[Listening extract audio not available in printed QP] An Irish musician accompanies a fast dance tune by striking a shallow, circular drum with a tipper. (a...
Question 1 Report
[Listening extract audio not available in printed QP]
An Irish musician accompanies a fast dance tune by striking a shallow, circular drum with a tipper.
(a) What Irish is this percussion instrument. [1]
(b) What is the name for a fast Irish dance typically in 4/4 or 2/2? [1]
[Total: 2 marks]
Answer Details
(a) The Irish percussion instrument is the bodhran. [1]
The bodhran is a shallow, circular frame drum, typically 35-45 cm in diameter, with a goatskin (or synthetic) head. It is held vertically and played with a short double-ended beater called a tipper (or cipin). The player strikes the skin with one end of the tipper in various patterns, while the other hand presses against the inside of the skin to control pitch and tone. The bodhran provides the rhythmic backbone in Irish traditional music sessions and is particularly associated with dance tunes such as jigs and reels.
(b) A fast Irish dance typically in 4/4 or 2/2 is called a reel. [1]
The reel is one of the most common forms of Irish dance music. It is played at a fast tempo in simple duple or quadruple time (4/4 or 2/2), with a characteristic rhythmic drive built from running quaver (eighth-note) patterns. The 4/4 or 2/2 time signature is what distinguishes the reel from the jig (which uses 6/8 compound time). Reels are typically 32 bars long, structured in two 16-bar sections (AABB), and are a staple of Irish traditional music sessions and competitive Irish dance (Riverdance-style step dancing).
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