Norden Sackpipa Association of the Americas (NSAA)

[Olle]

The 8 beginner friendly tunes I posted a link to here earlier now have a permanent place on my site, under the Music section. Music score and Midi.
_________________
Info on Swedish bagpipes at http://olle.gallmo.se/sackpipa
More about me at http://olle.gallmo.se

[klaus guhl]

[Olle]

The page has now been augmented with some advices on playing and some anecdotes.
_________________
Info on Swedish bagpipes at http://olle.gallmo.se/sackpipa
More about me at http://olle.gallmo.se

[jerry revelle]

Olle, this is really great...so much information. I was wondering whether musicians unfamiliar with the tempo/beat/rhythm...whatever one chooses to call it, of Nordic music, i.e. polsk(a), schottische/rhinelander, gånglåt, etc. could be helped by listening to some of the many selections of fiddlers available.

I know our spelmanslag's biggest problem is getting those new to Nordic music accustomed to the "beat" of the music. As you know, the timing is regular, but yet, it's irregular. A metranome is usless in trying to capture the nuances of a fine polsk(a). Only listening again and again to an accomplished player/recording will give one the "feel" for the music. Thoughts, anyone, please jump in.

[Olle]

I played on a bagpipe festival in Northern Ireland last year. One of the events was to invite local children to a concert. During my performance I taught them to clap the beat to a polska, which went very well after a few tries.

A day later on a workshop for adult musicians (most of them semi-professionals) I tried the same thing. They did not get it at all. "I can see what you do with your foot and I can hear what you play, but I can't see the relation between them", as one of them put it.

I also met a famous Bulgarian gajda player (Petko Stepanov - he is absolutely brilliant, by the way). He played very intricate 5- and 7-beat tunes but could not understand a regular 6/8 jig at all.

Beat is culture.
_________________
Info on Swedish bagpipes at http://olle.gallmo.se/sackpipa
More about me at http://olle.gallmo.se

[Tex]

Can you elaborate of what is being meant by the "Nordic" beat? Does this music not follow the 4/4, 3/4 time signatures that appear on the sheet music?

[texasbagpiper]

[Olle]

Seth, a polka is 2/2 beat. (I assume that this was just a typo)

A polska is basically a 3/4 beat with stress on 1 and 3 (as opposed to a waltz, which is also 3/4 beat but with stress only on 1).

But there are many variants of the polska, some of them have a severe limp, which is hard to express in music notation. I guess it was this type of variations that Jerry was referring to.
_________________
Info on Swedish bagpipes at http://olle.gallmo.se/sackpipa
More about me at http://olle.gallmo.se

[klaus guhl]

[Olle]

I never had any polska from Säfsnäs on my site. There is one on Per Gudmundson's record "Säckpipa", though (also a good beginner's tune). There is another one (not as beginner friendly) on Anders Norudde's "Kan själv!".
_________________
Info on Swedish bagpipes at http://olle.gallmo.se/sackpipa
More about me at http://olle.gallmo.se

[jerry revelle]

Olle's earlier remark that beat is culture is well taken. I'd like to think that the Nordic beat has lain dormant in my DNA for the 100+ years since we lost all contact with our Swedish culture, through the emigration and was just waiting for me to give it the opportunity to surface again.

I grew up in the southern culture of America, blues, bluegrass, jazz and some classical influence from my mother's 78's. I was given a harmonica by my father at around 10 (he played one too) and I learned to play by ear. Since there were no pianos in my neighborhood and not knowing the difference, I played it backwards (bass on the right) which now makes interesting conversation when I play face to face with another harmonica person, when they finally realize we're moving our harps in the same direction.

At around age 56, I took up Nordic turning dancing in Minnesota. It was hard for me as I wasn't a dancer (just in my heart). The vals went ok, the turns were difficult in the snoa and schottische but those ladies though I never would catch on the the polska ("...oh, oh...he's here again. You take him this time, my toes are sore from last week!"). Anyway, I finally became somewhat of an accomplished dancer of all the Swedish and some Norwegian dances.

At age 60, I took up the fiddle after being shown how easy it was to find the notes (I still play only by ear). Now, I'm on the other side of the dance floor, plying my dance beat to the fiddle. After playing fiddle a couple years, I was asked to bring my harps to a party to play harmonica. I nearly dropped the harp the first time I played it. I had become an unbelievably -better harp player (still mediocre by pro standards) but it was astonishing how my timing had improved, even on blues tunes that tend to wander and slide at will. How did this happen?

I lay it all down to mastering the Nordic dances. Now, as I fiddle, I'm with the dancers on the floor...gliding, sliding, turning. It's a wonderful feeling. We played at a mall last weekend in Minneapolis and I was dancing all the while I fiddled. I'm now looking forward to more of the same with the sackipia. (oops...sorry for the dissertation).

[klaus guhl]

[Olle]

The site has been updated to include mp3 recordings of myself playing the beginner friendly tunes. Two of them were already available through the music page, but I fooled around with a new recording toy this last weekend, so now the others have been recorded as well.
_________________
Info on Swedish bagpipes at http://olle.gallmo.se/sackpipa
More about me at http://olle.gallmo.se

[Aaron K. Holt]

I can't imagine a better message to read on a Monday, what a way to start the week.
They sound great Olle!
_________________
Aaron

[favrepipes]

It's always a pleasure hearing you play, Olle. Keep those tunes coming!
Bo