Dwarven Music

[DrBloodbathMC]

Well, I'm making a character to be used in a future campaign someday, a Dwarven Runecaster (-entry via archivist) roleplay wise is going to be as if Cave Johnson and Varick (Legend of Korra) had a love child thats the combination of their personalities.

I have almost everything about his character planned out (Still need to figure out post Runecaster class levels but I'll get around to that) save one major thing, music. I can't find anywhere in the books what music the dwarf culture likes so I was wondering if you playgrounders had any opinions. I personally always figured they's like Irish and Scottish music if they existed in this time period but I want to hear other opinions.

[Gildedragon]

Well, I'm making a character to be used in a future campaign someday, a Dwarven Runecaster (-entry via archivist) roleplay wise is going to be as if Cave Johnson and Varick (Legend of Korra) had a love child thats the combination of their personalities.

I have almost everything about his character planned out (Still need to figure out post Runecaster class levels but I'll get around to that) save one major thing, music. I can't find anywhere in the books what music the dwarf culture likes so I was wondering if you playgrounders had any opinions. I personally always figured they's like Irish and Scottish music if they existed in this time period but I want to hear other opinions.

I might guess they have a fair number of lithophones: from ringing rocks, to caves that have resonant flowstones, to shaped items like the pyeongyeong.
If one takes Races of Stone's description of dwarven art being very form following function: music might be sort of industrial, evoking the sounds of the forge, of the mine, of the mill; or it might be very... rigid, a limited number of acceptable compositions are considered refined and are all somewhat similar sounding to untrained ears, using instruments that show great craftsmanship and respect for the materials/sounds, the ensembles are small and evocative of a certain unit of life.

[SethoMarkus]

I picture music that is deep and resonating for Dwarven tastes. Most Dwarf architecture is described as either large and awe-inspiring works of masonry and carving from live stone, or tight and very functional, spartan, like a mine shaft. I expect their music would follow a similar pattern and would take the acoustics of their home into account. It would either be loud and powerful, or quiet but firm and sturdy, always playing on its own echos. I'd imagine it would use a lot of deep, low notes that you feel more than hear under the higher pitches. The echoes would come back together, blending into the "live" music, until it's difficult to tell where the musician ends and the echo begins. And, of course, precision and accuracy would be highly valued. Working together as one, big instrument rather than separate parts of a whole. Keeping perfect time with one another and keeping a perfect meter. When the song ends, I'd imagine the timing would account for the echoes left in whatever space they are playing so that all the sounds ends at once, leaving a crisp silence.

At least, that's how I imagine a Dwarven concert or symphonic band would sound. Folk music would probably be more organic, more like folk Irish or Scottish or Russian or German music, but I really picture the above for anything more formal.

[Gildedragon]

I picture music that is deep and resonating for Dwarven tastes. Most Dwarf architecture is described as either large and awe-inspiring works of masonry and carving from live stone, or tight and very functional, spartan, like a mine shaft. I expect their music would follow a similar pattern and would take the acoustics of their home into account. It would either be loud and powerful, or quiet but firm and sturdy, always playing on its own echos. I'd imagine it would use a lot of deep, low notes that you feel more than hear under the higher pitches. The echoes would come back together, blending into the "live" music, until it's difficult to tell where the musician ends and the echo begins. And, of course, precision and accuracy would be highly valued. Working together as one, big instrument rather than separate parts of a whole. Keeping perfect time with one another and keeping a perfect meter. When the song ends, I'd imagine the timing would account for the echoes left in whatever space they are playing so that all the sounds ends at once, leaving a crisp silence.
I love the idea of echoes and working with destructive interference. Instruments have a heavy monumentality to them: they can be played for centuries and they will still be there.

[DrBloodbathMC]

Ok, so I agree with the Irish Scottish for folk "lets have fun and dance" music. As for the the concerts your descriptions reminded me of a piece I played in my High School Band. "Foundry by John Mackey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWJt431LyKU

EDIT: The piece literally called for scrap from a junk yard. We had someone play car suspensions, another I think played a Brake drum, etc

[Larsen]

Digging a hole (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWz0qVvBZ0) is quite what i expect of dwarven music

[Telonius]

Well, I'm making a character to be used in a future campaign someday, a Dwarven Runecaster (-entry via archivist) roleplay wise is going to be as if Cave Johnson and Varick (Legend of Korra) had a love child thats the combination of their personalities.

I have almost everything about his character planned out (Still need to figure out post Runecaster class levels but I'll get around to that) save one major thing, music. I can't find anywhere in the books what music the dwarf culture likes so I was wondering if you playgrounders had any opinions. I personally always figured they's like Irish and Scottish music if they existed in this time period but I want to hear other opinions.

Some of my groups had them like a combination of rock and metal. The Bard made a real hit when he played some Tool.

It's not standard D&D canon, but in Discworld there's that one song about gold. And then there's the one about gold. And who can forget the one that goes, "Gold, Gold, gold gold GOLD!"

[Lycanthrope13]

I hate to use this as an example, but I have a kid, so I've seen this movie about 5,000 times. At the beginning of Frozen, the men are singing while they harvest ice from the mountaintop. That is what I imagine dwarf music is like.

Given their reputation as metalworkers, brass instruments are probably pretty common. There's probably a fair bit of percussion as well, mirroring the sound of the mine and the forge. Maybe dwarven woodwinds use alloy reeds for a unique tone. Stringed instrument probably use metal bodies too. Not sure how this would affect lutes, fiddles, and anything with a resonating chamber, but harps and lyres would be okay.

[Sayt]

I think. It depends on what dwarves you're talking about, specifically.

Tolkien's dwarves tend to have semitic ....parallels, culturally and linguistically (I'll keep it to that due to forum rules). I don't have a lot of knowledge about their musical stylings, but that would be a good place to research.


The other broad theme of dwarves in fantasy is that of alcoholic scot-inavians. So lots of drinking songs, bagpipes. Lithophons are a great mention from earlier in thread, and I think there would be a lot pf percussion instruments, and non-wood wind instruments.

[Troacctid]

Dwarves are also known to have a tradition of chanting (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061128a).

[Vizzerdrix]

Nothing that could trigger a cave in.

[Devils_Advocate]

You might consider listening to some of Simon Swerwer (https://soundcloud.com/simonswerwer)'s work. I'm particularly fond of ZTIQ (https://soundcloud.com/simonswerwer/ztiq), myself.

[Randomthom]

I'm appalled at the lack of pun here.

What kind of music do dwarves like?

Rock

Ba-dum-tssshhhhhhhhhh

Thank you! I'll be here all week!

Edit: On a more serious note, deep vocal chanting is something I've always thought would be a very dwarvish style. I loved the song the dwarves sang in the first hobbit movie. Also look at Russian Orthodox bass singers (basso profundo is the musical term I believe).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEm0AjTbsac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyIB3yPTivM

[Necromancy]

Dwarves value function over all. Anything considered dwarven music would also have to be battle music. I'd expect anything that's both manly and earthy. Drums and chant mostly, probably higher tempo than one would envision as "fantasy setting music" as the music would push the tempo in battle

Japanese drum concerts come to mind

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dark883eH3s