May 29, 2005 Systerpolskor efter Timas Hans 1

www.KarenLMyers.org
Copyright Karen Myers - All Rights Reserved
Systerpolskor efter Timas Hans
What makes these two Swedish polska tunes "sisters"?



May 29, 2005 Systerpolskor efter Timas Hans 2
www.KarenLMyers.org
Copyright Karen Myers - All Rights Reserved



Systerpolska 1 efter Timas
Hans

Systerpolska 2 efter Timas
Hans
Illustration 1: When these polska tunes are named as "sisters", the
numbering varies according to the source.

Both are from a recording "Tunes from Ore" by Pl Olle and Nils
Agenmark, #13 in the Folk Series from Sonet Grammofon, available
from Digelius Music (http://www.digelius.com/) or CDRoots
(http://www.cdroots.com/), among others.


These two tunes are from the great tradition of Timas Hans from Ore, Dalarna. Like all traditional tunes, they
exist in numerous variants, of which the written music and recorded music referenced here are but
snapshots. I have added some skeletal chords to give a flavor of the harmonic structure, but many other
harmonies are possible.

There are many polska tunes in the repertoire that come from Timas Hans, but these two in particular are
often referred to as "sisters". They are not called sisters because they are derived from a common source,
as one might expect, but because fiddlers playing them find them similar in certain ways. In particular, it is
easy to get them confused, mostly by cycling back to the wrong A part after playing through the tune
once. As a fiddler who has been caught in this trap many times I wanted to better understand why this
happens.

May 29, 2005 Systerpolskor efter Timas Hans 3
www.KarenLMyers.org
Copyright Karen Myers - All Rights Reserved
To begin with, let's look at the differences between these tunes. Systerpolska 1 is built very notably from
two-bar phrases and is rather lyrical while Systerpolska 2 is mostly made of single-bar phrases and is rather
more conventional. The harmonic structures, as indicated by the suggested chords, are not very similar
(given that they are both in the same key). It's clear that these tunes did not come from any common
ancestor and, on the face of it, shouldn't be any more easily confused than any other tunes in the same key
from the same tradition. So what's the source of the problem?

Certainly they are in the same key (G minor) and the first 4 notes of the A part are the same. Many have
observed that the ending of the B part is also the same both melodically and harmonically. This is the
foundation of the similarity.




Illustration 2: The red notes mark the identical melody at the start and end of the two tunes.

There is more going on, however, than these obvious correspondences. I find these two tunes unequal in
their ability to attract the unwary fiddler, and believe that the start of Systerpolska 2, the simpler and more
conventional tune, is "stickier" than its sibling.

Extrapolating from my own musical psychology, I find the metaphor of a "target" useful. When the A part
begins, I aim at the ending of the first phrase, and that goal shapes the notes I try to remember and produce
in the moment. If I am playing Systerpolska 1, I must first remember that this is a two-bar phrase, so the
ending is some distance away. This takes an effort, since the single-bar phrasing of Systerpolska 2 is
simpler and just as familiar.

And then the tune itself springs a trap. Notice the dramatic high G that highlights the ending of the B part for
Systerpolska 1. It comes again at the end of the first phrase of the A part. But Systerpolska 2 also places a
prominent high G at the end of its first phrase in the A part, and that comes sooner. So if my attention
wavers for a moment when ending Systerpolska 1, the echo of the last bit of drama in the B part derails me
to the other tune.

May 29, 2005 Systerpolskor efter Timas Hans 4
www.KarenLMyers.org
Copyright Karen Myers - All Rights Reserved


Illustration 3: The dramatic G that begins the ending of Systerpolska 1 is echoed differently at the start of
both tunes.

If Systerpolska 2 didn't exist, then playing Systerpolska 1 would present no difficulty. But since they share an
ecosystem in the Ore repertoire, the simpler tune lurks constantly in the shadows, camouflaged and ready to
pounce.

