Shepherds Hea Modulation

[Kelteglow]

Moved to Teaching and Learning [from Tunes and Songs - Ken]

Edited February 9, 2019 by Ken_Coles
To clarify merging of threads

[Kelteglow]

How can I, in not to technical terms, move the playing of "Shepherds Hea", from G to D.The last cord of play is the G.

 

 

[Mikefule]

Do you mean play it in G then, without breaking rhythm, continue to play it in D?  "Modulating"

 

Or do you mean play it in D instead of playing it in G?  "Transposing"

 

If you mean the first, it is sufficient just to make the change.  It is a very common technique for Morris musicians to start playing for the dance in G and then to "crash the gears" and play in D.  I often swap between the two keys when playing the Webley, Black Joker, or the Rose.

 

When modulating from D to G, a good trick is to play the final D chord on the pull, then add the note C on the second stressed note of the final bar.  The C makes the D chord into a D7 which leads nicely into the G chord that starts the next round of the tune in G.

[Kelteglow]

Hi Mike What I mean is moving from G to D .Bob

[Howard Mitchell]

Bob,

 

Are you playing a G/D or C/G anglo?

On a G/D I would play Shepherds Hey in G, predominantly on the G row, using the repeated Ds on the 3rd row for the octave jump near the end then to move to D insert a quick A (the note above the G you finish on) on the upbeat along with an A7 chord on the left hand D row (all 4 bottom buttons, pull) then you're in D. 

 

Mitch

[Mikefule]

Strangely, my earlier reply appears to have disappeared, although the OP, Kelteglow has replied to it.

 

In my earlier reply:

• I asked for clarification: did the OP was asking about modulating or transposing.  The answer is "transposing".
• I suggested moving from G to D by just making the jump.
• I suggested that, moving from D to G, you could play the D chord on the pull, then add the C note to make a D7 before starting the next round of the tune in G.

 

Howard Mitchell has suggested moving from G to D by putting in an A7 chord.  This makes musical sense: A7 modulates to D maj.  However, I've tried several ways of doing that and it doesn't make the right sound for me in this particular tune.

 

There are two ways of playing the tune in D on a G/D Anglo.  You can play along the rows in the high octave, or you can play "on the pull" in the low octave.

 

In simple terms:

• The last note of the tune in the key of G is the note G.
• The first note of the tune in the key of D is the note F#
• You can choose to move up a big jump up to the higher F#, which is essentially transferring the same fingering to the inside row, or
• You can move down a small jump to the lower F#, but the fingering will be different.

The whole A7 chord is available on the pull (A C#  E G) .  The notes A E and G are available on the push assuming you have a 30 button.  However, to my ear, neither sounds rght when making the transition from G to D in this tune.

 

It is quite a "Morris sound" just to finish the tune in G and then start it in D without breaking time.  It is like "crashing the gears" with no modulating chord, but it works.  It makes the listener sit up, and it adds spring to the dancers' steps.

 

However, when modulating the other way, from D to G, you have the choice of playing the last note (D) on the push or the pull.  If you play it on the pull (using the accidental row for the melody note D) it is easy simply to add a C natural to convert that D chord into a D7 and it flows nicely down into G.

 

There are always many ways to approach any tune on an Anglo.  For this particular tune, which is simple and robust, I prefer to hear it played simply and robustly.  On a different, more flowing tune, such as one of the big Fieldtown or Sherborne corner dances, it's lovely to use more interesting chord runs.

 

I'm not saying I'm right or that Howard is wrong, only giving an opinion on how I'd approach this.

[Wolf Molkentin]

1 hour ago, Mikefule said:

Strangely, my earlier reply appears to have disappeared, although the OP, Kelteglow has replied to it.

 

actually it hasn’t

[Mikefule]

Ah, I see.  

[Ken_Coles]

Merged in the one reply from the thread of same topic in Tunes and Songs to this thread.

 

Ken

[Kelteglow]

Thanks Ken for correcting my mistake.I am not glued to my PC so this is my earliest attempt to reply. Thanks Howard yes I play a C/G anglo .and as I said in my title I wish to modulate the tune whilst keeping time for the dancers .I think I can with a little more effort do most on my C/G that can be done on my D/G and the sound carries better outside  .The A7 cord does the job .I think I was trying to hard to make a progression to the next key like say like a ladder of cords or notes but it is obviously difficult when the dance is in motion .Also is it E7 to move from D to A ? Its getting trickier so more practice called for.Bob 

[saguaro_squeezer]

I would suggest playing this way,  using the last phrase as the transition this way (sorry, this would make more sense with the dots, I think) ...

 Note: chords in [ ]

in G

[G]          [C]       [D7]                                     [A7]

B-C-D-B-C--B-C-D-D( possibly down 8va)-E--

then into D with

[D]               [G]

F#-G-A-F#-G-G- etc>

Edited February 10, 2019 by saguaro_squeezer

[Kelteglow]

Thanks for that I play Sheperds Hea for the Morris Dance ,"Not for Bob",and I am trying to find different ways of playing it .Bob