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There are a number of Scottish traditions of dance, all of which require music! The musicians range from solo pipers and vocalists to ceilidh bands, and they play a variety of dance tunes old and new. Just as styles of playing tunes may vary from place to place and person to person, so styles of dancing may be different; some dancers prefer a faster tempo, or have their own variation on a step in the dance. Musicians need to be aware of and respond to dancers’ needs - they are a very particular audience! The music played for Scottish dances includes marches, strathspeys, reels, jigs, waltzes, schottisches and hornpipes. It is important to note that these terms refer to the dances themselves, as well as the dance tunes. |
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Ceilidh Dancing
A relatively modern name for Scottish social dancing - currently very popular
in Scotland. Includes social dances from earlier centuries, but also borrows
from elsewhere (e.g. Virginia Reel from the USA).
Ceilidh bands have a flexible line-up, but typical instruments used include fiddle, accordion, guitar, banjo, bass, keyboard and percussion. Bands nearly always use amplification to create enough volume of sound, especially if playing in a large venue. Tunes are grouped together in sets (usually three or more) for each dance.
Country Dancing
This term refers to the social dances known in Scotland and beyond and which
have grown out of a variety of traditions. Country dances are usually done in
sets of several couples, and often involve couples progressing down the set.
Here the term set means a set of dancers rather than a set of tunes.
Country dances incorporate features from older reels, strathspeys etc., and also dances emanating from Europe such as polkas and couple dances. Country dancing is particularly associated today with the activities of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society founded in 1923 to revive older dances and their music. The RSCDS now has a strong presence throughout the world.
The music for country dancing is often provided by Scottish Dance Bands (sometimes called SDBs for short!). The instrumentation of such bands is usually first accordion (or ‘box’), second accordion, fiddle, piano, drums and bass. This sound became established particularly during the 1940s and ‘50s when bands were broadcast by the BBC and commercial recordings were widely available. One of the best-known musicians in this field was the accordionist Jimmy Shand, whose band set a standard for others for many years.
Listen to the following recordings of a typical dance band arrangement of tunes for popular social dances:
Glencoe/Rothesay Bay/Auld Hoose; three St Bernard’s waltzes (piano - Ian Muir, accordions - Sandy Meldrum, Stuart Cameron).
Flowers of Edinburgh/My Love she's but a lassie/Old Cambridge Hornpipe; reels used for a Dashing White Sergeant (accordions - Ian Muir, Sandy Meldrum; piano - Stuart Cameron).
Highland Dancing
Highland dancing is a solo dance form done in Scotland and throughout the world.
The dancers use soft shoes and point their toes, Amongst the best known dances
are the Highland Fling, Sword Dance and Seann Triubhas
(old trews). The dances are taught by qualified teachers and pupils progress
through a system of exams and competitions. These dances are usually performed
to the accompaniment of a solo Highland bagpipe.
Scottish Step Dancing
Step dancing has a relaxed, percussive style, and the steps (danced with hard
shoes) and the music are closely linked. Today step dancing is often performed
by a solo dancer, but would have been a more common element of social dances,
such as reels. Until recently this dance tradition has been better known in
parts of Canada, especially Cape Breton. Step dancing is currently having a
revival in Scotland, and there are many opportunities to learn.
Step dancers are often accompanied by fiddle music. Strathspeys and reels are the commonest tunes. Pipers and singers may also provide music for the dancer. In this recorded example of the port a beul La Lunasd (The First of August) listen to how the dancer's feet beat out rhythms similar to those in the melody of the song.
La Lunasd
(dancer - Wilma Kennedy, voice - Kenna Campbell)
Other dance styles
Other popular dance styles in Scotland include old-time dancing (mainly couple
dances) which features differnet varieties of waltz. There are also regional
traditions; Shetland has a notable dance tradition, being especially noted for
the Shetland reel, and Hebridean step dancing (soft shoe) has been recently
revived.
Signals for starting and finishing
Sometimes this is a short introduction using part of the melody of the opening
tune (often the last four bars). This is a common way of introducing waltzes
and other couple dances. Faster set dances such as Eightsome Reels have
a single chord to start and finish.
Selecting repertoire/creating effective sets of tunes
Musicians need to choose tunes which suit the dance. Those which work best are
often attractive tunes which are not too complicated; dancers are most concerned
with beat and rhythm, and an arrangement which requires close listening may
not be the best one to dance to! Consideration needs to be also given to key
changes within a set, and the way each instrument is used in a band.
Choice of dance
Good dance musicians are able to judge which dance to announce next, and how
the dancers are responding to the pace of the occasion. They also often take
requests from the floor.
Finally, it should go without saying that the musicians should always watch the dancers!