What Tempo?

[JiminRussia]

I am pretty much a newbie. I have learned(?) about a dozen Scott’s/Irish fiddle tunes that I play at anywhere from 90 to 110 BPM. Mostly closer to 100. Some of my favorites are “Fishers Hornpipe”, “Devils Dream”, St. Anne’s Reel”. Yes, I also have learned a few American fiddle tunes, the ubiquitous “Arkansas Traveler”, “Turkey in the Straw” and such as that. I play them at a tempo that I can play them without messing them up too badly, and that’s fine for me, but fiddle tunes are DANCE tunes, and I don’t know what tempo dancers want the music played at. It seems to me that they are one’s calling the shots on that issue. So, am I in the approximate range tempo wise? Do I need to do a lot more work to get up to speed? Am I going too fast? In that have never payed for a dance group, I would prefer to NOT be embarrassed the first time that I do. And yes, I understand that each tune will have it’s own “right tempo”, but what is the range of tempos that I need to get to in order to play for dance groups?

[Ranald]

I can't answer your question, but I think that you'll find that "Ste. Anne's Reel" is generally considered to be a French-Canadian tune, Of course, tunes move around and get adapted and played in different regions, becoming part of many regional traditions.

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[Bren]

Indeed Ranald, we foreigners sometimes call it "the Canadian national fiddle tune" but we still mix it with Scots and Irish tunes at the ceilidhs.

Outside of formal dances and competitions, ceilidh dances can vary in tempo and sometimes be very fast indeed.
I just follow the accordion player and hope the old folks out on the floor have taken their heart tablets. None expired on my watch, so far.

[Bren]

Also I think if you learn tunes at a steady pace, somewhere in the region of 90-110bpm as you're doing, you won't have a big problem speeding up when the fiddler or accordion drags you that way. It's easier to play at speed when playing with others than when playing on your own.

[Bren]

(by the way, Fisher's Hornpipe and Devils Dream are well established in the American tradition, the latter known as "De'il Among the Tailors" in Scotland)

[foldedpath]

I am pretty much a newbie. I have learned(?) about a dozen Scott’s/Irish fiddle tunes that I play at anywhere from 90 to 110 BPM. Mostly closer to 100.

That's a pretty good range for Irish/Scottish reels, although I would recommend getting comfortable at 112 bpm as a common standard for dances and higher-end pub sessions. Here's a video I like to post every once in a while where contra dance tempos are related to body movement:



He's talking about jigs or reels as if they're the only tunes, but of course there are hornpipes and strathspeys, both usually played a bit slower, slides, hop jigs and all the rest.

And of course not every tune needs to be played this fast, depending on circumstances like whether you're actually playing for dancers. Or in a high-end pub session with tempos driven by the Alpha fiddlers, vs. a more relaxed session. At home I'll often play "slow reel" versions of reels, sort of the Martin Hayes approach. It just depends on what's needed at the time.

[DavidKOS]

Many American fiddle tunes come from the Irish and Scottish tradition. admittedly I'm not an expert, but in ITM there is a thing called "strict tempo" when playing for dancers and dance competitions.

https://thesession.org/recordings/2077

At The Feis - Irish Dance Music In Strict Tempo

https://thesession.org/recordings/4365

Twelve Irish Dances (Strict tempo)


"It’s exactly what it says - ie Irish music played in strict tempo for dancing to, and the whole of side 2 consists of set-dances."

https://www.burkeconnolly.com/new-bl...e-music-speeds

"When dancers practice at home it is important that they use music that is the correct speed. When we perform or compete the musicians use a metronome to ensure they are playing at an appropriate speed for dancers. "

https://itmacatalogues.ie/Portal/Def...ew/Index/24800

'in strict tempo for dancing"

https://www.irish.dance/competition-rules

see section 17

[Bren]

I thought "Strict tempo" was more of a Scottish thing, but I guess it's common to many dance traditions.

It's also the name of my favourite Richard Thompson album.

[tmsweeney]

I recall when I was in a "progressive" bluegrass band we were asked to play for a contra dance.
They asked for some specific tunes, St Anne's may have been one, we started to play and were asked to slow down so I guess it depends on the dancers.
110 to me seems slightly slow, 120 might be to fast, so somewhere in between there.