Rythmn: Hambo v. Waltz v. Polska v. Schottis?
Isiafs5
this sort of thing. I would appreciate any help.
So far I think I know that the Hambo is ONE...two...Three (secondary emphasis
on Three). Waltz is one...two...three.
That's as far as I am. Can someone help me out?
Sling Skate
Matt Fichtenbaum
Polska is most any Swedish dance tune in 3. Hambo is a specific
example. Polska variants are all over the map rhythmically; they
all tend to be notated in straight 3/4, so if you don't know the
particular regional style, you won't be able to play it from the
sheet music. If you play most polskas as written, they come out
sounding like hambos.
Waltz phrases tend to be long, extending over four or more measures.
Polska phrases are usually shorter...
Matt
Peter Renzland
> I am trying to figure out the rythmns for these dance forms, and I am lousy at
> this sort of thing. I would appreciate any help.
>
> So far I think I know that the Hambo is ONE...two...Three (secondary emphasis
> on Three). Waltz is one...two...three.
I would suggest dropping Schottis (it doesn't belong), and adding Mazurka.
Then you have dances in 3/x time, where x=4, usually.
There are three variables -- tempo (measures/minute), emphasis, and length.
Tempo is the easiest to discern. Waltz is from about 30 to about 60 mpm,
with (modern) slow Waltz around 30 and (modern) Viennese Waltz around 60.
Old time turning Waltz is between 40 and 50. Cajun Waltz can be slower.
Very roughly speaking, you can then think of the Hambo as a kind of Polska.
Hambo tempo is about 40-42 mpm. Many Polskas can be slower than that.
Mazurkas are much faster. If it sounds like a fast Hambo, it is probably
a Mazurka.
Waltz is ONE two three,
Hambo is ONE two THREE, as is Mazurka. Polska is somewhat similar, usually.
Waltz, Hambo, and Mazurka are fairly narrow dance families, whereas Polskas
come in a great many varieties. Polskas probably make the most use of
length.
It may be useful to think of the Waltz as a smooth turning dance that travels,
the Hambo (and Polskas) as pivoting/lilting turning dances (that turn twice
as fast as the Waltz :-) and that are much lower and flat-footeder than the
Waltz, and the Mazurka as a leap-step-lift or even leap-step-kick or some such
very steppy dance that is not primarily a turning dance. Many Polskas are
very heely.
All this is very rough. There are several distinct styles of Hambo - some
very smooth, some quote leapy, different Waltz styles, and many, many Polskas.
If you really want to include Schottis, then consider also Rheinl(a)ender
and Yenkka. And if you see the spelling Schottisch(e), that's German.
Keep in mind that in the Alps, Polka is slow (what others call Schottisch),
and Schottisch is fast (what others call Polka). That which is generally
called Schottisch elsewhere is called Boarische(r) in Bavaria, and, in
Bavaria, Rheinlaender is not so much a dance as a hold (Varsouvienne).
The basic rhythm pattern in these dances, something like QQS-QQS-S-S-S-S-
was, of course, popular in the Ragtime Era, and is found in a number of
Ragtime (sequence) dances.
I hope some of this is of some use. And I look forward to many refinements
and corrections. :-)
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Karen M.
> Well, schottis is in 2, slightly hornpipe-like. The others are in 3.>
Think of a schottische as step-HOP step-HOP and you'll come close
with the rhythm. A polka is actually in 4 beats.
HTH.
--Karen M.
Nancy Mamlin
rhythm as "If I Only Had A Brain", from the Wizard of Oz.
Nancy Mamlin
"Karen M." <kmss...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:7c0337f9.01080...@posting.google.com...
Trainman
Nancy Mamlin <maml...@appstate.edu> wrote in message
news:9kklk9$pvq$1...@lester.appstate.edu...
My guitar teacher once described a polka as a syncopated march.
Don
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Christian Wapenhans
>> "Karen M." <kmss...@aol.com> wrote in message
>> news:7c0337f9.01080...@posting.google.com...
>> > Matt wrote:
>> > > Well, schottis is in 2, slightly hornpipe-like. The others are in 3.>
>> > Think of a schottische as step-HOP step-HOP and you'll come close
>> > with the rhythm. A polka is actually in 4 beats.
>My guitar teacher once described a polka as a syncopated march.
Becareful: Polska and polka, these are two different things!
You meant polka.
Polska is the family to which hambo belongs to and is in 3 beats.
Tschau aus Braunschweig
Christian
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Peter Renzland
> On Mon, 06 Aug 2001 02:32:47 GMT, Trainman wrote:
> >> "Karen M." <kmss...@aol.com> wrote in message
I had to google for Matt's article ...
| Well, schottis is in 2, slightly hornpipe-like. The others are in 3.
Hornpipe, eh? Irish Hornipe, I take it?
The Scots might think of a Strathspey.
| Polska is most any Swedish dance tune in 3. Hambo is a specific
| example. Polska variants are all over the map rhythmically; they
| all tend to be notated in straight 3/4, so if you don't know the
| particular regional style, you won't be able to play it from the
| sheet music. If you play most polskas as written, they come out
| sounding like hambos.
Hm. I have a CD here.
Gamla Jularbo takter med Ebbe Jularbo och Rolf Dahlström:
9 Waltzes
4 Hambos
3 Mazurkas
1 Polska
3 Schottis
1 Polka
O.K., so perhaps accordeon is not a typical polska instrument. :-)
Yes, Hambos tend to sound solid and grounded, whereas most Polskas
can sound ethereal and pretty intractable to unaccustomed ears.
This may have something to do with the notion that the Hambo is
a somewhat recent Swedish dance.
| Waltz phrases tend to be long, extending over four or more measures.
| Polska phrases are usually shorter...
But the short phrases are compensated for by phrase-border-crossings. :-)
Indeed, a complete Waltz phrase typically takes 16 measures, whereas
a Hambo takes 8. (So, our rhythmic ingredients are: tempo, meter, emphasis,
length, phrasing.)
> >> > Think of a schottische as step-HOP step-HOP and you'll come close
> >> > with the rhythm. A polka is actually in 4 beats.
While rhythm and steps are related, It can be confusing to equate them.
Americans, especially IFD-Americans like to put HOPs into everything.
(I like mine in beer.:-) It is rare to find a hop in social dancing
in Scandinavia. Or in the Alps, for that matter.
Even then, step-HOP step-HOP sounds like *skipping*. Hoppers would
think of a Schottis stepwise as
step-step-step-hop step-step-step-hop step-hop step-hop step-hop step-hop
and everyone, rhythm-wise as QQS- QQS- S-S-S-S-
bogus address
>> Well, schottis is in 2, slightly hornpipe-like. The others are in 3.
> Hornpipe, eh? Irish Hornipe, I take it?
> The Scots might think of a Strathspey.
Strathspeys are typically slower and much less regular than schottisches.
Some tunes are used for both.
: When I try to figure if something is a schottische, I see if it has
: the same rhythm as "If I Only Had A Brain", from the Wizard of Oz.
An American fiddler stuck that one into the middle of a schottische set in
a pub session I was in. The rest of us just stopped and left him to get on
with it; it was obviously the right kind of tune but we'd never heard it
before (and I still don't know it now, either). Not a culturally portable
prank!
My archetype of a schottische is "The Keel Row".
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