Traditional Tassie Tune Playing

The History & Origins of Tasmanian Tunes
INTRODUCTION
ACCOMPANIMENT
MUSICAL INFLUENCES

by Steve Gadd

Schottische Tunes

The second tune, The Mountain River Schottische, is one of countless Schottische tunes played throughout Tasmania. The Dawsons have a lot of Schottische tunes. Many do not have second parts. However, variety can be attained by shifting octaves and improvising variations of the melody.

Though many schottische tunes were composed specifically for the dance form some Schottische tunes often seem to be adaptions of popular songs altered to fit the tricky time and rhythm of the schottische. Other times they might be jigs converted from 6/8 to a 4/4 time. The Schottische has something in common with the Hornpipe in that it shares a strong dotted note or triplet feel that provides a swing to the music. However the schottische tunes are usually more sparse, elegant and less relentless than hornpipes often are.

Mountain River Schottische
schottische listen
This lovely tune comes from the mother of Edie and Paddy Dawson and was a favourite with the Machem family of Mountain River where the Schottische was a popular dance. Even in a small area like the Huon Valley, there were regional preferences for particular dances notable as one traces local musical history from town to town. In addition there are variations in repertoire and in the way tunes held in common are played and transmitted. I will give examples of these changes in later entries in this series.

Also in later entries I plan to present tunes from other players mentioned in this month's article including two reels from Tassie Hills and A Schottische and a Waltz from the playing of Gordon Powell.


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