Back to Music Articles Index


Touches of Sweet Harmony (2 of 2)

     Now for the harmony line [click here for printable notation]. This harmony, or one very much like it, is widely popular in the pub sessions. You’ll notice that the harmony is not simply a parallel line above the melody. It crosses the melody and occasionally plays in unison, though the beginnings and endings of each phrase convey a happy harmonic lilt with implied chords.

     So what might you do with this harmony in a pub session, once you’ve got it under your fingers? My advice is always to start out simple, then make the tune a little more fun each time. I’d play straight unison all the way through once, then perhaps break into the harmony line on just the last three bars of each part the next time through. Then, harmonize all the way through each 8-bar part but not on the repeats. Then, if the band is still up for it, go hogwild and harmonize all the way through. Mixing it up is always fun. And everybody in the session will enjoy a little energy boost.

     Of course, not all Irish and Scottish tunes lend themselves equally to harmony lines. I find tunes that sound like they were written for Highland pipes among the hardest to do anything with harmonically. "Gravel Walks" from the Fall 2000 issue, for example, is a tune that seems most effective playing against a strong drone tonic. Whenever I try to harmonize horizontally it sounds needlessly busy.

     But others love a little harmony. "The Pinch of Snuff"(Spring 2001) cries out for a close harmony. Again, like in "Banish Misfortune," I’d let the harmony come and go, alternating harmony phrases with unison phrases to keep it interesting. And in "The Coleraine Jig" (Spring & Summer 2000) I like to wait until the B part of the tune and harmonize about the first four bars, just for a dash of sweetness at the most melancholy melodic moment.

     Try harmonizing some of your favorite jigs and reels. Remember that you don’t have to harmonize all the way through—that even two or three notes in passing can give a tune a lovely splash of color while you make it more your own.