Traditional music for violin

May 12, 2015 at 03:53 AM · For Irish trad go to TheSession.Org and search the tunes section. I think you can specify keys.

May 12, 2015 at 12:19 PM · In England there is "Summer is icumen in", which predates keys, but is in aeolian mode (by Scholes's definition, ionian by what I now find in Wikipedia), indistinguishable from the major key - however, its polyphonic form comes from before the Renaissance, so would count as modal. There are also the Agincourt Song and the psalm/hymn tunes "Martyrs" and "Bangor" (you'd better reharmonize - the 19th century harmonizers didn't really understand how to harmonize modes) which are in dorian Mode.

However, for a wealth of modal music, I would turn to the western part of Turkey - Microtonality is never far away, but some of the music will pass for modal - and some is actually played on the keman (violin). You will probably need to listen to it and transcribe what you hear, but if you can't do that, there is a Turkish Christian hymnbook called "Tanr1'y1 Yüceltelim" (published by YYY in Istanbul - The "1" is i without the dot). "Sevgi, Sevinç, Selamet", for instance, is in phrygian mode, but I don't know that the tune wasn't composed last century (by a composer with no Western musical training - will that pass for "traditional"?). "Ezilirsen" (dorian mode, from the note it ends on, even though it starts on a different note) is attributed, words and music, to Erol Özer, but in 1993 the tune was blazing from jukeboxes in Istanbul in a different rhythm (bars varying between duple and triple time), so I suspect the tune is actually traditional, and that the publishers didn't check with him before publishing (he was, after all, in Australia by then).

I only began to realize what "modal" really means when I saw modal music rendered in tonic solfa. Dorian tunes start and finish on re, Ionian on la - You get messages at the top like "Key C, Minor mode, Lah is A" and "Key D, Dorian Mode, Ray is D".

May 12, 2015 at 03:29 PM · Did you search at IMSLP?

May 12, 2015 at 03:30 PM · Quite a few Cajun fiddle tunes are modal, mostly mixolydian, I think. Not so many are committed to the page as it is (still) an aural tradition. Folks born into it think it is living, so it must be so. Michael Doucet and Craig Duncan both have some in print, though.

May 12, 2015 at 03:58 PM · Cape Breton music is full of modal tunes, old and new, and some of them are extremely challenging. For a good taste of this music look for the "The King's Reel", "The Old King's Reel", and the strathspey known as "King George IV". These are very old Dorian/Mixolydian tunes, Scottish in origin, which are normally played together in a set which is popular with step dancers. The strathspey is a little slower and always comes first. There is an inspiring performance of this particular set on Youtube ("King George Medley") by Natalie MacMaster together with her uncle, the legendary traditional Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster. The music is available in several collections. Also listen to "Tullochgorum", a complex old Scottish mixolydian strathspey, in a magnificent performance by Natalie MacMaster available on Youtube.

May 12, 2015 at 04:22 PM · Just to be clear, the term "Tonal Music" has two common uses.

1. Music restricted to the modern Major and Minor scales, which also happen to be modal (Major Scale = Ionian Mode, Minor Scale = Aeolian Mode).

2. Music based around a theory of chord progressions and chord endings (cadences). Most Western music is tonal based on this usage, including most music written in modes other than Ionian and Aeolian.

I get the sense that what you are really looking for is folk music that is written in a scale other than Ionian or Aeolian. Correct me if that is not what you are looking for.

IMSLP is a great resource for western music from ancient to modern. But it can be a challenge to narrow your search into something that is not overwhelming. Here is a link that picks out folk songs transcribed specifically for the violin. You will find lots of pieces written in various "non-tonal" modes, but I'd wager every one is written using "tonal" melody/harmony.

http://imslp.org/index.php?title=Category:Scores_featuring_the_violin&intersect=For_violin%2A%2AFolksongs&transclude=Template:Catintro

May 12, 2015 at 09:47 PM · Greetins,

I think I correct in recalling there is a book called 'World Music' by Liebermann which might have the kind of thing in you are looking for.? I have a copy somewhere. Will digs it out tonite if possible,

Summer is a cummin in, I used to sing as a kid. I suspect I may have like xthe lines

bullock starteth

buck ee farteth

(spelling is good here...)

Cheers,

Buri

May 13, 2015 at 11:20 AM · Greetings,

well I am checking out Planet Musician right now a spromised. It's a little difficult to pin down exactly what you need. Not just because ther dis a lot on the book but also because I am not exactl clear about what you want. On the one hand if you want some kind of traditional folk violin thing then you are limited to , silly as it sounds, music played on something resembling a violin. All these variietuse are covered by the many experts on this site. But are you also exploring the possibility of seeking out more diverse styles that don't typically employ a violin shaped instrument in order to explore new possibilities? That's interesting but would raise the question of when it actually stopped being traditional?like

In that sense Lieberman says 'The World Music Institute in New York City offer an excellent catalogue of mor Ethan 3000 recordings complete with descriptions.

One thing that may not have been mentioned is the Indian violin tradition. I am sure there are some exponents lurking on this site. But then you have th eproblem of learning a whole new very advance dtechnique unless you are going to convert it all into western style which defeat she object of the exercise.

Not being too helpful here so I will sign off,

Cheers,

Buri

Ps

you might find some ideas at Homespun Tapes if you Goggle them

May 18, 2015 at 05:51 AM · Hello,

Thank you all for your responses. I found out this blog

https://silpayamanant.wordpress.com/alt-strings/resources/scores/near-eastern-middle-eastern/

It is a great source for modal music.I found what i needed :)

May 18, 2015 at 01:07 PM · Interesting site! Thanks for the link!

And good luck with your project! :D

May 19, 2015 at 06:00 PM · Yes, I Found an armenian song which i will finish analyse until next week and I will try to execute it in their style as much as I can.I talked with my teacher and we agreed that I will show him the recording after I get my grade becouse I will never be able to execute it as they(armenians) do 100 % :)