Introduction |
Niels Mejlhede Jensen, Bøgeløvsvej 4, 2830 Virum, Denmark. e-mail (web master) |
Old tunes used for folk dancing in Denmark 1999 arranged with improvisations |
This is my personal web site, and the opinion here is only mine.
My primary opinion is that folk dancing is for the enjoyment, as well
now a days as in the old time.
You dance for joy and you play the music for joy.
So details in dancing are not more important than any dancer functions
together with his group.
But notes have been indispensable for me and my group. We have many
dances, with a repertoire of 800 - 1000 melodies. For our band to know
all the melodies by heart we would have to limit the number to 100, and
then even with difficulties in getting many of the new members.
I am brought up as a note reader. "When you pay for music lessons it
must be learning to play by notes", so my piano teacher was selected hereby.
So I was not used to play by heart. Later I learned to play accordion by
a folk music teacher.
Since 1963 there has been a good music book to about 700 dances for
the traditional folk dancers associations.
But notes for the slightly different folk music dances were
not so easy to get a hold of, and that is the main part of music
in our groups. So it was of great help for us when "Flute" Henning came
with his music book of 300 melodies in 1980 (see Folkets
Hus). This made our group, "Spillemandsdansen" (= Fiddlers' Dance)
grow to a nice big group that fills our ballroom, without making it crowded.
I have chosen that there are some simple and rather strict rules that this music should comply with. The music parts should not only sound good 2 and 2 together at a time, but several or all parts together at a time, and sound in a simple harmony complying with the simplicity of this music. Simple pure harmonies are also wanted for improving the intonation in the band. And because of the tradition of common folk music groups it should be possible that a number of musicians all the time only want to play the melody.
I have now waited many years for good composers to make relevant musical
arrangements for our folk dancing music. Finally I have here made my own
proposals to parts (voices), that can be the basis for some musical arrangements
depending on the available instruments.
Back to index page.