Tim has asked the right question - What is the right way of playing a tune, so that it is rantable by a dancer? Can you clarify this, Anthony?
John -----Original Message----- From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Tim Rolls Sent: 11 July 2011 13:58 To: NSP group Subject: [NSP] Re: Rants again .and from FARNE http://www.folknortheast.com/learn/social-dance/dance-technique The single most striking factor which sets Northumbrian traditional dance aside from those traditional dances known in Southern England, Scotland and other parts of the British Isles is the number of dances which feature vigorous stepping throughout, or as their main feature. The most common step being the rant step, this being found in such dances as The Morpeth Rant, The Quaker's Wife, The Rifleman, Roxburgh Castle, Soldier's Joy and The Triumph. It is not an easy thing to describe dance in text form, there really is no substitute for watching other dancers and copying what they do. To learn the rant step you start by doing "Hop, hop, change (pause), hop, hop, change (pause)". That's two hops on (say) the right foot, one on the left foot and hold it there, then do the same starting on the left foot. Make sure you can do that before moving on to stage two. When it seems to be coming naturally, between the two hops on the same foot you just tap the ground gently with your spare foot. So the rhythm becomes "Hop-tap, hop, change (pause), hop-tap, hop, change (pause)". It is important to note that when stepping on the spot you're not putting your weight on the front foot - it just happens to touch the ground. Some people make a big thing of crossing the front foot over, but really that's not important. You're bound to lose the step occasionally while you're learning it, but just drop back to the "hop, hop, change" until y! ou've got the rhythm back and then try it again. The step can be varied to make a traveling step and for use in dancing round figures. So, come on you guys who play for dances, what's the key to playing a Rant? Tim On 11 Jul 2011, at 13:05, Gibbons, John wrote: > Why has this rant thread gone so quiet all last week? > > What makes a tune sound like a rant, rather than a reel or hornpipe? > If I take a (4 in a bar) hornpipe without triplets, speed it up a bit, but > not as much as a reel, > smooth out the dotting a bit, and emphasise the odd beats at the expense of > the even ones, > will I get a rant? How essential are those 3-crotchet cadences? > > Are there any essential stylistic features that this attempt at a description > misses? > > > > John > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html --
