The short-long rhythm, the reverse of our usual dot cut, is the rhythm most pipers misplay. It shows up rarely in our tunes, but when it does, players tend to slide back into the familiar long-short pattern without realizing it.
Musicologists call it the Scotch Snap, or the Lombard rhythm. It's an unusual pattern outside piping, which is exactly why it doesn't come naturally and needs deliberate attention.
The fix is holding the note before the short note its full length, not shortening the short note itself. Most players who struggle with this end up rushing into the short note early, which steals time from the note before it and moves the whole beat in the wrong place.
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Why do most pipers struggle with this rhythmic pattern?
21m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
⏱️ In this class
00:01the The problem: note rhythm short a beat on landing🔒
01:28the cuts in Counting dot Cave Piper's🔒
03:07long the Why beat the push we note onto naturally🔒
03:53the Comparing two rhythms long-short-long🔒
06:39the of standard percent use pattern tunes Ninety our🔒
09:36Scotch rhythm and the Lombard Snap The🔒
11:47and the incorrectly difference correctly Hearing played🔒
14:55note the shortening mistake: instead holding the of The long one short🔒
15:34in note, fix: hold The the practice preceding stages🔒
19:05of Applying MacPherson Inveran Dundee it Bonnie Mrs. and to🔒
About this class
🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.
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