Folk dance music with improvisations

Trippevals "353" (Mince Waltz no. 353)
Niels Mejlhede Jensen, Bøgeløvsvej 4, 2830 Virum, Denmark. e-mail (web master)

Old tune used for folk dancing in Denmark 1999 arranged with improvisations

Link to index to other dances.

CONTENTS: (remember: you can use Ctrl Home in usual browsers to get to the top of this page, to the links here)


Photo of folk dance music tent camp

Photo of this week: Summer folk dance and music tent camp on the island of Fur in Limfjorden in Northern Jutland. (We have now changed the clock from winter to summer time in Europe and think of some nice summer events with folk dancing). The two girls in the front of the picture, sitting here in the nature a nice warm summer day can just pick their instruments and play the most wonderful music to a height quite above my abilities. Others are playing in the background in front of the big tents (tents for use in case of rain). On the ground there is placed a wooden floor for folk dance. 100 metres behind me (taking the picture) there is a good beach and a splendid view of Limfjorden's waters. Most private tents are placed close to this view.
 

A little story:

There are good possibilities for having a summer vacation with music and folk dance, for one week or for several weeks.
I have seen many times how such a week can give people a lift of inspiration that lasts the whole year. 3 summers I joined the tent camp at Fur pictured above. I like very much being out in the nature with my tent, being together with people of the same interest for music and dance, learn new music and new dances, from the two instructors or from one another. Here at Fur we are one big group when it comes to making food and some practical activities, so we all get to know one another in a couple of days, a good functioning group. And the children love it. 10 days in own tent but all food paid I got for less than US$ 200.
But it can rain in Denmark, day after day, for almost 10 days if it is a bad summer. Then you may feel more comfortable inside a folk high school, with dry clothes and a real bed. I have been to some very good folk high school summer courses with well organized programmes and excellent education, and always good social get together. Good food is served. Some folk high schools have a tight programme with highly qualified music education from morning to night, other folk high schools have a more relaxed programme with also family activities for children, activities you can choose to join. (If you come eager to learn music, the difference can be important). When you pay the full prize of US$ 300 for a 6 days week, the state has in reality paid the same amount for you to have a splendid holiday (at the places the state has approved). (Is this manipulating the society?)
I wish I knew of more like places for a summer vacation with "contents" on an international scale.
 

Dance of the week, 1999, April 5:

Trippevals "353". 

(English: "Mince Waltz no. 353").
Couple dance.
Music and dance from Denmark

The melody can be heard in midi on computer piano in my tempo (if you have a sound card). (The melody will loop here until you stop it. In the table below it will play once). (I have not played the tunes here with the "drive" I want for dance music).
 
 

Music description:

The music notes are written as a score of here 13 staves on one A3 page = two A4 pages side by side (= an open A4 book).
Place the two note sheets side by side. Then staff 1 (= melody) on the left page continues as staff 1 on the right page.
The 13 staves:
 
1 melody the traditional good dancing melody, polished through generations of use on the fiddle
. chord
text		 Midi metronome = 170 simple (folk music) chords, natural for playing the accordion;
these chords are used to make the other parts or voices in triad harmony;
there should be no tension from dissonance anywhere including in octave
2 A (Above), parallel part nearest above in third or little more above
3 B (Below), parallel part nearest below in third or little more below
4 ns simple n part; often with the tonic feeling and often with the basic dance rhythm ("motor part")
5 C1 C parts are made from A and B parts, and so they are two parts to the melody
6 C2 C2 is less simple than C1
7 mod = 
contra part		 voice up and down (mostly) contra to the melody; it is also made from A and B
8 C1 octave up
9 C2 octave down
10 mod octave down
11 A octave up
12 B octave up
13 blank . blank staff for making your own part according to the principles here

(The midi music is not repeated, except for 1' and 2' voltas).
Use also octave, up and down.
Where wanted, notes can be changed according to the principles (use a colour pencil), e.g. to improve the B part  with some notes from A.
The music is aimed at dancing, so part of the orchestra can be the underlying "motor" when another instrument group is playing its "solo" part (improvisation) as one of the many repetitions.
The double bass may play its usual notes, because of its low pitch.

It is better to choose a more simple part and play it well.

Observe the ns part and specially C1 part: how they are made to promote a distinct trippevals = mince waltz, and not an ordinary waltz or Vienna waltz: typically 3 times the same note per bar pounding with about equal beats. Or should we say: that typically the notes on beat 1 and beat 2 are the same, to make it distinct different from an ordinary waltz (where it is important to have notes of different pitches on beat 1 and beat 2 to be able to make a good slur). We could reduce the saying to: that it is valuable to have the first 2 bars according to that rule, so that the right feeling is introduced for the musician. Observe that this very good typical trippevals = mince waltz in its old melody has all the same principles.
(In a big band (= orchestra) with a good underlying mince waltz motor of e.g. ns and C1 parts, the solo parts like C2, mod = contra voice, and n1 (n1 is not included here), can then be made different from these rules, so that the solo player on flute, oboe, french horn, bassoon, etc., here can express her personal and instrumental feelings). I have for this dance here  made C2 and contra parts also as mince waltz music.
 

Accordion: beats per bar: 1+2
3 short beats per bar about equally marked (beat 1 most marked as always), not staccato (but portato), not waltz (i.e. not slur form beat 1 to beat 2)
 

Music scores:

Each score consists of 2 pages: page left and page right. They are given on separate pages with links on the top of this page (use Ctrl Home to go to the top). The links are repeated here:
(c1, c2), (a1, a2), (b1, b2), (e1, e2), (f1, f2), (bass1, bass2)
When you click a link the music note sheet will (should) open as a new page on top of this main page, so that you can easily return to this main page. And you can easily open 2 windows of note pages to have both the left and right page in smaller windows, the right below the left.

(Help coming back from that note sheet: CLICK the note sheet to come back to this page, or just close the note window.
Remember: the note sheet opens in a new separate window, and that may cover the whole screen. The back button in the tools bar does probably not work because the window is new, with no history. All you see on the page are notes because I have placed no link back here for not disturbing easy submitting to the printer. Close the note window with a click at the top or with Alt F4, or minimize or reduce the window, or ..., and you are back to the main page that was there behind all the time).
 

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