Tradition and Innovation in Irish Instrumental Folk Music
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TRADITION AND INNOVATION IN IRISH INSTRUMENTAL FOLK MUSIC by ANDREW NEIL fflLLHOUSE B.Mus., The University of British Columbia, 1990 B.Ed., The University of British Columbia, 2002 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Music) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA August 2005 © Andrew Neil Hillhouse, 2005 11 ABSTRACT In the late twentieth century, many new melodies were composed in the genre of traditional Irish instrumental music. In the oral tradition of this music, these new tunes go through a selection process, ultimately decided on by a large, transnational, and loosely connected community of musicians, before entering the common-practice repertoire. This thesis examines a representative group of tunes that are being accepted into the common- practice repertoire, and through analysis of motivic structure, harmony, mode and other elements, identifies the shifting boundaries of traditional music. Through an identification of these boundaries, observations can be made on the changing tastes of the people playing Irish music today. Chapter One both establishes the historical and contemporary context for the study of Irish traditional music, and reviews literature on the melodic analysis of Irish traditional music, particularly regarding the concept of "tune-families". Chapter Two offers an analysis of traditional tunes in the common-practice repertoire, in order to establish an analytical means for identifying traditional tune structure. Chapter Three is an analysis of five tunes that have entered the common-practice repertoire since 1980. This analysis utilizes the techniques introduced in Chapter Two, and discusses the idea of the melodic "hook", the memorable element that is necessary for a tune to become popular. Through structural analysis, observations are made on the boundaries of tradition and innovation. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract u Table of Contents 111 List of Figures Acknowledgements vn CHAPTER ONE PERFORMANCE CONTEXTS AND ORAL TRADITION 1 The Contemporary Context of Irish Traditional Music Performance 1 New Tunes in the Irish Tradition 8 The "Tune-Family" Concept 10 The Growth of "Tune-Family" Theory 11 Criticism and Expansion of the "Tune-Family" Concept 13 Melodic Analysis in Irish Traditional Music 16 CHAPTER TWO STRUCTURE IN THE COMMON-PRACTICE REPERTOIRE 23 A Brief Overview of Tune-Types 23 Phrases, Motifs and Motivic Fragments 25 Implied Harmony 29 Note Occurrence as an Index to Melodic Distinctiveness 33 Comparative Structures 35 Variation in Performance 42 iv CHAPTER THREE HOOKS AND BUILDING BLOCKS: NEW TUNES IN IRISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC 48 Problems in Defining "Common-Practice Repertoire" 48 The Hook in ITM 51 Change in Function and it's Effect on Tune Structure 54 The Tunes 55 Conclusions 74 Glossary A Results of New Tunes Survey 77 Glossary B Transcriptions 78 Bibliography 85 r V LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 George White's Favourite (Transcription) 5 Figure 1.2 Branson's "Mode Star" 15 Figure 2.1 Phrase and Motivic Structure of Luighseach Nic Cionnaith 26 Figure 2.2 Motivic Structure of My Darling Asleep 28 Figure 2.3 Implied Harmony in Miss Thornton's Reel 30 Figure 2.4 . Implied Harmony in The Scholar 30 Figure 2.5 Implied Harmony in You 're Right My Love 31 Figure 2.6 Non-chord Tones in Dr. Gilbert 32 Figure 2.7 Star ofMunster with Weighted Scale 33 Figure 2.8 Cabin Hunter 36 Figure 2.9 The Tailor's Thimble 36 Figure 2.10 The Upper Room 36 Figure 2.11 Weighted Scale Examples 40 Figure 2.11a Cabin Hunter (Section A) 40 Figure 2.1 lb Cabin Hunter (Section B) 40 Figure 2.11c The Upper Room 40 Figure 2.1 Id The Tailor's Thimble (Section A) 40 Figure 2.1 le The Tailor's Thimble (Section B) 40 Figure 2.12 Variants on The Old Grey Goose 42 Figure 2.13 Variants on Star ofMunster 44 Figure 2.13a Hugh Gillespie 44 vi Figure 2.13b Kathleen Collins 44 Figure 2.13c Frankie Gavin 44 Figure 2.13d From The Dance Music of Ireland 44 Figure 2.14 Further Variations of Star of Munster 46 Figure 2.14a Kathleen Collins 46 Figure 2.14b Frankie Gavin 46 Figure 2.15 Consistent Pitch Combinations in Variations on Star of Munster 47 Figure 2.15a Hugh Gillespie 47 Figure 2.15b Kathleen Collins 47 Figure 2.15c Frankie Gavin ' 47 Figure 3.1 The Torn Jacket 56 Figure 3.2 Ascending Arpeggiated Opening Motifs 58 Figure 3.2a The Torn Jacket 58 Figure 3.2b Don't Bother Me 58 Figure 3.2 c The Mother-In-Law 58 Figure 3.2d The Rose in the Garden 58 Figure 3.3 Beare Island 59 Figure 3.4 Padraic Reice 60 , Figure 3.5 Ta Mo Chleamhnas Deanta as performed by Dolores Keane 61 Figure 3.6 , Motif from Beare Island and