On Aug 18, 2019, at 7:33 AM, Linda S. Mrosko via Callers
<[email protected]> wrote:
> I think I'll focus on quickly saying something like the difference between
> reels (animated alligators) and jigs (all the kings horses...) ...
Linda,
I presume and hope that if you use "animated alligators", "all the kings horses
...", and/or other such phrases to explain the difference(s) between reels,
jigs, and/or other tune types, you will do it by saying those phrases in the
actual rhythms you mean to describe. In my opinion, merely speaking such
phrases as in ordinary conversation is not an effective way of communicating
anything, There are just too many opportunities for misinterpretation.
True story: I once attended a presentation by a modern western square dance
caller who gave the Mickey Mouse March as an example of a tune in 6/8 time and
illustrated by singing
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
Em oh you ess ee.
The Mickey Mouse March may indeed by played and sung in 6/8 time, though it
seems more commonly to be published in a duple meter time signature (usually
2/4) with a dotted rhythm. Compare, for example,
https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/175876/Product.aspx
vs.
https://www.sheetmusicnow.com/products/mickey-mouse-march-easy-piano-p453304
That's not my main point, though. My point is that even for the 6/8 version,
the presenter's explanation--singing "one two three" (where the original lyric
has "M-I-C"), etc.--is completely wrong. The mere words "one, two, three; one,
two, three" without the correct rhythm are not adequate to explain the idea of
6/8 rhythm. I presume the presenter at that session (who, by the way, I
believe was--and probably still is--good at his craft and successful at
entertaining the dancers at his events) had himself once seen or heard the idea
of a 6/8 tune "taught" in such an inadequate manner.
By the way the 6/8 version of the Mickey Mouse March is an example of a tune in
6/8 that is generally considered to be not a jig but--you guessed it--a march.
Another example, definitely written in 6/8, is "Seventy-Six Trombones". Some
of Sousa's marches are also in 6/8.
--Jim
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