1 INTRODUCTION

Ian Price started Scottish Country Dancing in 1974 only after coming to Canada from Ullapool, Ross-shire, via Edinburgh.

Musically, he started taking piano lessons at age 6 - it was some time before his feet could reach the pedals, but a decade later he was running a high school rock 'n' roll band, destroying both his hearing and the chance of a university education.

He led the Schiehallion Scottish Country Dance Band from 1975 to 1987, and now conducts the Vancouver Fiddle Orchestra from behind a large black piano accordion.

Not a technical virtuoso, other interests keep him from the necessary investment in time required to be a brilliant instrumentalist. However, he has applied his analytical skills as an engineer, to the assembly and arrangement of music for Scottish Country Dancing, as a substitute for his shortcomings as a player. Here is a summary of some of the elements of his approach.

2 STEPS

2.1 Skip Change, Pas de Bas & Slip Step

All steps suited to a 2/4 time signature, i.e. 2 beats to a bar, at approximately 112-120 beats per minute. 2/4 is played with the first beat of the bar stronger than the second. Beats can be halved or quartered.

Also used with 6/8 time signature. Again two beats to a bar but each beat consists of 3 notes rather than 1, 2 or 4 notes. Again 112-120 beats per minute. Both beats of equal strength however.

Style of skip change step varies slightly depending on 2/4 or 6/8 time. Pas de bas better suited to 2/4 time - 6/8 promotes a 2-beat pas de bas! Slip step better suited to 6/8 time; best for teaching 8 hands round and back!

2.2 Strathspey Travelling & Setting

Unique to SCOTTISH Country Dancing. Especially suited to a 4/4 time signature, i.e. 4 beats to a bar, at approximately 120 beats per minute. The four beats in each bar are played with the first beat of the bar strongest, followedby a weak second beat, then a medium-strength third beat, then a weak fourth. This mirrors the dance step, supporting and reinforcing it. Beats can be halved or quartered, played in even or uneven triplets, 'dotted' or 'reverse-dotted', the latter giving rise to the characteristic "Scottish Snap".

The importance of supporting strathspey steps with a VERY strong 'push' on the first beat of every bar of music, cannot be overstated.

2.3 Running steps and others.

Not common or 'official' steps of the RSCDS, although quite legitimate inthe broader scheme of things. Suitable for use with 9/8 time signature, used n triple jigs, and certain English and other country dances of the British Isles. Will not be elaborated on here.

3 COUNTRY DANCE SETS

3.1 Longwise Sets

A basic formation for country dancing whereby (usually) 4 couples face each other in a line of 4 gentlemen facing four ladies. (Mere 'Men' and 'Women' would lack the social finesse to participate in such an elegant activity!.

On a dance floor, longwise sets join end-to-end down the length of the room with the gentlemen on the right-hand side, looking down the room from the bandstand. Several such lines can form, depending on the width of the ballroom, but dancers will only perform within their 4-couple group. The overall setup is really just to get the maximum number of people onto th= e floor.

Dances performed in longwise sets are usually 'iterative' whereby a patte= rn of steps is performed which results in two or more of the couples having cha= nged places. The pattern is then repeated as many times as necessary to enable= all the couples to return to their original places.

"Mairi's Wedding" is an example of a dance performed in a 4-couple longwi= se set. Its iterative pattern is 40 bars in length, and this pattern must be= repeated 8 times before all the dancers return to their original places i= n the set. This is shorthanded to "8 x 40".

"Polharrow Burn" is an example of a dance performed in 5-couple longwise set. It is a 5 x 32 dance.

"Moray Rant" is an example of a dance performed in 3-couple longwise set.= It is a 3 x 48 dance.

3.2 Square Sets

Another popular formation for country dancing whereby 4 couples (gentlema= n standing on lady's left) face each other from the four sides of a square.=

Dances performed in square sets do not have the progressive nature of the= longwise set dances. They may however have iterative components in which individual dancers, dancing couples, or opposite pairs of couples success= ively take the lead position in an iterative pattern, retaining the same place in the set all through the dance.

"The Eightsome Reel" is an example of a dance which includes an individua= l iterative pattern performed by each of the eight participants in the set.= Its numerically coded form could be written as 40 + (8 x 48) + 40

"Farewell to Auchterarder" is an example of a dance in which the four lad= ies dance an iterative pattern at the beginning, and the four men dance a sim= ilar but mirror-imaged iterative pattern at the end of the dance. The middle of the dance consists of another iterative pattern performed first by one p= air of facing couples, then repeated by the other pair of couples. Its form is often written as 2 x 64 but this is strictly incorrect, as there are four= distinct components. 32 + (2 x 32) + 32 would be better, even if pedantic= .

