22 Aug
2019
22 Aug
'19
3:08 a.m.
On Aug 18, 2019, at 7:33 AM, Linda S. Mrosko via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I think I'll focus on quickly saying something
like the difference between reels (animated alligators) and jigs (all the kings horses...)
...
Linda,
I presume and hope that if you use "animated alligators", "all the kings
horses ...", and/or other such phrases to explain the difference(s) between reels,
jigs, and/or other tune types, you will do it by saying those phrases in the actual
rhythms you mean to describe. In my opinion, merely speaking such phrases as in ordinary
conversation is not an effective way of communicating anything, There are just too many
opportunities for misinterpretation.
True story: I once attended a presentation by a modern western square dance caller who
gave the Mickey Mouse March as an example of a tune in 6/8 time and illustrated by
singing
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
Em oh you ess ee.
The Mickey Mouse March may indeed by played and sung in 6/8 time, though it seems more
commonly to be published in a duple meter time signature (usually 2/4) with a dotted
rhythm. Compare, for example,
https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/175876/Product.aspx
vs.
https://www.sheetmusicnow.com/products/mickey-mouse-march-easy-piano-p453304
That's not my main point, though. My point is that even for the 6/8 version, the
presenter's explanation--singing "one two three" (where the original lyric
has "M-I-C"), etc.--is completely wrong. The mere words "one, two, three;
one, two, three" without the correct rhythm are not adequate to explain the idea of
6/8 rhythm. I presume the presenter at that session (who, by the way, I believe was--and
probably still is--good at his craft and successful at entertaining the dancers at his
events) had himself once seen or heard the idea of a 6/8 tune "taught" in such
an inadequate manner.
By the way the 6/8 version of the Mickey Mouse March is an example of a tune in 6/8 that
is generally considered to be not a jig but--you guessed it--a march. Another example,
definitely written in 6/8, is "Seventy-Six Trombones". Some of Sousa's
marches are also in 6/8.
--Jim