Chords for Reel Groove: Scottish Fiddle Technique Tutorial by Hanneke Cassel

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_ [Eb] _ _ [F] _ _ [G] _ _ _
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_ _ [Ab] _ _ _ We're going to explore here the different grooves that you find in Scottish fiddle music.
The three most commonly played tunes in Scottish music are the reel, the jig, and the struth spay.
Each of these tunes has a different dance associated with it and has a different groove
associated with it.
The reel is in 4-4, the jig is in 6-8, and the struth spay can be either in 4-4 or 2-4,
kind of depending on how you're playing it and maybe what kind of dance you're playing it for.
The reel groove in 4-4, you can first start out simply by just playing 8 notes, [Bb] 8 eighth notes.
_ _ _ Like that.
You can even play a scale, 1-2-3-4-5. _ _ _
_ [Gb] _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _
And so on up the scale.
That right there is a rhythm and you're keeping a strict tempo when you play that, but it
doesn't have a groove associated with it.
It doesn't feel like making you dance, it just makes you feel like sitting there.
[D] To get people to dance, you're going to have to start doing something like this.
_ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ [Gb] _
_ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ _
And what I'm doing there is I'm accenting the first, the fourth, and the seventh notes
of that 8 note phrase.
[Ab] So [D] 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, [Em] 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8.
And as [Gm] I play that, I kind of move my bow rather than just biting it on those accented notes.
I kind of move it a little bit further across the string.
_ [D] _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _
_ [Gm] And I even ghost note that last 8th note. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Gb] _ _ _ _ _ [Bb] It's great to practice this groove right before you're about to learn a new reel, [D] or even
right before you're about to practice a reel that you already know.
_ So why don't we practice it together?
I'm going to count us off, and let's play a D major scale going up and back down again
with this groove.
1-2-3-4.
_ _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ [Gb] _
_ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ [Bb] _
_ _ _ [Bm] _ _ _ _ [Db] _
_ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _ [Bbm] _
_ _ _ [Bm] _ _ _ _ [Bb] _
_ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _ [Gb] _ _
_ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _ _
This groove is great to play when you're jamming with another fiddle player, or with a cello
player, or with a viola player. _
_ [A] You know, if one person's playing the melody, [D] _ _
_ _ _ you can get that groove going in the background. _
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_ _ _ _ _ [Bb] It just makes things sound really funky and fun.
If you're in a jam session, this could be a really good thing to kind of play in the background.
[Bm] I would say be careful about playing it too loud and overpowering the melody at any moment.
And I always strongly suggest that people learn the melodies as they're in a jam session,
and kind of just listen through and try to figure out the tune as you're going.
_ _ But I like to warm up with grooves before I play any tune, [Em] just so I can kind of get
in the [A] headspace of having a [D] really strong rhythm [A] while I'm playing.
[Gbm] Because rhythm is the [B] most important part [D] of Scottish fiddle music.
_ [Em] And it's the most [E] important part because this music is used for jamming.
_ [Gbm] There's your real groove [Bm] played with all single bows, accenting the 1, the 4, and the 7. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Gb] _ _
_ [B] _ _ _ _ _ [Bm] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Gbm] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ [Bm] _ _ _ [G] _ _ [A] _