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Playalongs Slip jigs

Kid On The Mountain – E aeolian

Basic chords

This classic 5 part slip jig is in the key of E aeolian. That means that the chords available are E minor, F# diminished, G major, A minor, B minor, C major and D major. 

I have broken the A part down into chord I and chord V sections. There are no sections which particularly sound like they need chord IV in this part. Instead of using B minor, which is hard to play for beginners, I have replaced chord V with its related major, D. Slip jigs are built with three foot taps per bar, and you would usually expect to find chord V on every sixth foot tap. In this case these sections take D (chord VII), as a substitute for B minor (chord V).

In bar four I have broken up the sea of E minor by replacing it with its related major, G major. 

The tune’s B part has very clearly switched from E aeolian to G ionian. Both of these modes contain the same notes, but you can feel that the switch has taken place because the first bar of this part goes “B D B A G F# G – – “. The long G at the end makes the bar feel decidedly G-ish, there is another G in the bar and not an E in sight. G major’s chord V is D, so that goes on every sixth foot tap.

The C and D parts are harmonically remarkably similar to the A part but an octave higher…

And the E part is very similar to the B part, switching back to G ionian.

Simple Substitutions

In this version of the A part I have followed the melody of the first bar with the bass notes of my chords. The melody goes “E D E F# E F# G – F#”. I have followed this with the chords Em, D/F# and G. The D/F# chord is D in the first inversion. This is the standard way of avoiding the diminished chord in any folky key- play the first inversion of the chord whose root is two below that of the diminished chord in the key scale. In this case chord II in the key of E aeolian should be F# diminished, and I avoid it by playing D in the first inversion (because D is two notes behind F# in the key scale; D – E – F#). A D chord contains the notes D, F# and A, so in its first inversion it has the F# at the bottom. You can play this shape by making a D chord and adding the thumb on the second fret of the bottom E string. This shape is shown below.

I have used the actual chord V in this version’s second bar. In the fourth bar I have replaced E minor with its related major for a bit of light relief. As I have used one related major, I like to follow up with another (if I’ve lightened the tone I like to stay light until the next V-I at the end of a section). For this reason I follow it up with D (chord V’s related major) instead of the darker chord V.

In the B part I have created a sense of movement in the first G section by switching between G – D/F# – G. This works well because the bar contains the notes “B D B A G F# G – D”. If you think of the bar as containing three potential chords, then the second block, A G F#, would be outlining a chord V section, or its related major D (D major contains the notes D, F# and A, two of which are in this section). The Am chord in bar two works well because the section ends on an A. I have not done this in bar four as that would end a section without a chord V, a travesty if ever there was one (also because that bar ends not on an A but on a D).

In the C part, I have used an A minor (chord IV) in a similar way at the end of the second bar to create an unfinished feeling to the section. Again, I have reverted to the more standard D to finish the section off.

In the C part I have used a D/F# to create a nice linking bassline between Em – G. I have used it both ascending in bar three of the C part and descending in bar 4. It is fine to use D/F# in the chord V section as it is an inversion of chord VII (still functionally chord VII) which is chord V’s related major.

D/F# Irish guitar chords

Jazzy Substitutions

In this version I have replaced some of the triads (three note chords eg Em, G, C etc) with their equivalent tetrads. You can replace any minor chord with a minor 7, eg the B minor 7 in bar 2 of the A part, the A minor 7 in bar 2 of the B part or the E minor 7 in the C part. As E aeolian contains the same notes and therefore chord options as G ionian, the complete list of tetrads available would be E minor 7, F# ½ diminished (we will avoid this by using D/F#), G major 7, A minor 7, B minor 7, C major 7 and D7. 

In the second half of the C part I have also used a C major 9 chord. This works because so long as you are building on top of the right kind of tetrad, you can add any notes from the key scale to get an even jazzier sounding chord which will sound fine in context. In the case I have added the 9th note relevant to C (aka the second note played an octave up, so D). This works fine because a D note is within the scale of E aeolian.

