Several people have commented on the subject of tempi so I thought I'd also get my two cents worth in. I have been "metronoming" Cape Breton fiddlers periodically for more that 40 years. My interest was initially in attempting to learn why it was that among the best fiddlers, there were some who had reputations as great "dance" players, [for both "step" and community "square" dances] and others considered equally skilled did not. The difference between them was truly remarkable; at the former's dances there was a rush to get on the dance floor to the extent that space was sometimes not available. I thought it must be tempi, but while tempi is very important, it did not explain the differences as in at least some cases, the tempi was the same. Some have what I call "rhythmic drive" and some don't. I'm still searching for the answer. Here are the results of my metronome work in Cape Breton:
Jigs: 120 to126 Reels [in 2/4] see below 108 to116, interestingly, identical to tempi recommended by Alastair Hardy in "The Caledonian Companion" Hornpipes Same tempi as reels when played as part of a square dance medley, otherwise a little slower. Strathspeys 176 to 184 for step dance strathspeys, and many different tempi for the many different other types. There is a tendency among this generation of CB players to play at a faster tempi. There is a related subject which interests me and which was discussed by someone, Nigel Gatherer, I believe and that is time signature. Some reels are written 2/4 and others 4/4. To my ear the difference between strathspeys and reels is not just tempi but also "pulse". J. Murdock Henderson in "Flowers of Scottish Melody" says "Strathspeys are written in common time, designated by C or 4/4 while reels are in 2/4 time. Writing reels, contra dances and hornpipes in common time gives a wrong idea of pulse,......." I'm told that this is done in other music including American pop and resulted from the fact that in older times when music had to be written by hand, it was less expensive in terms of hours of work and quantities of ink to write 2/4 music in 4/4; for example reels written in 2/4 required two beams for the four note [1/16th] note clusters versus one if written in 4/4. At any rate it has confused the issue of designating tempi as has already been discussed and does as Henderson says "give a wrong idea of pulse" Alexander Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
