Map Tunes Suggestions Rspba

Guidance on the selection and performance of MAP tunes in RSPBA Contests.
In general terms, the issues to be addressed in selecting and performing MAP tunes include tempo, technical difficulty, tonality, rhythm, ensemble, ‘breaks’, and corps playing.

TEMPO is affected by many factors, such as the type of piece, e.g. March, Strathspey, or Reel, etc., its technical difficulty, and the abilitylevel of the performers. If the piece challenges the ability of the performers, for example, inexperienced juveniles, then it is unlikely that its tempo will be in keeping with the expected ‘Lively and Spirited’ interpretation of the March rhythm in a contest. Notwithstanding this, it is anticipated that pipe bands which are obviously in a ‘learning’ situation may not be able to match the expectedcriteria until sufficient competency and experience is reached, though allowance will not be made for this in a contest. Therefore, to achieve the best musical effect, it is important to select tunes within the areas of capability and experience of the pipe band. The ‘correct’ tempo of any piece is always a matter of choice in relation to its style or type, and has long been a point of discussionamong musicians who are engaged in repeatedly performing long-established traditional or classic pieces of music. However, guidelines can be drawn as to what tempo is most appropriate. This also applies to other music out with that of the bagpipe. For example, to play a piece given the tempo mark ‘Allegro’, meaning ‘quick, lively, bright’, could only be achieved through learning and experience.However, with the invention and extensive use of the ‘metronome’ (from about 1810), ‘Allegro’ has been assessed as having a tempo range of between 120 and 160 beats per minute. This offers the performer some latitude in the tempo of the piece according to its type, and the interpretation of the melody. Suggested tempo for MAP: 2/4 March – approx. 78 beats per minute; Strathspey – approx. 120 beatsper minute; Reel – approx. 84 beats per minute.

TONALITY is the use of a succession of different scales to provide variety and contrast in a medley, or ‘set’, of tunes. This aspect of medley construction can easily be identified through the traditional grouping of the set of marches: ‘Scotland the Brave’ (final note ‘Low A’); ‘Bonnie Galloway’ (final note ‘D’);, ‘Rowan Tree’ (final - ‘Low A’);and ‘The Black Bear’ (final - ‘D’). It is the ‘Final’ of a melody which identifies its particular scale.

2 RHYTHM is the result of the regular recurrence of ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ pulses, and is the means by which the ‘characteristics’, or ‘idiom’, of different types of music is defined, especially those pieces designed to inspire action such as the well known dance, the ‘Waltz’. This is achieved,firstly by the tempo, and secondly by the accurate observation of ‘relative note values’. The subdivision of the beat note into particular ‘note groups’, provides the vitality and distinctive quality of the various types of music. ‘Vitality’ is not created by playing quickly, but by playing the relative note values accurately. A common fault in playing a ‘Strathspey’, which is written in ‘simpletime’, is not playing the note values accurately. Each bar consists of four crotchets, with each crotchet often subdivided into a ‘note group’ consisting of a semi-quaver and a ‘dotted’ quaver, providing a ‘pointed’ effect to the tune. This ‘idiom’ is frequently referred to as the ‘Scotch Snap’. Nonetheless, in the effort to execute this type of tune, it often happens that the pointed effect ofthe note groups, the ‘Strathspey’ idiom, becomes lost as the note values in these groups are wrongly played, as crotchet and quaver, drifting into ‘compound time’ and sounding ‘rounded’. This is also the case with Reels, where the differences in value between the ‘dotted’ and ‘cut’ notes become less obvious, and less pointed, if not observed by the performer, becoming ‘round’ and uninspiring....