A
Air:
Tune or melody, often slow, often
played on bagpipes or fiddle.Top
B
Bagpipes:
A wind instrument with a chanter on
which the music is played and with fixed note
drones. Early reeded pipes were known in Egypt
and the Near East from before 2500 BC. There is a
piper pilgrim mentioned in Chaucer's Canterbury
Tales. Scotland has a wealth of classical music
for the Great Highland Bagpipe, which was also
used to motivate Scottish troops before battle.
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C
Chanter:
The pipe with fingerholes on which
the melody is played. Early drawings show it
being played without a bag and with the reed
directly in the mouth.
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D
Drones:
Scottish bagpipes have 2 tenor and 1
bass fixed note drones which can however be tuned
to themselves and to the chanter.
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E
Exercise:
Highland dancing is very energetic,
as is Scottish Country dancing, and as well as
being enjoyable is also a good form of exercise.
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F
Footwork:
In Highland dancing competitions
dancers are judged on three basic areas: timing,
technique and general deportment. Timing is the
ability to follow the rhythm of the music in the
dance. Technique is primarily the footwork,
and co-ordination with head, arm and hand
movements. The positioning of the feet is of
great importance as however graceful or agile the
dancer, it is the neatness and accuracy of the
foot positions which give the dances their
essential character.
G
Galas:
In Scotland throughout the summer
nearly every town and village has its own gala
which tends to be a mixture of piping and dancing
competitions and children's races and
competitions, sometimes preceded by decorated
floats paraded through the streets.
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H
Highland Fling:
One of the oldest Highland dances,
said to date back to the times when Highlanders
hunted deer for food and is meant to celebrate
the killing of a stag. Occasionally caricatured
as a frantic whole-of-body movement attempting to
ward off the fiendish Highland midges!
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I
Irish Jig:
Historical energetic Irish dance,
the Scottish version of which is a competition
dance and is said to depict the actions of an
angry Irish washerwoman when her husband returns
home drunk from the pub. Contrary to popular
belief, the jig is not exclusive to Ireland and
there are many Scottish country dances danced in
jig time.
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J
Judging:
Based on the performance of the
dancer the judge decides on the winner on the
following criteria: deportment, elegance,
strength, and precision.
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K
Kilt:
The Kilt is My Delight is a 32 bar
Scottish reel.
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L
Lilt
Full title: the Scottish Lilt. Said
by many to to exemplfy, and to be the most
graceful of, the Scottish National dances.
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M
Mairi's Wedding:
A traditional Hebridean Gaelic song
written in 1935, and a Scottish Country dance 40
bar reel.
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N
National dances:
Many of the National Dances,
including for example 'Blue Bonnets' and
'Highland Laddie' were actually devised in the
late 19th century by a man called Ewan MacLachlan
who studied the ballet in France before returning
to Scotland.
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O
Over the Sea to Skye:
A traditional Scottish song also
known as the Skye Boat song. Bonnie Prince
Charlie sailed (or, according to legend, rowed)
with Flora MacDonald from South Uist to Skye.
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P
Pas de bas:
One of the first steps learnt by
Highland dance beginners for the Highland Fling
and Sword dance.
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Q
Quadrille:
The Quadrille or "Quadrille de
Contre Danse" was originally a card game for
four people but the name was given to this dance
about 1740 and was a very lively dance. It became
fashionable in England about 1813.
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R
Regulation:
Highland Dance Competitions are
strictly controlled, both as to dress and as to
steps. The 2 main bodies in Scotland are the
Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing
(SOBHD) and the Scottish Official Highland Dance
Association (SOHDA ) who can both be found on the
Web.
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S
Sheann Truibhs:
Pronounced "shawn trews",
this Gaelic phrase means "old
trousers". Following the unsuccessful
uprising of 1745 by Bonnie Prince Charlie,
Highlanders were forbidden to wear the kilt. It
wasn't until the repeal of the Act of
Proscription in 1784 that Scots were once again
allowed the right to wear their tartan and play
the bagpipes. The first slow movements of this
dance are said to depict a Highlander kicking off
the hated trousers, and the later quick steps
express his delight at once more being allowed to
don his beloved kilt.
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T
Tuition:
If want to join a dance class and
don't know of a teacher in your area, contact the
Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing
(S.O.B.H.D.) whose Edinburgh address and
telephone number you will get on the Web.
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U
Underskirts:
Underskirts, known as underkilts,
are now being marketed for wearing under men's
kilts. Check them out on http://www.jdez.com/men/underkilt/.
Top
V
Viola:
The viola is a unique instrument as
it has its own musical clef and is the alto of
the orchestra. Compared to the violin it has a
much richer and more mellow tone because the body
of the instrument is bigger.
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W
Waltz:
Waltz is a common name for ballroom
and folk dances in 3/4 time, done primarily in
closed position. The most common basic figure of
Waltz is a full turn in two measures using three
steps per measure. It first became fashionable in
Vienna around the 1780s, spreading later to many
other countries.
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X
Xylophone:
A percussion instrument which was
first used in the orchestra just over a century
ago. It is a tuned instrument made of hardwood
bars in graduated lengths set horizontally on a
metal frame. With the larger, lower-sounding bars
on the left, the notes of the xylophone are laid
out much like a piano keyboard. Striking the bars
with hard mallets produces a bright, sharp sound.
It was originally modeled after an African
instrument and its name is Greek, meaning
"wood sound".
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Y
Yoga:
A system of Hindu philosophy showing
the means of emancipating the soul from further
reincarnations and uniting it with the supreme
being. A number of physical and mental systems
are based on this, including the holding of
special postures for long periods of time.
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Z
Zouk:
A style of dance music, originally
from the French Antilles, combining Latin
American, African, and Western disco rhythms.
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