Speed on a metronome

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:00 pm

I practice on 120 bps on the metronome. Is there a standard speed for ITM? What is the normal speed?

mayo_piper · Post by **mayo_piper** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:31 pm

This is a conversation I had with Jerry O'Sullivan lately and he says around 110 for jigs and less for hornpipes...but as you know many ITM sessions play much faster then that.

Cheers!

Cathy Wilde · Post by **Cathy Wilde** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:41 pm

Yeah, and that's too bad. I wish more people would slow down and enjoy the music!

113 is the "official" speed for reels at a feis. But certain tunes are better suited to 113 than others, so I'd use discretion there.

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:54 pm

Cool, I will have to experiment around, and thanks for the input. The sessions I go to are like lightning speed, so I know that they are fast than 120.

Cathy Wilde · Post by **Cathy Wilde** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:27 pm

Do you play with Beanie and Jean and Vincent and those guys? They move along, but they've never struck me as 120-fast, at least not the few wonderful times I've had the pleasure of playing with them.

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:51 pm

I know of them, but I have never met them. I talked about meeting Beanie at the session, but the days I am there she isn't, and vice-versa. I haven't played there much though. But the music is very lively and fast, which isn't a bad thing to me. I am pretty easy going when it comes to music. I have heard some of their music, and it was very good.

Trip- · Post by **Trip-** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:53 pm

I recently adopted a hang of playing reels and jigs more or less the same speed, can't tell you how much exactly - but it sure makes the jigs sound faster and the reels sound slower, which is how I like it these days.

Clinton · Post by **Clinton** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:26 pm

Lets say I want to play Miss McLeod's in 4/4 time at 120 BPM. Do I:

1) play it so that 1/4 note = 120 and feel all wonderfully competent (2G 2g ed eg); or
2) play it so that two 1/2 notes = 120 and feel like a finger tangled duffer? (2G2g edeg)

I fear the latter...

Clinton

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:52 pm

You have my head spinning now Clinton.

Jumper · Post by **Jumper** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:16 pm

The Whistle Collector wrote:I practice on 120 bps on the metronome.

120 beats per second? Wow, at that speed I would expect only dogs can hear you

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:54 pm

Jumper wrote:
The Whistle Collector wrote:I practice on 120 bps on the metronome.
120 beats per second? Wow, at that speed I would expect only dogs can hear you

How did we all miss that?

At that speed, the metronome will sound like a very low B half-flat buzz (B2 minus 49 cents).

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:04 pm

Yes, I am just that good.

Just kidding, I meant bpm

That was a good spot there Jumper.

Clinton · Post by **Clinton** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:09 pm

Doh! I guess I should edit that, but then the posts afterwards wouldn't make as much sense.

So, really 120 BPS = 7200 BPM. Pretty fast even for a pro. All of a sudden, dance speed doesn't seem so fast, eh? I guess am really trying to get myself up to 0.5 BPS!

Clinton

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:42 pm

Clinton wrote:Lets say I want to play Miss McLeod's in 4/4 time at 120 BPM. Do I:

1) play it so that 1/4 note = 120 and feel all wonderfully competent (2G 2g ed eg); or
2) play it so that two 1/2 notes = 120 and feel like a finger tangled duffer? (2G2g edeg)

I fear the latter...

Well ...

By definition, 4/4 means 4 beats per measure and a quarter note gets one beat. That's your #1.

But ...

Reels are usually counted in Cut Time = 2/2. Which is 2 beats per measure and a half note gets one beat. So that's your #2.

Your fear is justified.

hans · Post by **hans** » Fri May 01, 2009 6:19 am

120 BPM sounds quite fast.

Some good points here:
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/18725

quoting Gary:

I spent an hour or so timing some of the videos at http://comhaltas.ie (actually downloads of the audio). I included many of my favorites and mostly excluded ceili bands, though I threw in two Under-18 bands out of curiosity. The format is Players, Rhythm, Video Clip #, Tempo. I don't think this site will allow me to line things up, so sorry if it's hard to read. Tempo is in beats per minute with two beats per bar. Listed from slow to fast in each rhythm.