3.3 Round-the-room Sets

These are good social mixers in which 'sets' are formed by individual cou= ples facing each other. These 'sets' then assemble in a large circle around t= he perimeter of the ballroom.

As with longwise sets, these dances are progressive in that a choreograph= ed dance pattern consisting of a fixed number of steps concludes with each c= ouple progressing one set around the room (half going clockwise, the remainder going anti-clockwise, and forming a new set with a new couple coming the other= way round the room. This pattern is repeated as many times as desired, but n= ot usually often enough to get back to ones original set, since the point of= exhaustion would long since have passed, particularly in a large ballroom= !

"The Dashing White Sergeant" is an example of a round-the-room dance in w= hich the 'couples' are in fact 'menages-a-trois', either a gentleman between t= wo ladies or a lady between two gentlemen. Strictly speaking, the one-gentle= man menages should all progress anti-clockwise, and the one-lady menages shou= ld go clockwise, but in reality the only balls at which this would be likely to= happen would be those with royalty in attendance - I've never seen it!

4 REELS (2/4)

4.1 Scots Measure

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 8-bar phrases - 2 notes per beat - has 'melody' (often words too!) - oom-cha oom-cha rhythm

Examples: Bratach Bana Johnny Cope Mairi's Wedding Dashing White Sergeant

4.2 Rant

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 4-bar phrases - 4 notes per beat - simple primary harmonies - grasshopper/alligator/crocodile rhythm

Examples: The Stuart's Rant Mrs. Anderson's Reel (Round Reel of Eight) The Fairy Dance

4.3 Hornpipe

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 8-bar phrases - 4 notes per beat - moderately complex cadencing - grasshopper/alligator rhythm ending every phrase with POM-POM-POM!

Examples: Flowers of Edinburgh Clutha Circassian Circle, and of course The Sailor.

but Note Corn Riggs is a Scots Measure in spite of the POM-POM-POM.

4.4 Other types

Pipe Reels Have the 'feel' of a Rant, but aren't always quite what they seem. e.g. Reel of the 51st Division (The Drunken Piper) Reel of the Royal Scots.

Irish Reels Similar to hornpipes and pipe reels, but quite recognisable on their own= e.g. Bonnie Kate The Teetotaller The Merry Blacksmith

Marches Have the 'feel' of a Scots Measure, but the beat somehow seems stronger,= and the tempo is ever-so-slightly slower. e.g. The Gay Gordons Australian Ladies Cameron Highlanders

Polkas Sort of a cross between a Scots Measure and a Hornpipe. Some dances have= been devised around polka tunes, but purists shudder ... e.g. Trip to Bavaria (Hamish's Tune) Fraser's Favourite/Shiftin' Bobbins

Novelty tunes Anything for a laugh - can be pigeonholed by stretching the imagination.= e.g. Jingle Bells as a Scots Measure ?? :-)

5 JIGS (6/8)

5.1 Single Jig

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 8-bar phrases - 2 notes per beat - has 'melody' (often words too!) - rump-te-tump rhythm

Examples: Off She Goes (Humpty Dumpty) The New Rigged Ship The Frisky (Humber Jumber)

5.2 Double Jig

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 8-bar phrases - 3 notes per beat - diddley-dee rhythm

Examples: The Laird of Milton's Daughter Argyll's Fancy Bees of Maggieknockater (Rose Wood) Waverley (The Lowland Lads think they're Fine)

5.3 Triple Jig

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 8-bar phrases, with THREE BEATS IN A BAR - 3 notes per beat - diddley-dee rhythm

Suitable for dances for three-legged people or with running step.

Examples: Rocky Road to Dublin Strip the Willow Drops of Brandy =

5.4 Other types

6/8 Marches Relate to jigs as 2/4 Marches relate to reels. Really swing! e.g. The Glendaruel Highlanders (Bonnie Anne) The Athole Highlanders (Duke of Atholl's Reel) Dovecote Park

One-steps, two-steps and three-steps Combination of marches and single, double and triple jigs respectively. 'Old-tyme' feel. e.g. The Directors Six-twenty Two-Step (White Heather Jig) Waggle of the Kilt. =

6 STRATHSPEYS (4/4)

6.1 Driven Strathspeys

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 4-bar phrases - 2 notes per beat, played unevenly - has a wide 'swing' to it. Played STRONG-weak-Medium-weak - whoosh-two-three-and rhythm

Examples: Balmoral Frae Scotia's Shores Dalkeith's Strathspey

6.2 Schottishes

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 4-bar phrases - 2 notes per beat, played unevenly - has a choppier feel. Played Medium-weak-Medium-weak & a bit quicker. - whoosh-two-three-and rhythm

Examples: Balmoral Glasgow Highlanders Jenny's Bawbee (Polly put the Kettle On) Struan Robertson's Rant.

