PLAYING FOR SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCING
Dianna L. Shipman
1302 Waugh Drive, PMB 134
Houston, Texas 77019
Phone:
713 522 1212
*************** SELECTING MUSIC
Scottish Country dances are most often 8x32 bars, beginning and ending with a “signature tune” with two or three alternate tunes in between. If only three tunes are used, generally the signature tune is played 2x32 bars, the 2nd tune 2x32 bars, the third tune 2x32 and then the signature tune 2x32. Often four tunes are used, beginning and ending with the signature tune, played in the order 12342341. About 25-50 dances have such strong signature tunes that those tunes are not used in other dances (see link below for list of most popular dances). The 2nd and 3rd tunes are not set and the musician(s) select those, trying to match the overall sound and feel of the signature tune. Many dances call for “any good” reel, jig or strathspey. The pattern is still generally the same with the first tune repeated at the end of the dance and 2 other tunes in the interior of the arrangement. Musicians who play “by ear” may find that one tune suggests another. It’s actually helpful to have a basic understanding of the dance patterns of the dance you’re playing for to match the figures and structure of the dance; most dances are 32 bars long - and danced in sets of four couples with either two couples or three couples active ie 1st couple does the 32 bar dance twice, then ends or moves to the bottom of the set, 2nd cpl dances it twice, 3rd couple twice and fourth couple twice, thus 8x32 bars. Some dances have unusual patterns, for example 4 bars, 8 bars, 4 bars, 2 bars, 2 bars, 2 bars, 2 bars, 8 bars and a musical phrase must not end in the middle of one of these segments.
If you’re playing for a whole evening of dancing (10 to 20 dances), consult with the organizer as soon as possible. Give feedback if the first dance or two uses music that’s difficult for musicians who haven’t had a chance to warm up yet. Generally, you want the music for the last dance to be outstanding for a big finale.
Balance major and minor tunes as much as possible and take the key structure into account (example: if you start in A and have a set of four tunes, try A, D, A, D or better even A, D, G, D, not changing the key by more than one sharp or flat). Take into account the number of musicians/instruments. Avoid mixing styles that are to extreme (examples: don’t mix: reels/hornpipes, 6 bar Irish jigs with bouncy two step jigs, snappy strathspeys with airs). Usually you change key between tunes, which helps the dancers.
********************* Tempos:
Jig: time signature of 6/8 that is six eighth notes to the measure (six quavers per bar, divided within the bar into two beats, each of three quavers value) or any combination of these tempo for jigs usually lies between 112 and 120 for a dotted quarter note which represents between 34 seconds and 32 seconds per 32 bars. The overall time for an 8 x 32 bar jig would be between 4 minutes and 32 seconds and 4 minutes and 20 seconds. One bar of music is required to execute one skip change of step, one pas de basque step or two slip steps. There are two kinds of jigs - single jigs and double jigs; single jigs have fewer notes; double jigs usually use every available one of the six eighth notes in the bar and have a very even tempo; single jigs usually use quarter notes followed by eight notes to give a more syncopated beat. Suggest that dance programs start with single jigs to help the band warm up.
Reels: time signature of 4/4 (four quarter notes to the measure) or sometimes 2/4. Reels vary between speeds of 108 to 132, with about 112 being most popular. The ear hears two strong beats in the bar, divided evenly into two groups of four quavers value. Half note
112 representing approximately 34 seconds per 32 bars. An 8x 32 dance would take just over four and a half minutes to perform. One bar of music is required to execute one skip change of step, one pas de basque step or two slip steps. Different kinds of reels include Scotch measures (which use many quarter notes and fewer eighth notes), “thousand note” rells (all eighth notes), hornpipes (all eighth notes with arpeggios and syncopated).
Strathspey: time signature 4/4 (a slower dance speed for the dancers but not necessarily so for the musicians). What characterises such a tune is the incorporation of the rhythms (I think the picture is showing two quarter notes joined by a bar one dotted and one with a flag - repeated twice) - Tempo 62 seconds per 32 bars. An 8 x 32 dance takes about eight and a quarter min to perform. One bar of music is required to execute one strathspey step. The kinds of strathspey include “true” strathspeys (those with “Scotch snap”, written as a sixteenth note followed by a dotted eighth note ie 3/16 of a note actually played as a thirty-second note followed by a double dotted eighth note ie 7/32 of a note often occuring on the first beat of the bar giving a characteristic “drive”, slow airs (song tunes) and schottisches (played faster than other strathspeys without “Scotch snap” consisting maingly of dotted eighth notes followed by sixteenth notes.
Chord to start/end a dance: Each dance has a strong chord at the beginning and the end (when the men bow and the women curtsey - “and, down - up”
In many cases a suitable 2/4 march can be substituted for a reel, thus reducing the number of notes in the bar (typically from 8 to 4). Not so easy with jigs, but not so necessary - only six notes to a bar (there are single jigs with only 4 notes to the bar, but not many suit SCD)
**************** Miscellaneous notes/suggestions:
Mairi’s Wedding - generally played in D for Scottish dances but in Bb if you’re part of a band that includes a bagpiper.
Check with the organizers about types of chairs musicians will use (specify what is needed for comfort) - and if possible temperature control for the musicians’ area (remind organizers that while the dancers are overheated from dancing the musicians may be freezing at the temperature that is comfortable for the dancers, so take that into account in setting of the musician area).
- MUSICIANS homepage
- SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCING AND MORE
- IAN PRICE - AN IDEA FOR MUSICIANS
- ABC Tune Finder
- Scottish Country Dance Resource Page (Ian Brockbank)
- Where to Get Books and Music
- Fiddlers Crossing
- Scottish Music Information Center
- John Chambers' Scottish Country Dance Music
- Index for Strathspeys
- Scottish Dancing Bands
- University of Glasgow, Department of Music
- Scottish National Dance Company Services
- Celtic Music Archive
- Popular Scottish Country Dances
- Scottish Country Dance Music Book - over 100 arrangements! specifically for playing for Scottish Country Dancing - by Susie Petrov
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