Playing for Scottish Country Dancing

The Challenge of Playing The Challenge of Playing for Scottish Country Dancing for Scottish Country Dancing

Katherine and Andrew Uren have been playing classical music professionally for the last 30 years in New Zealand. Ten years ago, they discovered Scottish country dancing through the Innes Club in Auckland, and it wasn’t long before they were asked to join a band.

Musical Background

Katherine is a full-time cellist in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, which performs a different programme each week, including in their repertoire a wide range of eras and genres on stage, as well as accompanying operas, ballets, films and stories. The orchestra mentors and performs in schools and, in addition, Katherine teaches her own students at school and at home. Andrew specialises in reed parts (clarinets, saxophone, flutes etc), sometimes doubling or tripling for professional musicals. He plays in concerts for several professional orchestras, specialising in bass clarinet, and has a full-time itinerant role teaching clarinet and saxophone as well as directing bands. Many of you attending Katherine’s DSAH class were very appreciative of his playing! In this article they talk about their fascination with Scottish dance music, and the challenge of playing the tunes on a variety of different instruments.

The attraction of Scottish dance music

We are trained to sightread many types of music, and to listen, tune in and blend to perform with minimal ensemble rehearsal, so we find the reading part of SCD music not too difficult. Within the huge range of styles in the orchestral repertoire, there are many subtle stylistic trends, handed down over the decades or centuries. When Trish Henley encouraged us to join her Aucklandbased band, Rose and Thistle, in rehearsing and playing for both Scottish and English dancing events, she helped us become aware of different playing styles for jigs, reels and strathspeys through sharing her CDs. She also organised a group masterclass with Marian Anderson and Max Ketchin when they were in NZ. What a wealth of spirited tunes! We were impressed by the natural phrasing from players like Max and Marian who are so experienced in this genre: nothing felt rushed or hectic. At the Wairarapa Summer School NZ 2017-18, while Katherine studied for her Teachers’ Certificate, Andrew joined the Musicians’ Class, led by Ian and Judith Muir. It was thought-provoking to note how Ian and Judith took some liberties to keep the music fresh and alive, such as leaving an occasional beat silent or throwing in an emphasis on a weak beat (hemiola). After all, the excitement of a live band is something special for the dancers. We have such appreciation for SCD musicians, and how a truly experienced player can go beyond the notes on the page.

Auckland Thistle Dancers, Katherine on the right.

Comparing SCD music to classical music

Scottish dance music is very structural, with a lot of repeats, which provides a sense of familiarity and finality that fits the phrasing of the dancing. For a 3-couple dance in a 4-couple set, the band usually plays four tunes, twice each, with two repeats of each tune, each time. In music from a similar time, such as the Baroque and Classical periods, you can also find a dance structure with two repeating ‘halves’. The orchestral repertoire shows us similar plans with repeats and markings of da capo (back to the beginning), as in the collection of famous Strauss waltzes On the Beautiful Blue Danube… but most concerts don’t have 20 of these, end to end!

Every type of music has certain unique traits that a player must learn to add or bring out. Perhaps the most notable difference in Scottish dance music is in the jigs. In Scottish jigs, where there is a group of three equal notes written in the music, we subtly alter the lengths of the notes so that the first note is lengthened, and the second note is delayed. This helps to inspire the lift of the dance and give a swing feel. Try saying these syllables: “e-ven-ly” versus “Am-ster-dam”, which has a subtle lilt. Articulation (the character of the notes) is important for any ensemble and varies depending on the musical situation. In the musical Jersey Boys, we didn’t just play the music on the page: we interpreted and developed it to match the words of the voices, or to highlight the drama. If we were playing a piece by Mozart, in the opening, we’d emphasise and strengthen the first beat, leading away from it and up to the next one, and we’d add articulation like staccatos (short, detached notes) to give it lightness. In some modern contemporary art scores, a composer might ask for the opposite extreme, and will notate precisely how they want a note to be attacked, describing extremely detailed dynamics, rhythms and effects to get the desired musical idea across.

Andrew chooses his instrument

Of all my wind instruments, I prefer to use the clarinet in C. It avoids the transposition issue, has a bright and cheerful sound, and can blend well with other instruments. It also boasts a huge range (over three octaves) and is very versatile with articulation and dynamics. Soprano saxophone works really well for dances like Pelorus Jack which have a jovial quality. Recorder, flute and chalumeau work well for older tunes, and make a contrast in timbre.

Andrew concentrates on his music practice

One of the biggest challenges when playing for formal dances is stamina, especially for wind players. There are very few breaks in the whole evening, which can be four hours long. Each dance is intense playing with hardly any breathing time for up to nine minutes! The strict pattern of multiple repeats in Scottish dance music also means a good memory and an alert brain is essential. But once this stamina is developed, it is of huge benefit to the player. In contrast, classical concerts are less tiring; there are more rests for wind players in most pieces, and the total length of the concert is usually not more than two hours. However, the music is more exposed and demands more soloistic nerve, which is a big responsibility! There are the odd challenges when some dance tunes are more idiomatic to suit certain instruments. For example, Scott Meikle has a rocking effect of quickly alternating high and low notes which sits nicely on an accordion or keyboard but is awkward on a clarinet because of crossing from one register to another. Wind players need to breathe between notes, but tunes for fiddle, bagpipe, or keyboard can keep playing with no breaks. That said, songs or more linear tunes, such as the City of Belfast, suit the clarinet admirably.

Katherine and the harmony challenge

Sheet music for a SCD band usually just has the violin tune in treble clef and letters for the chords. For a classically trained cellist, used to having all the details written out in bass, tenor, or occasionally treble clef, there was a lot of learning to do! Without a written cello line, I wasn’t sure what to play at first. I would find it aesthetically pleasing to compose interesting harmonies to enrich the tune and thicken the texture, but this takes a lot of time, and there are so many tunes that it is impractical for an imminent Ball. I could also play the tune as written, which would sound like a violin, but this is a challenge high up on a cello, and some pieces suit that better than others. Learning to transpose the tune down one or two octaves was more satisfying, especially the singing melodies in strathspeys. However, the most natural role for the cello I find is to use the printed chord letter names to join the bass line of the keyboard, strengthening the beats that the dancers need. Both transposing in my head and playing from chord letters (rather than notes) are skills that rarely arise in classical music, so it was a brain scrambling experience. My sight-reading abilities are now more diverse, that’s for sure. If anyone with a classical musical background is thinking of joining a band to play for Scottish country dancing, we would encourage them wholeheartedly: bring your skills and learn from those with experience!

Andrew and Katherine Uren