Scottish Music Revision

Scottish Dances  March  Reel  Strathspey  Waltz  Jig

 MARCH – strong steady pulse, simple time, 2 or 4 beats in a bar  REEL – fast and lively, running quavers, simple time, 2 or 4 beats in a bar (coffee coffee)  STRATHSPEY – features Scotch Snap (jumpy rhythm), 2 or 4 beats in a bar  WALTZ – slow, 3 beats in a bar  JIG – fast dance, normally 6/8 compound time (strawberry strawberry)

Features  Simple Time  Compound Time  Scotch Snap  Pentatonic Scale  Grace Notes

 SIMPLE TIME – where the beat can be divided easily into groups of 2 or 4, e.g. 2/4, 3/4, 4/4  COMPOUND TIME – where the beat is dotted and can be divided into groups of 3, e.g. 3/8, 6/8, 9/8  SCOTCH SNAP – a short not (semiquaver) followed by a long note (dotted quaver), commonly found in a Strathspey  PENTATONIC SCALE – a 5 note scale commonly used in Scottish music, e.g. C D F G A or the black notes on the keyboard  GRACE NOTES – an ornament where a very short note is played before the main note

Pibroch  Classical music for the bagpipes  Always in ‘theme and variation’ form

Scottish Instruments  Bagpipes  Clarsach  Accordion  Fiddle

 BAGPIPES – a reed instrument with a chanter and drones – the drone pipes create a long, continuous note while the chanter plays a melody above it  CLARSACH – a small Scottish harp which is plucked (pizzicato)  ACCORDION – an instrument with a keyboard – sounds are produced by squeezing bellows with the arms  FIDDLE – the Scottish name for the violin

Bands  PIPE BAND – bagpipes & drums, plays marches  SCOTTISH DANCE BAND – Fiddle, Accordion, Bass, Keyboard & Drum kit, play at ceilidh’s

INDIAN Indian music uses 2 main instruments: TABLA – a double headed drum each of different size and pitch SITAR – a string instrument made of wood. It is plucked and has up to 21 strings, 2 of which act as a drone.

(Indonesian) GAMELAN A group of TUNED & UNTUNED percussion instruments including metallophones, xylophones, gongs, chimes, double headed drums, bamboo flute & the zither, which play complex cross rhythmic pieces.

GHANAIAN DRUM ENSEMBLE A group of UNTUNED percussion instruments from Africa including drums of different pitch and size, shakers, and bells, which play complex cross rhythmic pieces.

STEEL BAND A band featuring the STEEL DRUMS from the West Indies, often accompanied by the drum kit. The drums are tuned, of various pitch and size and are played by striking the lids with hammers.

Latin American Dance music from South America, where the brass & percussion instruments provide lively off-beat, syncopated dance rhythms. Two Latin American dances are:  SAMBA – A very lively syncopated dance with 2 beats in a bar.  SALSA – The most important element of salsa is rhythm, provided by a large percussion section. Salsa has a prominent melody line.

Pan Pipes Wind instrument from Peru. Pipes are bound together in order of length and the sound is produced by blowing across the top of the pipes.

Country A style of American folk music e.g. ‘Country & Western’. It involves original songs brought to America by settlers from Scotland & England. It can feature the slide guitar.