14 Apr
2017
14 Apr
'17
8:23 p.m.
Hello Jim,
I do not believe that Sharp encountered people playing 6/8 time jig tunes
at dances in Kentucky. He, like many others of his time, used the term
“jig” simply to indicate a fast and lively tune, and as you point out, none
of the Appalachian “jigs” that appear in his later *English Folk Songs from
the Southern Appalachians *(published posthumously in 1932) are in 6/8
time. His instructions for patting in 6/8 time were likely a suggestion of
how English dancers might accompany the “small-pipe airs of Northumberland”
that he proposed substituting for the “not very good . . . far inferior”
dance tunes that he encountered in Kentucky. He was not averse to tinkering
with (improving?) the traditions. He likewise recommended a modification of
the form of the dances. Even though he initially described the dances as “a
very strenuous dance for six couples,” he suggested that they were “most
effective when the number of dancers is limited to four couples.” Hence the
four-couple set became the “correct” form of the dance he called the
“Running Set.” (Even the name was made up.)
Phil Jamison
On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 5:43 PM, James Saxe jim.saxe(a)gmail.com
[trad-dance-callers] <trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com> wrote:
On Apr 13, 2017, at 2:33 PM, I wrote:
--
Phil Jamison
Professor of Mathematics/Appalachian Music/Appalachian Studies
Warren Wilson College
CPO 6211, PO Box 9000
Asheville, NC 28815
Office phone: (828) 771-3722
Cell phone: (828) 450-0780
Email: pjamison(a)warren-wilson.edu
Website: www.philjamison.com
Phil Jamison has a collection of 95 recordings of
southern
callers ... I've listened to most of these and I don't
recall a single one being in 6/9 time. ...
That should read "... 6/8 time" though, come to think of it,
I don't think there were any in 6/9 time either. :-)
Apologies for any other typos as well (including "hear" for
"heard" in the subject line).
--Jim