Toby wrote: | John Chambers wrote: | > OTOH, some of them understand the differences very well, including | > the march/reel/hornpipe distinction and how airs differ from | > strathspeys. I know a few dance leaders who are clear when they want | > hornpipe tunes rather than reels, mostly because it's natural to play | > hornpipes a bit slower (104-108 or so) so you can get the semi-dotted | > rhythm right. This is is desirable for some dances that are otherwise | > too hectic. | | I still don't like the way that SCD'ers like strathspeys played. :-) It | sounds good with certain strathspeys, but it ruins other ones. It robs | them of their drive.
Yeah, but that's nothing compared to what is done to airs. I mean, ruining a good, slow, meandering air by playing it in strict tempo with neat 8-br phrases -- Jeez! ;-) But no matter what, when playing for dancing, ya does what the dance requires, and make the best of it. You can always play the tune right in your living room or for a listening audience. I might also mention that a few dance leaders are clear about wanting shottish tunes for some "strathspeys". One that's common around here is the Glasgow Highlanders. The feel is different, and the dances that want shottishes should also usually be a bit faster than strathspeys. Of course, most of the dancers don't have a clue about the difference. But some of them will start doing Highland step-dance things during such dances if the tune has the right feel. We had an "advanced" SCD workshop here a few weeks ago that went over just this topic. The approach was "Here's a cool thing to do when appropriate. It doesn't interfere with the dance, and it's fun if you can do it." Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
