e2 E2 E2
DE|F2 F2 GF ED|F2 A2 d2 de|fe dc ed cB|A2 F2 F2|]
In this tune the chorus is the lower tetrachordal part. Again the upper
tetrachord is mainly used for descending patterns.
X:0
T:There's Nae Luck Aboot the Hoose
G:song
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=90
K:D
B |d>B AF |G>G GB |d>B AF |E3
[1 B |d>B AF |G>G G>B|A>G F>E|D3:|
[2 B |d>B AF |G>A B>d|A>G F>E|D3||
D/E/|F2 F>D|G>G GE |F2 F>D|E3
D/E/|F2 F>D|G>A B>d|A>G F>E|D3|]
It's common for Scottish tunes of wider range to have sections that
stay mostly within separate tetrachords. Song tunes don't often do
that strictly: an instrument with wider range than the voice is more
effective at drastic changes of register. But there are many songs
where for a few bars at a time, only a few exceptional notes fall
outside the tetrachord. This song (mixolydian/dorian hexatonic, also
used as an instrumental strathspey, as a reel, and in Ireland as a
polka) has fairly sharp separation of pitch ranges except for the
closing bar:
X:0
T:The Haughs of Cromdale
S:Hamish Henderson's singing, via "101 Scottish Songs"
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
K:CDor
B/A/|GC D>F G>F D>F |G<C CD/C/ B,>C D<F |
G>C C(D/F/) G>F DF |GF BD C2 C3/||
d/|Cc c(B/A/) BB c(B/A/)|B>c BG F(G/A/) B>F |
Gc c(B/A/) Bd c(B/A/)|GF BD C2 C |]
With song tunes, one frequent pattern is a four-line one, AABA, where
the A lines have similar contours in a low tetrachord and the B one is
in a higher range.
This (lydian/major/mixolydian pentatonic) tune uses the same structure,
though the subranges are hexachords:
X:0
T:Farewell to Tarwathie
M:C
L:1/4
Q:1/4=120
K:G
G |B G G|E D D|E G A |B2
G/G/|B G G|E<D D|E< G A |G2
B/A/|G B d|e d B|A< G A |B2
G |B G G|E D D|E/ G2 A/|G2|]
This major/mixolydian hexatonic song uses almost the same pitches, again
divided into two overlapping hexachords, but the structure is ABBA:
X:0
T:The Soor Milk Cairt
M:C
L:1/8
Q:1/4=120
K:G
G>A|B>B D>D G>B B>B|A>G G>G G3
B |c>d e>d d<B G>B|d>B A<G A3
B |d>d e>d d2 B>c|d>B A>G A2
G>A|B>B D>D G/A/B B>B|A>G G>G G2|]
This English song uses a less symmetrical pitch arrangement - a lower
seventh and an upper tetrachord - but the same ABBA structure. (It's
effectively pentatonic: the fourth and seventh only occur as "pien"
passing notes).
X:0
T:The Lincolnshire Poacher
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:3/8=104
K:A
E|A2A AGF|E2D C2E|A2A B2G|A3- A2
E|A2B c2d|e2c A2B|c2c cBA|B3- B2
E|A2B c2d|e2c A2B|c2c cBA|B3
c2B|A2A AGF|E2D C2E|A2A B2G|A3- A2|]
X:0
T:Tail Toddle
S:Ewan MacColl, Personal Choice
M:C
L:1/8
Q:1/2=90
K:ADor
|:G2BG c2BA|GGBG A2FD|GGBB ccBA|GGBG A2FD:|
|:cEEE EEE2|dEEE A2FD|cEEE EEFE|DDGG A2FD:|
This tune has its pentatonic first part mostly in the lower tetrachord
and the hexatonic second part in the upper one:
X:0
T:Wha Saw the 42nd
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=110
K:A
A2 A>B |cB ce|A2 A>B |ce B2|A2 A>B |cB ce|fa ea|ca B2:|
ce ef/g/|ae fe|ce ef/g/|ac B2|ce ef/g/|ae fe|fa ea|ca B2:|
In this ballad tune, the first part is (apart from the low A upbeats) in
an upper pentachord and the second part in a lower (gapped) one, the two
combined to produce a dorian/minor hexatonic plagal scale. The result is
an oddly indefinite ending in each part, with the last note producing a
dominant-like unresolved effect in both, as if the first part was centred
on G and the second part on F. If you were adding a chordal accompaniment,
it might be an idea to put the final D minor chord in each part into some
sort of inversion, to de-emphasize D as a tonal centre and preserve the
calculated ambiguities of the tune.
X:0
T:Bonny Barbara Allan
S:Kinsley, The Oxford Book of Ballads, from the Scots Musical Miscellany
M:C
L:1/8
Q:1/4=90
K:DDor
A>A|d2 d>e f2 ed|c>d e>f g2 fe|d3 e fe dc|A2 d4||
c2 |A2 c2 G2 AG|F3 G A2 dc|A3 G F3 G|A2 d4|]
Middle Eastern music (Turkish and Iranian art music in particular) exploits
the idea of tetrachordal/pentachordal construction to modulate between
different modes. Typically one tetrachord of the mode will change at a
time, and the tune will stay within the new tetrachord for long enough for
the listener to register the change before it expands in range again. This
resembles the way Scottish music tends to shift mode in small steps, though
there's no historical connection and the effect can be very different.
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== (c) Jack Campin http://www.campin.me.uk/ June 2016 ==
== 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland ==
== ==
== these pages: http://tinyurl.com/scottishmodes ==
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