Playing Faster 3

How fast do "they" really go?

In Playing Faster 1 we talked about ways to think better about the music you learn and play, so that you clear the way to playing faster if you wish. In Playing Faster 2 we looked at some techniques for learning to play a piece of music faster.

Now let's look at the unspoken question -- how fast do you want to play? Below is a list of actual tempos used on a variety of recordings. They’ll give you some ideas, but take them with a grain of salt, too!

If all you want to do is play faster, you will end up playing too fast. What you want to do is be able to play at a good tempo, one that flows, one that suits the tune and supports the reason you're playing it — whether for others to dance, listen, or for you to enjoy.

Before you start, and while playing, feel the beat you want — physically. Don’t task your brain with keeping the beat; it has way too much else to do, and is far too distractable and unreliable! One of the weaknesses of your brain in this whole enterprise is that it is able to worry about things like playing faster — but how fast, exactly? If you simply worry about going faster or slower (than what?), you’ll have no anchor or goal, and are very likely to rush.

There are no firm rules about how fast to play a particular tune, but if you are playing it for a purpose, such as contra dancing, there is a range of tempos you need to reach so that the dancers can enjoy dancing. Dance tunes have ideal tempos, but even those vary from one location to another. Tunes for other purposes, such as marching, a wedding processional, a funeral, a tune to open a program, or to close one — all have a suitable range of appropriate tempos.

In the 18th century Gow Collection from Scotland, about 2/3 of the tunes are dance tunes and even some of those are marked "Play Slowly When Not Danced." Sometimes the tempo of a tune can depend on the context of when you choose to play it. One time, when I was arranging music for a concert, I had to move a tune's position in the program, and as a result I also had to change the tempo accordingly. Originally it was going to start the final set of the first half, and we would have played the tune slower and more pensively; to start the second half, after intermission, it had to be a little more upbeat and cheery.

The great fiddler Johnny Cunningham could play so fast that his bandmate Andy M Stewart liked to say "even dogs can't hear him!" But Johnny advised fiddlers to take a fast reel down to the tempo of a slow air in order to find the music in it. Then, when playing more up to tempo, it would retain some of the interest and musicality you found in it when it was played slowly. Playing a tune is like driving through the countryside — go too fast and you miss the scenery.

Below are some actual tempos I've found on recordings of different styles and types of tunes. The message here is: Nobody can tell you that some particular tempo is "correct"! (I’ve heard workshop leaders pretend to be experts on correct tempos, and they’re usually blowing steam, at least to some degree.) Hopefully, this list will give you some concrete goals.

Note: the number given is the beats per minute; you can refer to any metronome or metronome app to hear the tempo. For jigs and reels the number corresponds to two beats per measure. For waltzes, it's 3 per measure (though the first of the 3 is most important). For strathspeys, 4 per measure.

Bluegrass

Bill Monroe: 160

Bela Fleck: 128, and 104 for slower reel, 128 for waltz

Irish

Classic old recording: 118 for both jig and reel

Session in Cork: 120 reel, 132 jig

West Coast Scottish band playing Irish jig: 140

Polka: 160

Scottish

Jig: 130

Reel: 100-112

Strathspey for listening: 94, 130 in different recordings

Scottish country dance: 110 jig, 112-118 reel, 112 strathspey

Shetland reel: 100

Bagpipes 6/8: 72

Bagpipes reel: 100

Waltz: Ian McLachlan played his own Dark Island very slowly first, then picked it up to 140 for dancing

Cape Breton

Strathspey: 168

Reel: 110

Jig: 130

Waltz: 132

Contra dance

Jigs, reels, marches: 124

Hornpipes

Sean Maguire: 176 quarter note

Marches

Joe Cormier (Cape Breton/Acadian) 4/4 march: 174

Scottish 4/4 pipe march on fiddle: 145

Bagpipes 6/8 march: 88

Lament

4/4 lament: 100

6/8 lament (per eighth note): 90

These are all actual examples, but none of these tempos is carved in stone. If you’re wondering how fast to play a certain tune, find a few examples of good musicians playing it. The tempo will vary by player, purpose, and region. As it says in the Gow Collection, many tunes really should be played “slowly when not danced.” Enjoy!