HRP Workshop Offerings
in Swedish Traditional Music

The most common type of traditional dance tune in Sweden is the polska, a form in 3/4 which shares a common musical ancestry with the polonaise in Poland. Different styles of polska, with rhythmic variations in different parts of the bar, and different ways to dance to them, have developed over the centuries in different regions of Sweden. Often a polska is presented by two musicians, with one player on the melody and the other player making up a second voice or "stämma" to accompany the melody. Polskas are very much a living tradition in Sweden, with new tunes and new arrangements continuously being created based on this roots form. Other traditional tune forms in Sweden include the schottis, gånglåt, engelska, polkette, vals (waltz), brudmarsch, and visa (song).

We teach Swedish traditional tunes in a similar way to how we teach other tunes in other traditional genres such as Irish, Old Time, Cape Breton, etc. The best way to pass on the energy and style of most roots music like this is by ear, whenever there is the time to do so. In most situations, we break a tune down into small parts for our learners and get them to repeat those parts back at a slow tempo. We help them link the parts together, and as they become comfortable we gradually speed up to get close to the actual dance tempo. We provide reference recordings, at a learning tempo and at full tempo, that participants can use for their own private practice, and sheet music as a visual reminder to use at home. We also provide ornamentation, chording, and arrangement suggestions, including for second voices, and find roles for almost any type of instrument. In certain cases, we can incorporate songs for voices and/or basic polska dancing into a workshop as well.