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14 Aug 07 - 06:38 AM (#2125087) Subject: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: GUEST,EnfieldPete Can anybody tell me what is the tempo for a polka such as: 'i have a bonnet trimmed with blue?' Thanks Pete |
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14 Aug 07 - 07:04 AM (#2125096) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: Bob Bolton G'day Pete, It depends on your dancers ... the local custom (tempo) ... the local dance callers ... errr, how long is a piece of string? (I think I play this around 60 bar /min ... but I'm busy playing / looking at the dancers [or the caller] and I don't have time to time it!) Regard(les)s, Bob |
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14 Aug 07 - 01:39 PM (#2125333) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: M.Ted Across the polka spectrum "Chicago-Style" polka is about 120 beats per minute, and an "Eastern-style" is about 144. Irish Polkas are not really part of the same continuum, though--and Bob's advice always holds. You might want to check here :Bowling Green Slow Sessions Resource Page there is a "regular tempo" mp3 of this very tune that might be a helpful reference-- |
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14 Aug 07 - 01:51 PM (#2125348) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: GUEST,EnfieldPete Thanks for the advice - Great Web link also. Cheers to You Bothy Pete |
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14 Aug 07 - 02:16 PM (#2125371) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: The Sandman This is an irish polka,try metronome speed 141 to 143,tapping your foot on the click.,thatis the spped weplay them in Cork /Kerry. |
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14 Aug 07 - 02:21 PM (#2125374) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: The Sandman Denis Murphy Polka is played faster than is suggested on that site,I live in CORK,I repeat Dancing speed is 141 TO 144. |
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14 Aug 07 - 03:47 PM (#2125443) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: The Sandman the tempos on the slow resource page are not the speed the dances are danced here in ireland,they might be pleasant listening,but they are not the speeds that haymakers jig[115].Walls of Limerick[reels104],polkas[141],slides[143]hornpipes145 to 148 for blackbird etc,fast hornpipes[160] for sets. in fact the speeds that I have given for jigs and reels,are on the slowish side.I dont like mad fast playing,but the slow resource speeds,are too slow for ceilidh dancing. |
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14 Aug 07 - 03:53 PM (#2125448) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: Dave the Gnome I have a Yamaha keyboard that I occasionaly bugger about with. It has an in built 'rhythm section' but no Polka rhythm. 2 marches. 8 beat. 16 beat. Samba. Rhumba. Tango. But no Polka. Apart from 'don't play it then' anyone got any suggestions? D. |
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14 Aug 07 - 03:54 PM (#2125450) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: Dave the Gnome PS - I can play 'Salmon Tails' to one of the Marches but then again I have seen North West Morris teams Polka step and March to that. D. |
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15 Aug 07 - 05:42 PM (#2126412) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: M.Ted A regular polka has an underlying 2/4 March beat--presumably the Irish Polka is not too far off that-- |
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15 Aug 07 - 11:56 PM (#2126661) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: Bob Bolton G'day M.Ted, An Irish 'Polka' is also 2/4 ... but has has less of the built-in 'skip' (roughly what pulka [er.. maybe pûlka ...] means in the Czech language of the Bohemian area of its origin - so it's more like a march 'with a bit of a skip'. In my earlier post I said I played the named tune at roughly 60 bars / minute. This is, of course, the same as [roughly] 120 beats / minute ... but the final decider is how fast the dancers - or the caller - wants the tune. Reagrds, Bob |
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15 Aug 07 - 11:58 PM (#2126663) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: Barry Finn Watch the dancers, if they look comfortable & are enjoying the dance you have it right. They should also be sweating. Barry |
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16 Aug 07 - 12:22 AM (#2126674) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Tempo for Polka From: Rowan "Correct tempo" is a curious thing and a bit of a movable feast, depending on which country you're in, which tune(s) you're calling "polka(s)", what dances you're doing to the tunes and what the specifically local traditions might happen to be at the time you're playing. And then there's the ability of the dancers and the caller. I'm sure Cap'n Birdseye is on the money for Cork and Kerry but they're not the only places where polkas are played and danced to. On an international forum like Mudcat you'll get "proper" (as well as "good") advice from all corners of the globe. Like Bob says, "Watch the dancers!" And then play to them. Cheers, Rowan |