What is a strathspey in music?

strathspey, slow Scottish dance for four or five couples, a variety of country dance. Its music, in 44 time, is characterized by frequent use of the “Scotch snap,” a short-long rhythmic figure that is equivalent to a 16th note followed by a dotted 8th note.

Where is strathspey Scotland?

Strathspey (Scottish Gaelic: Srath Spè, [s̪t̪ɾa ˈs̪peː]) is the region around the strath of the River Spey, Scotland, split between the Moray council area and the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area of Highland.

Is a reel faster than a strathspey?

Scottish music and how it fits the dance Scottish Dancing mainly uses three musical rhythms – Jigs, Reels and Strathspeys, with Jigs and Reels being faster in pace than Strathspeys.

What is the strathspey tempo?

Strathspey. Strathspey is in simple time , has four beats in the bar and is moderate in tempo . It has a lot of dotted rhythms and usually features Scotch snap – a very short accented note played on the beat before a longer note.

What is Scottish dancing called?

Highland dance or Highland dancing (Scottish Gaelic: dannsa Gàidhealach) is a style of competitive dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the 19th and 20th centuries, in the context of competitions at public events such as the Highland games.

Where is Badenoch and Strathspey?

central Highlands
Badenoch & Strathspey is a scenic area in the central Highlands which stretches roughly from Loch Laggan in the south to the beautiful town of Grantown-on-Spey in the north.

What towns are in Badenoch and Strathspey?

Badenoch and Strathspey is one of the 21 wards used to elect members of the Highland Council. It encompasses the towns and villages of Aviemore, Carrbridge, Cromdale, Grantown-on-Spey, Kingussie and Newtonmore.

What is the difference between a jig a reel and a hornpipe?

If you can say ‘carrots and cabbages, carrots and cabbages’ in time to the music its a jig. If you can say ‘double decker, double decker’ in time to the music it’s a reel. Hornpipes are harder, the rhythm is more flexible – many but not all go ‘Humpty dumpty, humpty dumpty’.

What time signature is a strathspey?

4/4 time
The strathspey (or ‘strathspey reel’) is a moderately slow reel in 4/4 time. 7 When played for dancing, the strathspey tends to be at a tempo of 160-170 BPM.

What is Badenoch and Strathspey?

Badenoch & Strathspey is a scenic area in the central Highlands which stretches roughly from Loch Laggan in the south to the beautiful town of Grantown-on-Spey in the north.

Where is Badenoch in Scotland?

Badenoch (from Scottish Gaelic: Bàideanach, meaning “drowned land”) is a traditional district which today forms part of Badenoch and Strathspey, an area of Highland Council, in Scotland, bounded on the north by the Monadhliath Mountains, on the east by the Cairngorms and Braemar, on the south by Atholl and the …

What makes a tune a hornpipe?

The most common type of hornpipe is similar to the reel in terms of time signature (4/4), but instead of counting four even beats per bar there is an emphasis on the first and third beats, which give the tune a kind of ‘swing’ or ‘bounce’ feel ( each beat is counted as 1-2-3-4 I 1-2-3-4*).

Is a jig or reel faster?

The reel is the easiest type of dance form and is taught to beginners. On the other hand, the jig has a fast rhythm and is comparatively tougher than the reel. The jig has many derivative forms of dances in other forms.

What is a strathspey step?

The strathspey is one of the dance types in Scottish country dancing. A Scottish country dance will typically consist of equal numbers of strathspeys, jigs and reels. The strathspey step is a slower and more stately version of the skip-change step used for jigs and reels.

What is the rhythm of a strathspey?

Because the strathspey rhythm has four strong beats to the bar, it is played quickly (generally ranging from 108 beats per minute, for Highland dance, up to 160 beats per minute, for step dance ), and contains many dot-cut ‘snaps’, it is a rhythmically tense idiom. Traditionally, a strathspey will be followed by a reel,…

Are strathspeys Irish or Scottish?

In the Irish tradition, strathspeys are largely relegated to the Scottish-influenced traditions of Donegal, where they are commonly called highlands. Unlike many duple-time tune types in the Irish tradition, Highlands are articulated with four distinct beats to the bar, rather than two.

Why is a strathspey followed by a reel?

Traditionally, a strathspey will be followed by a reel, which is in 2 2 with even eighth-notes, as a release of the rhythmic tension created during the strathspey. It has been hypothesized that strathspeys mimic the rhythms of Scottish Gaelic song.