The Hornpipe

An indigenous musical rhythm to England, Scotland and Wales, but strangely enough, not to Ireland, although of course, today, hornpipes figure strongly in the musical repertoire of Irish musicians.

The hornpipe as a dance has been known in England since the 15th Century and is still very popular. Hornpipes are commonly written in 4/4 time (like reels). However, they are often played with a ‘dotted’ or ‘swung’ feel. There are also some hornpipes written in 3/2 time which are particularly popular with English traditional musicians.