OK, so we’ve all heard the arguments that Yanks play too fast, so the question is this. Just how fast DO you play your tunes…really???
I’ve measured the speed of several reels, jigs and hornpipes we play during our sessions, and have come up with the following approximations. These are of course somewhat dependant on the amount of food drink and sleep received by the musicians. 
Reels: 90-120 bpm
Jigs: 100-110 bpm
Hornpipes: 120-130 bpm
Slides: 140-150 bpm
These are of course approximations. Do these compare to what others are playing??? Just idle curiosity.
B~
Don’t forget the varying speeds played by the musicians at a feis…I have noticed that speeds get remarkably faster the closer it is to break/lunch/dinner/single malt time.
Drives the champion dancers crazy…but fun to watch! 
Aodhan
Aodhan, you’ve nailed it there. Seriously, I’m curious to know just how fast the ‘normal’ speed is at sessions around the globe. I’m not super interested in show-off stuff, just normal speeds.
I know the speeds we play are similar to what I hear on many CDs such as the Chieftains, Lunasa, and the Bothy Band. Guess I’m curious since these guys play at a wild rate sometimes, but I continue to hear that a session in Ireland is much slower than here in the states. Is this just show-offiness on the pro’s part? I remember hearing that when Mary Bergin played for the Feadoga Stain recordings, she was nervous, and as such played faster than she normaly would.
Who knows??
B~
From my experience (especially with so much new stuff happening in traditional music over here!) speeds are very subjective.
I’ve known a reel to start at 50 bpm and vaguely accelerate to 130+
I think it just depends on the context.
Certain tunes should “sound fast”, but this doesn’t mean they have to be performed at a crazy tempo - good playing, subtle ornamentation and a really driving rhythm can give a much better impression of “speed”.
Hope that helps?!
Gordon
The metronome was invented during Ludwig van Beethoven’s day, and when he received one, he was ecstatitic. He loved the ability to tell musicians and conductors exactly how fast his music should be played and he went and added bpm instructions to all his music. About a week later he went back and scratched them all out again. Proper speed is different every day, with every mood and for every situation. You won’t get much more than typical ranges for the speed of dance tunes, and I think it makes more sense to really listen to the tune to find out at what speed it wants to be played than to go looking for hard and fast rules (if you want those, don’t talk to musicians, talk to feis functionaries ).
Well put Bloomfield.
But again, my original question remains:
If we ALWAYS seem to play faster over here than in Ireland sessions, is there an approximation of speed for what the play there versus what we play here?
I’m not looking for hard solid numbers, as I know all too well the variance that can occur. But for example, if a session here always plays it’s reels between 100-150 bpm (a pretty wide range still don’t you think)what do the folks across the water think is “proper” speed??? Something like 50-100 bpm or so?
Part of my inquisitiveness comes from one of the guitar players who sits in with us regularly here. He’s always trying to slow everyone down so as not to loose the “musicality” of the tunes. But for most of the players, his tempos are SO slow that a reel doesn’t sound like a reel - and so on. Now I’ve been known to dive into a tune with the others at a healthy clip, but never once has it lost is musicality. I don’t think M. Bergin can be called music-less in her playing either, not that I play like her. Just that fast can be fun, and entertaining (and still very musical) too.
Anyway, not trying to pick nits, just wondered what the norm was for people in different locations, since there seems to always be a discrepency in what’s “proper” speed.
B~
We Americans are always in a hurry, why would you expect anything else in music?
This is one of the better questions I’ve seen on the list in some time. Brian, you’re not going to find hard and fast figures because sessions are individual, even in Ireland. Certain regions in Ireland like to play in more measured style, like Clare. Others can be blazingly fast. It all depends on who’s playing and sometimes where they come from.
Some tunes will want to be played faster than others. If the tune loses its melodic and rhythmic shape, though, you’re playing too fast, at least for ITM.
I’ve played with you a few times Brian, you don’t lose the music in the speed, of course you also have enough natural talent to make me want to strangle you when we do play together (grin). I don’t play many reels because it seems like the majority of players do use them as an excuse to play at blazing speeds and show off what they can do, it loses the feel of the music in most instances and just becomes a showcase for fingerspeed and technique with the heart and soul of the tune. As for the proper speeds of different tune types, we can discuss it over a few pints next time you’re in town.