6.3 Jig-Strathspeys

Many written by James Scott Skinner "The Strathspey King", 1844-1927

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 8-bar phrases, using counterpoint - 3 notes per beat, played evenly - has a wide 'swing' to it. Played DIDDLEY-diddley-Diddley-diddley - whoosh-two-three-and rhythm

Examples: Our Highland Queen The Laird of Drumblair The Kirrie Kebbuck

6.4 Lyrical Strathspeys

NOT strictly Strathspey music, but many modern strathspey dances set to t= unes of this type. Not conducive to supporting good step technique.

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 8-bar phrases, - 1-2 notes per beat, played evenly - BEAUTIFUL melodies - Feels like you could sing along with it (many can be) - whoosh-two-three-and rhythm often suppressed for lyrical effect.

Examples: Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord The Hills of Lorne (Autumn in Appin) The Lea Rig

6.5 'Pop' Strathspeys.

Again, NOT strictly Strathspey music. Not conducive to supporting good st= ep technique. Good relief for those who don't appreciate 'proper' Strathspey= tunes or step technique (!)

Typically, but not exclusively:- - 8-bar phrases, - 1-2 notes per beat, played unevenly - Catchy tunes - Feels like you could sing along (many can be) - Hippy-hoppy rhythm.

Examples: McGinty's Meal and Ale (Butterscotch & Honey) Pasadena Prom (Drumelzier) Garry Strathspey Our Nancy.

7 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

7.1 Structure and Length of the Dance

"8 x 40 Strathspey" says a good deal, but not everything.

This tells me:-

4-couple Longwise set (almost certainly) 2-couple or 3-couple Dance (couples dancing at a time) Music will need a total of 4 tunes Tune will probably have to be played 2 1/2 times through (more on this la= ter) 4/4 Time Signature 60 Beats/minute.

However, we just identified (at least) 5 quite distinct styles of Straths= pey. We must now search for more clues.

7.2 'Original' Tunes

Most devisers of Dances had a tune in mind when they wrote it, and state which tune with the published notes.

As a general rule, finding the manuscript or a recording of that tune a= nd playing it, will determine the style of the dance, i.e., a DRIVEN straths= pey, LYRICAL strathspey, or whatever.

Beware of the term "Any Good Strathspey" - this is a cop-out! Did the dev= iser mean "Any Good DRIVEN Strathspey", "Any Good POP Strathspey" (are there a= ny good ones anyway?), or what? If you can't get a clue from the specified tune, look at the figures in the dance and use your own interpretation of what would be the best style, or what you want to achieve as a dancer (technique-wi= se). As a band-leader, I would always prefer to use DRIVEN or JIG Strathspeys,= given a choice and all other factors being equal, but that's just my preference.

If at all possible, start and finish the Dance with the Original tune specified, partly as a courtesy to the deviser, but also because it defin= es the style of the Dance. There are always a few dances however where the c= hosen original is so bloody awful it should NEVER be played, but a similar styl= e tune substituted (every band-leader has a short list of these!!)

7.3 Supporting Tunes - Compatible Style

The point of all this tune classification now becomes clear. The payoff t= o pigeonholing every tune is that you now have a short list from which to p= ick THREE MORE TUNES of the same 'style' as the Original. Mixing tune styles in the same set almost always doesn't work, interrupts the seamless flow of the dance from one iteration to another, and confuses the hell out of the pay= ing customers. Unfortunately, there is still a great deal of this hit-and-mi= ss selection even on well-used and popular SCD records. There are of course exceptions to prove the rule, but usually this is the most noticeable fac= tor in determining the general unsuitability of a set for teaching purposes.=

7.4 Key Progressions

In order to keep the dance moving throughout its 'eight-times-through', a= nd to cue the start of the next iteration in the ears of the dancers, it's best= to change the tune (and key signature or pitch) after every (in this case) 4= bars. There are a number of ways to achieve this, one popular approach be= ing to select 4 tunes in 4 different key signatures, and play them in the str= ictly defined order 1-2-3-4-2-3-4-1, thus achieving the objective of starting a= nd finishing with the Original tune as previously specified. Each tune will be played only twice.

Ideally, the key signatures should progress from tune to tune in a 'positive-upward' fashion. This builds excitement with the listener (danc= er) and motivates him/her to pursue an emotional climax at the end of each da= nce. It's an interesting psychological point which should be the subject of a whole different presentation, so I'll not pursue it here. Anyhoo, think of this key-changing as shifting up through the key-signatures like the gear= s in your car. Going up from C to D 'feels' better than going down from D to C= . The music doesn't actually speed up, but just feels as if it did, and another= wee shot of adrenaline gets released into the dancer's system.