In the second time through the B part I have replaced G major with its related minor E minor, and that in turn has been played as a tetrad giving E minor 7. I follow this with B minor 7, another substitute for G major. You can substitute any major chord for the minor whose root is two notes below it in the key scale (its related minor, in this case E minor 7), or that whose root is two notes above it in the key scale (in this case Bm7). 

The final chord in the tune is an altered dominant. These are dominant seven chords also containing altered notes from outside the key scale. These can only be used when you are about to resolve down a fifth, in this case from chord V to chord I. They create lots of tension but so long as you resolve down a fifth they sound great!

Bm7 barre chord for Irish guitar A minor 7 chord for guitarG major 7 guitar chordD7 guitar chordE minor 7 guitar chordC major 9B7 sharp 9 chord for guitar

Categories
Playalongs Polkas

Ger The Rigger – A ionian

 

I love this bouncy little number in A major. I’ve always believed A major to be the brightest and most joyful of the folk keys, and although this tune is simple there’s something about it which makes me want to sit and play it for hours on end, building the dynamics and layering up jazzier and jazzier chords!

Basic chords

Bars 5 and 6 are very clearly chord IV bars. The section begins on the 4th note of an A ionian scale (D) and then runs up the scale from there (D – D C# D E F# G#). Bars 13 and 14 are also a chord IV section as the following notes are played: “D – F# D A – C# A”. The first half of the bar plays the lower two notes of a D major triad (D, F# and A) so ths part is very clearly a chord IV section, but the second bar (A – C# A) could just as well have been chord I. However in order to keep a constant range of harmonic change and make life easy for the beginner guitarist I have stayed on chord IV for this section. This still works because chord IV can always be played instead of chord I in any chord I section (but chord I can not replace chord IV in a chord IV section).

In a polka you only tap your foot once per bar. The “seventh foot tap” rule, that chord V goes on every seventh foot tap, for two taps the first time and one followed by chord I the second, still applies as normal. By this token, bars 7 and 8 are a chord V section. In the second line, the last two bars (or “the second seventh foot tap”- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8) resolve from chord V back to chord I (E back to A) to mark the end of the A part.

The B part takes similar chords to the A part, for similar reasons.

Substitutions

I have replaced the third and fourth bars of A with A in the first inversion, otherwise known as A/C#. This chord still sounds like an A major chord and contains the same three notes piled up (A, C# and E) but with A removed from the lowest pitch of the chord, and C# at the bottom instead. This provides a nice walking bassline from A – C# which then leads nicely into the D at the lowest pitch in the following chord.

In this version I have also reinstated the chord I in bar 14, which I previously omitted for the reasons stated above.

In the B part’s second line, I have started out by replacing an A major chord with its related minor, F# minor (a major chord’s related minor chord is always the minor chord whose root note is two notes down the root scale from the starting chord, so for A; A – G# – F# minor).

If I have started a section with a minor substitution, I like to use further minor substitutions afterwards as to begin a section with a minor but then convert back to standard major chords feels to me like starting a sad story but then giving up half way through. For this reason I have followed my F# minor with B minor. This works in a chord I section because you can always replace chord I with chord IV in a chord I section and chord II (Bm) is chord IV (D)’s related minor, meaning that they can be used interchangeably.

Jazzy substitutions

Don’t be put off by all those numbers… These chords are actually very simple to play using my “cheat” slidey A major jazz chord scale! I have included diagrams for the whole scale’s worth of easy chords below. You can also find a complete video guide to these shapes on the Folk Friend Youtube channel here.

In the final line of both the A and B parts, I use a standard D major 7 chord instead of the D major 13 chord. This is because it is easy to switch from this shape to A/C#, otherwise known as A in the first inversion. This provides a nice little “D – – – C# – – – E – – – A – – -” bassline, which matches the notes of the tune in that section, “D – F# D C# – E C# B A B C# A – – -”.

From the A/C# chord, I like to slide my ring finger (which frets the A string) all the way up to the 7th fret to give a cool, joyful slide into the E7 chord.

I have begun the B part on A in the first inversion (A/C#), which I finger using the final shape shown on the list below. Beginning a tune’s B part on an inversion of chord I is a nice way to create tension and drama, so experiment with this in other contexts!