Related Contours 61 Figure 3.6a Beare Island motif c 61 Figure 3.6b Excerpt from Gan Ainm 61 Figure 3.6c Excerpt from Johnstown Reel 61 Vll Figure 3.7 Sport ' 63 Figure 3.8 The Hag with the Money as performed by Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh65 i Figure 3.9 Opening Phrase of Sport and Related Tunes 66 Figure 3.9a Sport 66 Figure 3.9b Jenny Picking Cockles • 66 Figure 3.9c The Old Slipper Shoe 66 Figure 3.10 The Roaring Barmaid 68 Figure 3.11 Opening Phrase of The Roaring Barmaid and Related Tunes 69 Figure 3.11a The Roaring Barmaid 69 Figure 3.11b Off to California 69 Figure 3.11c Sweet Flowers of Milltown 69 Figure 3.lid Doctor Taylor 69 Figure 3.lie The Mouse in the Mug 69 Figure 3.12 Re-barring of The Roaring Barmaid, Section B 70 Figure 3.13 Dusty Windowsills 72 Figure 3.14 Fragment from The Mug of Brown Ale 74 Figure 3.15 Dusty Windowsills Motif g Without Accented Weak Beats 74 Vlll ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Alan Thrasher (Professor, School of Music), for his mentorship throughout the past three years, and his guidance on this thesis. His experience and knowledge have been greatly influential to my academic growth. I would also like to thank Dr. Michael Tenzer for his work on my thesis committee. Special thanks to Emmett Gill of Spiddal, County Galway, Ireland. As well as being a masterful Uilleann piper who is widely recognized in the Irish music community in Ireland and the United Kingdom, Mr. Gill is an avid collector of 78 rpm recordings of Irish music. His willingness to share his knowledge with me was essential to the completion of this project. Special thanks as well to Randy Vic of Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Vic is a fine banjo player and fiddler, and I appreciated his enthusiastic responses to my many phone calls. Also, thanks to Dave Marshall, a Vancouver fiddler who contributed to this project, and whose deep knowledge of Irish music has inspired my own interest over the years. Finally, I would like to thank all the musicians who offered their time to speak with me or play for me over the course of my research. Many have thought deeply about this music for many years and they care passionately about the very issues I discuss in this thesis. 1 Chapter One Irish Traditional Music: Performance Contexts and Oral Tradition The Contemporary Context of Irish Traditional Music Performance Irish traditional dance music is a tradition of both centuries-old and recently composed tunes.1 New tunes are being written and assimilated into the common-practice repertoire on a regular basis (Dowling 1999: 81). These are disseminated in several ways: through oral transmission, commercial recordings of popular performers, publication of tune books and most recently through internet websites, on which musicians can post and display notation. The assimilation of tunes into the living tradition has been the subject of some study, but there is little contemporary scholarly examination of the subject. On the other hand, emerging literature analyzing the recent growth in the global visibility of and markets for Irish and other "Celtic" musics has revived old debates about tradition and innovation. Scholars are considering the impact of globalization, and the influence of commercialization upon these once local, rural musics.3 These concerns come about as a 1 the terms "Irish traditional music" and "traditional dance music" are used throughout this thesis to connote the broad genre of Irish dance tunes, including recent compositions. The acronym used to identify this genre is ITM. Although "traditional" is a contested term, it is used here because it is in common use in Ireland, amongst musicians and non-musicians. In common usage, the term refers to music ranging from received tunes from the oral tradition, to the solo fiddle compositions of musicians such as Paddy Fahey, to the highly arranged and produced music of contemporary touring bands such as Lunasa and Altan. 2 Three websites that have tune notation are www.thesession.org, www.madfortrad.com and www.irishtune.info. These websites give musicians the opportunity to submit new tunes and also to comment on tunes that are on the site. Some musicians post tune lists online for participants. In Vancouver, the fiddler Dave Marshall's site www.fiddletech.com has a list of tunes played at the session, including several recently composed tunes. 3 See Philip V. Bohlman and Martin Stokes, Celtic Modern: Music at the Global Fringe, (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2003). This book is a collection of ten articles by different authors commenting on musics that are associated with Celtic identity and globalization. All of the articles discuss issues of authenticity, commercialization and hybridity.