"a perfect 19th century Moderato tempo".

[Nicholas A Bechtel]

Mark Weems posted this comment of Ian Bells video. As a new player to this music I get confused what is a proper tempo. Some songs sound great and bring that 19th century feel, or what stimulates that feel to me when listening to a piece in a particular Tempo.  Then some, for me, are too slow, then some are too fast. My question to all you seasoned players of this music; What is the typical tempo, or is that something that is up to the musician him or herself to decide. Some sheet music will have a tempo right at the top but most do not.

 lastly, is there a 19th Century tempo.  I like this phrase, and want to know what is the tempo.

 I like Ian's version of Boatman's Dance,...is that what is meant by 19th century tempo?

Thank you people, I will take my answers off the air.

[Mike Wilkins]

we must also keep in mind the period dances when determining the tempo. Several period violin books have directions on how to dance to the tune. Having too fast a tempo will have the same effect on dancing as it will on singing.

[Mike Wilkins]

doh..just read Tim's comment. Sorry to repeat.

[Tim Twiss]

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dihtml/divideos.html

[Nicholas A Bechtel]

OH MY Gosh,..you people ROCK! I mean really,.. this is all so helpful. A lot of input. A lot to take in. Thanks for the additional info,i.e the links, etc..

[Joel Hooks]

So, regarding tempo, I'm a bit confused.  The linked article was a bit vague referring to "when compared to a 19th century metronome.  Patented in 1815--that is a 85 year span.

Luckily, we have at our fingertips google books.  Y'all know how I am with primary documentation.

So a quick search of "19th century" books on the Maelzel system metronome yields plenty of results as to just how to set your metronome to the latin term.

Funny thing is that they are pretty much all in line with my modern windup's plate.

This is from 1888, late but still in that "19th century" blanket.

http://books.google.com/books?id=qwQ6AAAAIAAJ

Page 14 gets us a nice chart that is almost exactly what is printed on the plate of my metronome.

That said, there is no shortage of long and confusing articles on the metronome.  A few that I read through even sight how the time tables are all over the place.

It all seems to come to a head at the same time the banjo begins to find its way in the hands of Converse.

The 1860s seems to standardize the metronome and tempo- by the 1870s the readings are more or less what we know today.

As for dancing-- this printed music was inspired by the minstrel stage.  It was played for expert exhibitionist dancers on stage; not normal dancing.

If anything, we play to slow... or fast?  Heck I don't know.

[Mark Weems]

Joel,

But this chart from 1888 (too late to apply to early banjo anyway) shows Adagio, for instance, as being from 50 -60bpm whereas most modern charts list it as 66 to 76. Were still dealing with a huge tempo discrepancy here. Although I admit the issue is clouded by non-standardization through the years.