Now for the OT portion of this post:
By the By, how’s Heather doing? Mikki and Caitlin send their love.
Ron
If it’s hard figures you’re after Brian, there are some, presumably with dancers in mind, in the intro to Brendan Breathnach’s Ceol rince na hÉireann:
It was pointed out to the editor that readers not familiar with Irish dance music had been left in the dark about the tempo at which this music was usually played. The following shows the tempo for each class of this music:
Double jigs [dotted quarter] = 127
Single jigs [dotted quarter] = 137
Slip jigs [dotted quarter] = 144
Reels [quarter] = 224
Hornpipes [quarter] = 180
To play the music at a quicker tempo detracts from the melody; to play it somewhat slower can do no harm. It was customary for many of the older musicians when playing for themselves to adopt a slower pace that that demanded by the dancers.
At Willie week in 1994, I was at the “seminar” with Bobby Casey, Joe Ryan, Junior Crehan and Peadair O Loughlin. My neighbour had one of those metronomes that you can tap and it displays the tempo. These grand old men played reels consistently at around half-note = 95. Very nice tempo for player and listener.
Hard figures aren’t really what I was going for, as I know this isn’t a science per se, but those are informative.
I guess it seems we don’t play so fast after all here in Salt Lake, compared to the “norm”.
So the next time someone says we play too fast, we’ll send 'em to talk to Brendan!
B~
I suppose it just depends on the people. I hear that the band Van Halen tried to make an album with all mechanical timing, but it didn’t work because it wasn’t interesting, basically because it doesn’t have the tiny little speed-ups and slow-downs (as it were) in the music. My musician friends and I usually play stuff at about 120, but it really depends on what you want.
-Ross
Brian,
what about Polkas? You can’t be missing out the Polkas now! see how toe-tappin’ they really are!
Polkas…probably around 120-130 bpm or so. Slower if the drinks are free.
B~
Try checking the tempos on CDs with a metronome. Some of the top Trad Irish bands in Ireland, sometimes play quite fast - eg. Dervish
I’ve never measured my playing with a metyronome, but I do know that I play a lot slower than most of the musicians around Western New York. I prefer a tempo closer to the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra (i.e., stately) for my reels, even when playing Irish tunes, because I think it brings out the beauty of the melody a lot more. I will play faster when called upon, I just prefer not to. Of course, when you play solo, as I generally do, you can call your own shots tempo-wise. But I do like a fast polka and a sprightly jig. For that matter, I don’t play all that many reels in public, which makes me unpopular at sessions!
I’ve never measured my playing with a metyronome, but I do know that I play a lot slower than most of the musicians around Western New York. I prefer a tempo closer to the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra (i.e., stately) for my reels, even when playing Irish tunes, because I think it brings out the beauty of the melody a lot more. I will play faster when called upon, I just prefer not to. Of course, when you play solo, as I generally do, you can call your own shots tempo-wise. But I do like a fast polka and a sprightly jig. For that matter, I don’t play all that many reels in public, which makes me unpopular at sessions!
And hitting the “submit” button twice makes me equally unpopular on the message board . . . I do know it’s metronome, I juist can’t type!
Of the five Irish sessions I went to, the Cork one was at a moderate pace, which translates to a wee bit faster than I was comfortable playing tunes that I didn’t have down 100%. The three in Sligo were very, very fast with everthing except the tunes I started {weak grin}, and the private session was utterly leisurely, but with a spritely lift.
Coming back home, two nights ago I was looking forward to a session with tunes I knew, at a pace I could attempt. {heavy sigh} Two of the lead players were just back from Ireland themselves, psyched with new tunes and enervated by playing with their countrymen. The pace was fiery, the tunes often unfamiliar, and I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and sat out.
shrugs I just play what the dancers tell me to play. That way I don’t get a hardshoe to the head. That’s my motivation in Irish music… NOT getting a hardshoe in the head. (Though I admit to irritating dancers at a ceili on purpose by playing first quickly then moving to dirge pace and back again several times… it annoyed the dancers, but it amused the audience.) Considering sessions in Ireland and the United States will have similar dancer-enforced proprieties, I think it depends on how skilled your dancers tend to be. I do know from experience that softshoe reel steps are nearly impossible at slower tempos.
–Piper Kilbury