9/8 vs 6/8

Richard Goss

Message 42289 · 23 Sep 2005 14:32:54 · Fixed-width font · Whole thread

I know you are just kidding. But on my part, I should have said "some musicians". Of course a part of the problem is that the musicians are paid for by the dancers, and those around at the time the society was founded liked dances at a feverish pace. Personally I hate the 6/8 version of strip the willow as it moves too fast (OK, a 2 bar one armed turn is fast, but a series of them is frantic). My favorite memory of doing this dance is a folk festival where the band was the High Level Ranters (Northumbria, I seem to remember). They alternated tunes for each couple, starting with "Drops of Brandy" [9/8] at a gentle pace, and a traditional Irish tune, published by Shand as the "Bluebell Polka" danced step hop to strathspey time.

There must be a history behind this but sometime after the first few books and much later the RSCDS gave up a good opportunity to have more control of the music and musicians. For the early books, the RSCDS published, or authorized, 78´s, and now, of course we have our own series matched to our books.
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