Funky Rhythms
Pitch is not the only element that give Scottish Reels their unique sound; the rhythms used are very important as well. We will be looking at two in particular: the Scotch Snap and Swing.
The Scotch Snap
The Scotch Snap is a rhythm commonly found in Scottish and Irish folk music. It consists of a accented semiquaver on the beat followed by a dotted quaver. You can hear a simplified example below, as well as some examples from the repertoire.
Swing
You may have heard this term when talking about jazz or blues music, and it works the same way in Scottish and Irish folk music. To 'swing' quavers is to play them slightly unevenly, with the first quaver being longer than the second. The most common swing is triplet swing, where the first quaver lasts for two triplet quavers while the second quaver is equal to one triplet quaver, as shown below. However, you do not always have to swing like this, and in the Scottish folk tradition, the exact type of swing to use is not an exact science and something you can experiment with! As before, you can hear a simplified example below, as well as some examples from the repertoire.
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Play the melody below on your instrument as written. Once you have done that, try replacing pairs of quavers with a Scotch Snap, or swing some or all of the notes.
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Take one of the pieces you are currently working on that has a lot of quaver passages. Try swinging these passages or replacing some of the quavers with Scotch Snaps, and explore how that changes the sound of melody.
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Listen back to your improvisation in the last set of lessons. What rhythms were you using? Try returning to that improvisation, including a few Scotch snaps or swinging a few of the notes.
