Playing for Border Morris - a snippet of Just As the Tide Was Flowing

[Kathryn Wheeler]

This is a short snippet of Just As the Tide Was Flowing*.    It's a traditional song, but I started playing it for accompanying Border Morris dancing.   Specifically for a dance we do in Bow Brook Border Morris that goes by the same name (but we call Tides).  The dance was originally devised by the Witchmen side, who are a very inventive lot, coming up with a lot of popular dances. 

 

I think this snippet captures the feel of the dance - specifically the A section here represents a figure where partners cross over for four, turn and then stick for 4 (which is repeated).  This is then followed by standing and sticking in the B section.  

 

What I play during the dance really depends on what the dancers are doing.  In the very flowing (and rather raunchy) repeated "choruses" what I'd do is fuller and more rhythmic than what I'd do in the figures (like verses - the dancing changes every time).  In the figures I vary things up - sometimes I'd do melody in octaves, sometimes I'd do a countermelody (and sometimes there are other musicians).  The full range of what I tend to do is in the full video I've already posted.  

 

*I've already posted a full video.  

 

 

Edited July 1, 2024 by Kathryn Wheeler