Michael King hornpipes 244_2 72
Tara Breen hornpipes 244_1 76
Edel Fox hornpipes 260_1 77
Dylan Foley hornpipes 251_4 77
Bronwyn de Paor hornpipes 241_3 78
Maeve Flanagan hornpipes 250_2 84
Peter Horan hornpipes 252_5 92

Mairaid Corridan jigs 258_2 101
Maeve Flanagan jigs 242_3 110
James Mahon jigs 241_2 111
Sorcha Costello jigs 265_5 113
Kylie Moynagh jigs 257_3 113
Emma Sweeney jigs 241_4 116
Mike & Mary Rafferty jigs 242_5 116
Rowsome Family jigs 249_4 117
Billy McComiskey jigs 243_3 119
Peter Horan & Gerry Harrington jigs 252_6 121
Seamus Bugler & Paddy O'Donoghue jigs 257_5 125
John Whelan jigs 250_3 126
John McEvoy & John Wynne jigs 245_1 128
Mulcahy Family jigs 252_3 129

Carmel O'Dea reels 241_1 90
Carmel O'Dea reels 241_1 96
Erin McGeown reels 244_3 97
Kylie Moynagh reels 257_4 97
Maeve Flanagan reels 256_3 97
Bronwyn de Paor reels 241_3 97
Keith Gildea reels 244_5 98
Joan Hanrahan & Dympna O'Sullivan reels 266_5 99
Peter Horan & Gerry Harrington reels 252_4 99
Ernestine Healy reels 245_2 103
Joe & Joannie Madden reels 242_6 103
Fr. Charlie Coen reels 251_5 103
Jack Talty & David O'Brien reels 266_3 104
Session led by Billy McComiskey reels 250_5 104
Brian Conway & Maeve Flanagan reels 242_2 104
Joe & Joannie Madden reels 243_2 105
Laura Beagon reels 266_1 106
Billy McComiskey reels 242_4 106
Eugene Bender reels 250_1 107
Sean Walsh reels 245_4 107
O'Raghallaigh, O'Mahoney reels 240_6 107
Dylan Foley reels 252_2 107
Garry Shannon reels 246_3 108
5 young American fiddlers reels 250_4 109
Rose Flanagan & Dylan Foley reels 252_1 109
Deirdre & Eimear Reilly reels 258_5 109
Bobby Gardiner & Marcus Maloney reels 249_2 110
Tigh Na Coille Ceili Band reels 256_5 110
MacDarra O'Raghallaigh reels 254_1 110
Cruinniu reels 246_1 110
John McEvoy & John Wynne reels 245_1 111
Peter Staunton reels 245_3 111
Fergus McGorman reels 244_4 111
Mulcahy Family reels 248_1 111
Michael King reels 244_2 112
Tara Breen reels 244_1 112
Innis Og Ceili Band reels 256_6 112
Mick O'Connor & Oliver Diviney reels 241_5 113
John McEvoy & John Wynne reels 246_5 114
John Whelan reels 243_1 115
Brian Conway, Joannie Madden & Billy McComiskey reels 242_1 117

My rule of thumb for reels would be roughly:
Below 96 - unusually slow
97-103 - slow but not uncommonly so
104-112 - normal
113-120 - fast but not uncommonly so
Above 120 - warp speed

For reference, the time it takes to play 32 bars (typically AABB at 8 bars per part) is:
40 seconds = 96 bpm
39 seconds = 98 bpm
38 seconds = 101 bpm
37 seconds = 104 bpm
36 seconds = 107 bpm
35 seconds = 110 bpm
34 seconds = 113 bpm
33 seconds = 116 bpm
32 seconds = 120 bpm
31 seconds = 124 bpm
30 seconds = 128 bpm

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Speed on a metronome

Speed on a metronome

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