Members Only Content

Previously, we looked at Strathspey Triplets — GDEs grace note combinations. Because of their rhythm, technique, and unique style of expression, strathspeys are some of the greatest and most challenging tunes in a piper's repertoire. Today's focus: proper expression of strathspeys. Strathspeys are dance tunes written in the 4/4 time signature. The dominant stylistic theme of the strathspey is the dot-cut. The rhythms used for a single beat in strathspeys are: the quarter note (long) the dot-cut (long-short) the cut-dot (short-long) the triplet (short-short-long) You will never see two even eighth notes in a strathspey. Download and print out a copy of the classic strathspey Captain Colin Campbell. Take a look over the tune and highlight the repeating sections. Hint: highlight individual bars. There are lots of bars that repeat. This makes it easier to learn and memorize the tune. Only after you've highlighted your sheet music, take a listen to the first part of the ...