Every pipe tune lives in one of two worlds: piobaireachd or light music. Piobaireachd — Ceol Mor, the 'big music' — is long theme-and-variation music with no strict beat. Everything else, from marches to jigs to slow airs, is ceol beag, the 'little music.'
Marches split by how the beat divides: compound time groups in threes, simple time in twos. 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 marches are built from dotted triplets; 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 marches divide their beats into twos and fours. Count the groupings and you can identify almost any march.
Dance-tune character comes from what you do with the dot and cut. Jigs are smooth, even triplets with no pointing. Strathspeys are the opposite — relentless dot-cut with heavy pulsing on beats one and three. Reels and hornpipes each come in pointed and round styles.
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Understanding Tune Types: Marches, Strathspeys, Reels & More
36m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
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