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klaxty? axty? something-axty?

A

Anonymous

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my neurologist and i were discussing an ancient celtic/gaelic vocal language...like throat singing or something. he told there is no real documentation on this. i can't remember what we talked about, but i remember that it was a very obscure language.

does anyone know what i might be talking about?

oh, and there is a celtic folk pop band named after it.
 
synthwerk said:
oh, and there is a celtic folk pop band named after it.
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Would that be Planxty? If so I can thoroughly recommend their excellent brand of folk-rock!
 
Planxty! yes! that's it...but i am not looking for the band. i'm looking for stuff on the actual "language" itself.
 
Do you mean the mouth-music that took the place of written notation in old Gaelic culture?
 
I did some research into bagpipes as part of a music course I was on and one of the text books had a phonetic transcription of some. Unfortunately I don't remember which book or what it looked like - sort of like a string of syllables really- I think it might have sounded a bit like scat singing. I don't think anyone does it anymore.
 
that's what my doctor friend said, that it is said to be similar to scat.
 
A form of mouth music is still used by some bagpipe teachers. I remember my Granny doing it when I was a kid.

I don't know if it's 'Planxty', I just know it's used to vocally teach pipe tunes. I think the various syllables sung refer to different kinds of grace-notes played on the chanter.

Cujo
 
is that same technique used to conserve and recirculate air when blowing the pipes to keep the sound continuously going?
 
synthwerk said:
is that same technique used to conserve and recirculate air when blowing the pipes to keep the sound continuously going?
Click to expand...

No. That's circular breathing. It's the same as you do with a digereedoo. You hold air in your mouth and blow out at the same time as re-filling your lungs by breathing in through your nose.

I'm not sure this is necesary with modern pipes which have a one way valve on the bag. You blow to fill the bag then force the air through the reed and drones by sqeezing the bag while regularly re-filling the bag with stong out breaths.

The one way valve means that the air in the bag can't escape through the mouth-piece. You don't have to blow contiuously and because the air in the bag can't get into your lungs you don't have to worry about piper's lung.

Cujo
 
This site has some info on mouth music, or "puirt-a-beul". Apparently, "a planxty was a patron tune, written in exchange for food or wage. Turlough O'Carolan, the blind itinerant harper,wandered 18th Century Ireland writinig such tunes forpatrons for sustenance."
 
This Site has a god description of the origins.

and Jon Malone may be posting some files, but they are not up yet. There are also a couple of other items of fortean interest on his home page. I have asked him to visit the boards (but forgot to mention that joining was free)
 
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