In our example, a set of 4 tunes in the keys of A major, C major, D major= and F major, would always produce the desired 'upwards' effect as follows:-

Play tunes 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 In keys A - C - D - F - C - D - F - A

In the real world, this ideal solution isn't always possible because the actual tunes selected might start and finish at the wrong ends of their respective scales and the melodic discontinuity associated with the modul= ation from tune to tune might be unacceptable. Life is one big trade-off and assembling dance sets is no exception.

7.5 The 'AB' Form of the tunes.

Most SCD tunes can be broken into an "A" part and a "B" part, each of whi= ch is 8 bars long. This is very convenient since almost every dance figure is a= lso 8 bars long (nice to have at least one factor working in our favour!)

Iterations of a dance can then be assembled to the right length with a combination of "A"s and "B"s - in our example 5 blocks to make 40 Bars. M= ost tunes like to start with an "A" and end with a "B" (there are exceptions of course). So we have the following options:-

AABBB - 3 "B"s in a row would be boring AAABB - 3 "A"s in a row would be equally boring ABABB - straight through twice and repeat the last 8 bars ABBAB - as above but the extra "B" part is in the middle.

Sometimes the "A" part of a tune will consist of a 4-bar phrase repeated (Rants and Driven Strathspeys, right?). In such cases even 2 "A"s in a ro= w would sound repetitive, so this combination should also be avoided.

In the above set of options, the last two look to be the best, and the th= ird seems the most logical.

However, a double check of the dance figures might suggest even greater empathy between music and dance if the other option were selected. For ex= ample in Mairi's Wedding, an 8 x 40 Reel, the second and third eight bars actua= lly form a continuous sixteen-bar phrase consisting of 4 diagonal half-reels of four with no ultimate progression; this pattern seems to be better suppor= ted by an ABBAB form than the more usual ABABB - I've had no complaints in th= e last 20 years anyway!

7.6 Factors affecting tempo.

I saved the best for last. Everyone seems to be an expert on this topic!= I've found however that the more one analyses it, the less it can be resolved into black-and-white. The only real rule seems to be to try and play at tempos= which are the most comfortable to the greatest number of people at the ti= me and place in question. Beyond that, everything is variable, and I'll try to explain why.

First off, there are of course absolute limits to tempos, governed by the= laws of gravity and the limits of agility of the human being. One day we'll no= doubt read in the Guinness Book of MOON Records that the record number o= f high cuts by a Highland Dancer is 25, but not on Earth I fear! It's diffi= cult to dance the RSCDS Reel and Jig steps outside of 112-122 beats per minute= , and Strathspeys outside the range 55-65 beats per minute.

Within this range, VERY small differences in measurement of tempo can se= em like enormous barriers to optimum performance of the step technique. The bad news is that there are many other factors which can affect one's techniqu= e, and the good news is that minor variations in tempo can compensate for th= is, restoring the optimum for the prevailing conditions. Some of the contribu= ting =

factors I have identified over the years are as follows:-

* Resilience of the floor. A springy wooden floor causes the dancer to= jump higher (for the same effort expended) than a hard concrete one. The higher up in the air you go, the longer it takes to come down, there= fore the music should be played slower for the same effect than on a hard= floor. (The dancer will think it's the same speed as on his regular hard floor, but it will actually be very slightly slower)

* Size of the crowd. Dancers on a crowded floor instinctively take sma= ller steps, and therefore again return to ground zero sooner than if they= had lots of elbow room. Play the music a bit quicker in a crowded room.

* Start of the programme. Very few dancers do warm-ups at social funct= ions. Don't let yourself get sued for a pulled hamstring (or worse) becau= se you played the first couple of dances ever-so-slightly-too-fast.

* Technique level of the dancers. Technically 'good' dancers prefer to= dance strathspeys slower than novices, and reels/jigs a bit quicker.= It's actually a matter of confidence level.

* Age group. It catches up with all of us, and is no reflection, but a= s we eventually lose our strength and control we can't dance as slowly as= before. Plastic hips have been known to cancel this one out though!

* Licensed function. Yup, booze relaxes us and loosens our inhibitions= . Uptight dancers tend to dance more deliberately. Accelerate the musi= c in proportion to the level of blood in the dancers' alcohol stream.

* Stickiness of the floor. A slippery floor makes people careful about= how they place their feet. Slower music compensates for this.

* 'Lift' of the music. The very best music motivates and inspires dan= cers, and releases adrenaline. If as a musician or SCDJ you can create thi= s mood, be prepared to cater to a room full of 'Generals' who will wan= t to Dance Till Dawn.... and you can play at whatever tempos the traffic will bear!

8 QUESTION PERIOD.

-- Ian Price