I've seen some discussions about Star of the County Down having some dorian tendencies and movements, but the structural bones seem to be Aeolian, unless I'm missing something.
The first four chords to Star of the County Down are one of my favorite Aeolian progressions: For the latter, I've always used I-bVII-IV-I - I almost don't ever get sick of that!!Īeolian tunes are always harder for me to think of, but Black Is The Color and Poor Wayfaring Stranger are two that use the minor iv - which to my ear sounds just incredibly sad!!! (yes I know that's very subjective, but in our western cultures it seems to be somewhat agreed). Mixolydian tunes include: As She Moved Through The Fair, Campbell's Farewell To Redgap, B Part to Old French, The Red-haired Boy, Susan O'Dwyer ( here is great link to the progression and audio for Susan O'Dwyer )Ī signature Mixolydian progression would be I - bVII and this is found in tons of Celtic tunes, and in quite a few Grateful Dead jams as well. (this is similar to how V7 cadences to I in tonal harmony, but it is a weaker tendency, and these modal progressions sound "folky" - the minor v is very much related to bVII, but in my decades-long struggle to understand pure diatonic harmony, I almost always use bVII, and throw in the minor v as a color chord here and there) To modern ears, used to chord progressions, the signature chord sequence would be minor i - IV, and as with all of these modes, the bVII subtonic is used constantly to shift away from I, and to give a kind of cadence back home to I.
Listening to Celtic guitar and Irish guitar can introduce you to a whole host of new sonic experiences and principles that you may not be aware of.