RAV Vast B Celtic Minor

Ethereal, soothing and calming – that’s how the B Celtic Minor sounds like. If you are a fan of relaxed melancholic melodies, the B Celtic is just what you need (it’s also one of the favourite scales of the RAV brand creator – Andrey Remyannikov). 

The B Celtic is a hexatonic variation of classic B Minor scale without the 6th note - G. The notes of the B Celtic Minor are tuned in 2nd, 3rd and 4th octave. You can find the same set of notes repeated in two stacked octaves. The central B has an octave pair – the 4th note on the scale (the second and third notes are paired as well). The adjacent tongues made of 2 mm special steel produce intervals in thirds (either minor or major) creating many harmonious dyads and chords. There are two adjacent F# and A notes that create a minor chord.  If you add C#, you’ll get an F♯ minor triad. With the B Celtic Minor you can also play a B minor chord (tapping D, F# and B), A major chord (playing A, C♯, and E), D major chord (D, F♯ and A). You can try various progressions, loop them and find the ones you like the best (and it will be a hard thing to do as they all sound marvellous).

The B Celtic has a good bunch of relative scales in the RAV family. The B Celtic Double Ding RAV Vast replicates the notes of the B Celtic except the extra bass note on the Ding tuned in A. How to choose between these two scales. The Double Ding will be great for those who are interested in learning techniques. If you take the B Celtic Double Ding scale as a beginner today, the scale will have a lot to provide you tomorrow when you evolve as a musician. The B Celtic Minor will be a good choice if you want to play melodious songs right here, right now without delving into chords.

If you are choosing between these two scales, keep in mind that the Double Ding is just a little bit more complicated to play. So if you are a beginner, you’d better start with the B Minor scale and then move on to the Double Ding.  

The D Celtic RAV Vast is relative to the B Celtic as well, but the overall voice of the instrument is higher. There’s also the B Celtic Minor among the RAV Pans. The drums have the same range of notes, however, these are two different musical instruments (tongue drum and handpan), so the same notes will sound totally different (check their online sound samples to compare). Still these two instruments create a wonderful duet (as the RAV Pans were designed to sound harmoniously with the RAV Vasts). 

For whom this scale will work

The B Celtic is a great scale if you are just starting out. But the point that the B Celtic Minor works well for beginners doesn’t mean it has nothing to propose for sophisticated players. There are very few notes that sound dissonant (and only one halftone (C#4-D4) but it’s not that prominent). For beginners it means ease to learn as you literally can’t go wrong in the melody you are creating. For the seasoned players it means you can practice fast playing and improvisation. The unique heartwarming sound of the scale makes the B Celtic Minor a good instrument for meditation.

The B Celtic is just perfect for playing with other musicians, especially if they are familiar with pentatonic scales (and most of them are). With the B Celtic you can transpose the song up to a beat using the chords and that will help a lot when playing together with a guitar or keyboard player. The B Celtic Minor also works great with flutes, especially those in the keys of B minor and F# minor.

What about pairing with the RAVs? This steel tongue drum will create a perfect harmonious duet with the B Celtic Double Ding, B Kurd, B RUS and the D Major.