EXAMPLE 1: THE MINSTREL BOY (song)
Most songs have the benefit of chord structure and key built in, so part of your work is done for you. The first step in approaching an accompaniment is to determine what chord progression is appropriate to the tune and map the appropriate chord to the note.
Let’s start with a simple ballad, ”The Minstrel Boy”:
(Key of CM)
——C———————-C—-B–Am- The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone
——–F———-E—————G—-C– In the ranks of death you will find him
——-C————————C—B–Am- His father’s sword he hath girded on
———–F————E——–G—-C- And his wild harp slung behind him
—–Am————————–G————- “O Land of Song!” said the warrior bard
——–Am—————–F——– “Tho’ all the world betrays thee
———C————————-C—–B—–Am– One sword, and shield, thy ranks shall guard
——–F——-E————-G——C— One faithful harp shall praise thee!” |
Voila. At this point, you have enough information to perform the piece: you can use the same chord progression for each verse. Practice it as is, and leave the dramatic notes to vocal expression – OR apply a bit of style.
Most performance pieces are stories of some kind. Before you accompany a story, take a critical look at its content and structure. Who are the important players? What’s the message? What’s the flow of action and emotion?
We can apply the standard story structure to The Minstrel Boy:
THE MINSTREL BOY Trad. |
|
The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone In the ranks of death you will find him His father’s sword he hath girded on And his wild harp slung behind him |
Introduction |
“O Land of Song!” sang the warrior bard “Tho’ all the world betrays thee One sword, and shield, thy ranks shall guard One faithful harp shall praise thee!” |
Rising action |
The Minstrel fell! But the foeman’s chain Could not bring that proud soul under The harp he lov’d ne’er spoke again For he tore its chords asunder |
Rising action
|
And said “No chains shall sully thee Thou soul of love and brav’ry! |
Climax |
Thy songs were made for the pure and free, They shall never sound in slavery!” |
Denouement |
Simple and sweet. This is a tragedy, but one which ends on a hopeful note.
My choice for “Minstrel Boy”: play light and easy, slow open chords, letting the ballad play out naturally. On the quicker chord progressions [C,B,Am], either play shakes or walking dyads in tempo.
For the “climax,” the lines in which our hero dies and declares his undying allegiance to Music, I might play the accompanying chords in a higher octave. At the end of the first verse I would add a simple ornament of some kind, perhaps a repeat of the last few notes of the melody line.
SAMPLE 2: POEM: THE GENERAL PROLOGUE
Poetry requires a slightly different approach; very likely the poem, like a song, has its own rhythm and a firm structure. Any accompaniment will serve to counter the rhythm of the spoken word and has the potential to distract from it.
Let’s look at an easy one, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales:
Prologue from THE CANTERBURY TALESby Geoffery Chaucer (late 14thC.)Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne, And smale foweles maken melodye, That slepen al the nyght with open eye— So priketh hem nature in hir corages— Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; And specially from every shires ende Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende The hooly blisful martir for to seke That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke. |
It’s short and sweet – and unlike many Middle English poems is fairly well known to audiences. How shall we accompany it?
My choice for The General Prologue: This section of the Tales sings with its own music. I would begin with a high, ornamental arpeggio to underscore the first few lines. From there I would vary the pitch downward, moving gradually into a slow, rhythmic accompaniment that counters the easy loping tempo of the words.
SAMPLE 3: POEM: ON MY FIRST SONNE
Here is an example from Ben Jonson:
ON MY FIRST SONNE
by Ben Jonson (1603)
(1603)
|
|
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; My sinne was too much hope of thee, lou’d boy,
Seuen yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I thee pay, Exacted by thy fate, on the iust day. |
Introduction |
O, could I loose all father, now. For why Will man lament the state he should enuie?
To haue so soone scap’d worlds, and fleshes rage, And, if no other miserie, yet age? |
Rising action |
Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say here doth lye BEN. IONSON his best piece of poetrie.
For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such, As what he loues may neuer like too much. |
Climax
Denouement |
Jonson’s elegy is not a drama so much as a heart-felt eulogy, though the dramatic structure can be shoehorned into place if it helps us map the accompaniment.
My choice for On My First Sonne: It would not be overengineering to suggest putting this poem to music. Underscore it with a quiet melody that repeats enough to gradually become rote, supporting but not distracting. The key line of the poem is, I feel, third from last: his son’s epitaph and the distillation of our narrator’s grief. I would allow the line to end in silence, and wait a moment before continuing to play.
SAMPLE 4: SONG: NORTHERN LASS’ LAMENTATION
Here is an example set to a Playford tune:
NORTHERN LASS’ LAMENTATIONBy Martin Parker
(tune “Goddesses”, Playford) Key of C
—Am—————————G—————- A north country lass up to London did pass
—Am—————————-E————– Although with her nature it did not agree
———-Am————————-G———— Which made her repent and so often lament
———Am——————–E————– Still wishing again in the North for to be
———C—————————G————- O the oak and the ash and the bonny ivy tree
———Am——–G————Am————– They flourish at home in my own country
I like not the court nor the city resort For there is no fancy for such maids as me Their pomp and their pride I can never abide Because with my humor it doth not agree
O the oak and the ash and the bonny ivy tree They flourish at home in my own country
And yet I perceive I a husband might have If I to the city my mind could but frame But I’ll have a lad that is North Country bred Or else I’ll not marry in the mind that I am
O the oak and the ash and the bonny ivy tree They flourish at home in my own country |
This is a short and sweet prideful pronouncement. The Lady’s opinion is on stage here, and the best accompaniment is simple and supportive.
My choice for Northern Lass’ Lament: variations on standard chords (See Appendix) varying verse for verse.
EXCEPTIONS
Earlier I mentioned that late-period poetry and songs typically call for more complex accompaniment styles. By way of example, pick any John Dowland.
If your harp does have levers, take care to mark down a place to flip the appropriate lever for the accidental, and then a second place to flip it back. Please leave yourself as much space as you can to perform these actions.
If your harp has no levers, or if you simply don’t want to use them for your performance, consider the following options:
(Any of these is, as they say, a bit of a hack. But we do what we can.)
Comments are closed.