The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #23006 Message #252920
Posted By: GUEST
06-Jul-00 - 12:39 PM
Thread Name: DADGAD vs Vestapol
Subject: RE: DADGAD vs Vestapol
I don't think a quick change capo is a requirement for DADGAD when session playing along with "normal" Celtic tunes - all of the keys of D, G, A, Em, Bm, Am are easily possible without a capo. Personally I think the sound of 3rd less modal chords is a much more sympathetic sound to Celtic traditional songs and tunes than forcing major/minor chordings onto modal tunes. Until relatively recent times these melodies were strictly unaccompanied, the interest being generated by rhythmic and melodic variation and not by harmonic accompaniment, the exception being the drone (root and 5th of the pipes). There are some guitarists - notably John Doyle out of Solas, who can use dropped D and can achieve the right feel but they are in my opinion, in the minority. Incidently dropping the bottom string to C does allow some further capo-less keys to be added - notably C (you do need to be using medium strings for this).