The F#m7 in the third line is A major’s related minor in jazzy tetrad (four note chord) form. I then continue to C#m7, which is another substitute for A major (recall that you can substitute a major chord for the minor chord whose root is two notes below OR two notes above it in the key scale). As I said before, I usually like to follow one minor substitution with another as to play one minor substitution but then revert to major chords feels like you started to tell a sad story but then got bored half way through and never finished it. This progression is also satisfying as C#m is a fifth below F#m and resolving down a fifth is always a guaranteed pleasing chord progression.

Categories
Playalongs Reels

Maid Behind The Bar – D ionian

Basic chords

This tune is in the key of D ionian. That means that the available chords are D major, E minor, F# minor, G major, A major, B minor and C# diminished.

The third bar of the A part contains the notes “F# B B A B C# D B”. This sounds like a chord IV section to me, as G major contains G, B and D and two of the dominant beats in this bar are on B notes, which do not appear in chord I (D, F# A).

In the B part I have used an E minor (chord II) in the third bar. This is because the bar is basically running up the D major scale beginning from E, which is the same thing as saying “running up the scale of E dorian”. Of course an E minor chord fits nicely with an E minor scale!

Basic substitutions

In this version I have used D/F#, aka the first inversion of D major, to provide a nice linking bassline from D up to G. You can play this chord by looping your thumb round the back of the neck so that it frets the second fret of the bottom E string.

 

In bar three, instead of going directly to chord V, A major, I have resolved to it from the chord which is a fifth above it within the key scale. You can always do this- if you have a whole bar or more of a given chord you can play the chord whose root is a fifth above it before the original chord. I have also replaced half of bar seven, which previously just contained G major, with its related minor E minor. A major chord’s related minor is always the one whose root note is two below its own in the key scale (in this case G – F# – E minor).

 

In the B part I have replaced G with its related minor, Em and D with its related minor, Bm. It is always acceptable to switch chords I and IV in any key to their related minors for variation. I have also used the first inversion of chord I, D/F#, in several places. This chord sounds like it wants to move up to G, so it can be a good way to add a sense of movement to your chord progressions.

Jazzy substitutions

In this version’s A part, I have used D in the first inversion, or D/F#, as a linking chord to create a sense of movement between chords I and IV (D and G). The G major in the second bar works because you can always replace a chord I section with chord IV if you wish to.

In bar three I have replaced G major with its related minor, E minor. The related minor of any major chord can be found by going two steps down in the key scale from any major chord- in this case G – F# – E (minor). I proceed up the chord scale from Em – D/F# (a substitute for the F# diminished chord) – G – A, in order to arrive at chord V for the second half of the chord V section in the fourth bar. Remember that bars 4, 8, 12, 16 etc (multiples of four) all take chord V!

In bar 5 I have used both of the minor substitutions available for a D major chord- B minor and F# minor. B minor is the related minor of D major, and F# minor is the chord whose root note is two above D in the key scale. You can always substitute a chord for either the chord whose root note is two below it in the key scale, or the chord whose root note is two above it in the key scale. Both of these chords will have two notes in common with the original chord and so both will make good substitutes.

In bars seven and eight I have missed out the D/F# from my ascending chord run. This is because I have to get back to A in time to go from V – I at the end of the section. If I played the full ascending progression from the end of the first line, I would end the B part on chord V (A) instead of going from V back to I (D) to make it sound finished.

In place of A major I have used A7 as my chord V. You can always replace chord V in a major key with a dominant 7 chord, or any other dominant chord like a 9 or 13.

In the B part, just to show that it CAN be done, I thought I’d stick an actual chord VII in. I have used the tetrad (four note chord) form, C# ½ diminished in bar two. This chord contains the notes C#, E and G. An E minor chord would work well in this section, and this chord contains two of the same notes so it’s theoretically an acceptable option. You will probably find in practice that it doesn’t sound that great though- you could replace it with G, Em, D, Bm or loads of others!

In bar six I have slid my F#m chord down one fret for the second half of the bar. This creates a nice chromatic link down to the E minor chord in the following bar. Any time you have two chords whose roots are separated by a tone, you can slide between them in this way using barre chords.