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Thereel is afolk dance type as well as the accompanyingdance tune type. Of Scottish origin, reels are also an important part of the repertoire of thefiddle traditions of Britain, Ireland and North America.[1] InScottish country dancing, the reel is one of the four traditional dances, the others being thejig, thestrathspey and thewaltz, and is also the name of a dance figure.
InIrish dance, a reel is any dance danced to music inreel time (see below). InIrish stepdance, the reel is danced in soft shoes and is one of the first dances taught to students. There is also atreble reel, danced in hard shoes to reel music.
The reel is indigenous to Scotland. The earliest reference was in a trial of 1590, where the accused was reported to have "daunced this reill or short dance."[2] However, the form may go back to the Middle Ages. The name may be cognate with or relate to anOld Norse form, with Suio-Gothicrulla, meaning "to whirl." This becameAnglo-Saxonhreol and Gaelicruidhle orruidhleadh, which is the origin of the word now.[3]
After being introduced to Ireland in the late eighteenth century it thrived.[3] Later it was introduced to North America by English, Scottish, and Irish colonists and immigrants. In the United States, reels remain central in the traditions of Anglo and African-AmericanOld-time music andsquare dancing, as well asCajun andZydeco. In Canada, they are important parts ofCape Breton,Acadian,Québécois, andMétis repertoires.[4][1]
Reel music is notated in simplemetre, most commonly either in2
2 or4
4. For example, the same reelRakish Paddy is notated in a2
2time signature inO'Neill's Music of Ireland, New & Revisited,[5] but in4
4 time inEnglish, Welsh, Scottish & Irish Fiddle Tunes,[6] with no change to the note lengths.
All reels consist largely ofquaver (eighth note) movement with an accent on the first and third beats of the bar. A reel is distinguished from ahornpipe in two ways. Firstly it is played with even beats, without swing or dotted rhythm. Secondly it is played twice as fast, implied by the2
2 time signature. Like most dance music originating in the British Isles, reels are usually composed inbinary form, meaning they have two parts (A and B); in most reels each part is repeated (AABB), but in others it is not (ABAB). Each part (A and B) typically has eight bars, which in turn are divisible into four-bar and two-bar phrases. (An exception is the "auld reel" ofShetland which tends to irregular structure and may have been influenced by the Norwegianhalling.) A reel usually has 32 bars (with structure AABB), but there are other common structures such as 40 bar reels (often played for the introduction of the Eightsome Reel) and 64 bar reels (with structure AABBCCDD).
Reels are popular in thefolk music of South WestEngland. They crossed theAtlantic ocean with Irish and British immigration and thus entered the musical tradition of Atlantic and French-speakingCanada including that ofQuebecers andAcadians. Reels are featured in many pieces byQuebec singers and bands, such asLa Bolduc,La Bottine Souriante and even the more modernnéo-trad groupLes Cowboys Fringants.
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