Bodapolska efter Tjder Jonas Andersson

Efter Sven-Erik Hansson
Printed by Karen Myers (#1839A)
Transcribed by Carolyn Hunt 2/2007
Sklbergslten

12

17

21

26

Sklberg is a grd name, derived perhaps from a hill
with a bowl-shaped depression.
29

Bodapolska
Efter Sven-Erik Hansson
Printed by Karen Myers (#1848)
Transcribed by Carolyn Hunt 2/2007
Jann Mor
1.

2.

10
1.

2.

Bodapolska efter Rjs Erik Andersson

Efter Stefhan Ohlstrm
Printed by Karen Myers (#1853)
Transcribed 6/2006
Vdspis'n
1.3.

2.4.

Suran vd trr kvinnflkr / r d riktigt svrt t kun tnd opp,
skar g bevs doningr / nd s sssnt bi n brasu.
Vnd vrid jillr op n l / s jlln kom a lik bra p ar sidn
Sen en pust ppn draglucku / f si om int survdn f fasu.
Vdspis'n, fst du svart kall / Vdspis'n, sen bi du rd varm
Vdspis'n, jlla ma bjrk tall / Ja, kan finnas n som s sknt?
Skull va e kvinnflk, o gr ttr samm mall / brjr tida, d biro rd varm
Jll opp sen, fr om o kom p fall / s finns knappast n som s sknt!
Trran vd sura kvinnflkr / kan fl bi om trktjn vorti fr lng
flssr t lgin flammr opp / tar s sa mordbrnnrn om jllm.
Kvinnflkr, dm frs opp som suran vd: / "Tock karr vill jent ta ti ma tng.
Jiftrml, dm vil int tnktj opp, / den end gng dm vil, oppund fllm."
Chorus
10

Boda
Efter Andrea Hoag
Printed by Karen Myers (#1858)
Transcribed 2/1997
Laggar Anders polska
1.3.

2.4.

10

Bodapolska efter Soling Anders

Efter Sven-Erik Hansson
Printed by Karen Myers (#1865)
Transcribed by Carolyn Hunt 2/2007
Solingpolska i G

5
1.

2.

10

15
1.

2.

Boda
Efter Sven-Erik Hansson
Printed by Karen Myers (#1870)
Transcribed by Carolyn Hunt 2/2007
Polska efter Lasse Hans

5
1.

2.

Fine

10

14

Boda
Efter Sven-Erik Hansson
Printed by Karen Myers (#1871)
Transcribed by Carolyn Hunt 2/2007
Polska nr. 2 av Jns Jonas Hansson
_

, ,
,
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, ,
6
1.

2.
_

, ,
,
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, , ,
,
, , ,
,

11
_

, ,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
,
,

,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
,
During a time (1960-75) when Sven-Erik had moved away from
Boda and had given up playing fiddle, a neighbor of Jonas often
asken Jonas to play for her. She taped a number of his tunes,
including three that he composed during this period. The three
tunes surfaced during the summer of 1998. Sven-Erik had never
heard them before, but he recognized his father's playing from the
tape, and he knew how his father would have played them. Polska
nr. 1 and polska nr. 2 are among the three.
16 1.

2.
_

,
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
,
,

, ,
,
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
,
,
, ,
, ,

Bodapolska efter Jns Jonas

Efter Sven-Erik Hansson
Printed by Karen Myers (#1872)
Transcribed by Carolyn Hunt 2/2007
Ekopolskan
_

,
,

,
,

,
,
,
,
,
,
,

,
,
,

,
,

,
5

,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, ,
,

8
_

,
,

,
,

,
,
,
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
12
1.

2.
_

,
,

,
,

,
,
,
,
,
, ,

,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, , ,
,
, , ,
,
,

Efter Jns Jonas Hansson

Efter Sven-Erik Hansson
Printed by Karen Myers (#1874)
Transcribed by Carolyn Hunt 2/2007
Bodapolska efter Sparv morfar
The Naked Polska

12

17

Sven-Erik taught this tune in 1990 as an exercise, showing how a tune can be played
very simply, or "naked", as in the first half of each reprise as notated here, or dressed
up a lot, as with the 16th-note bits in the second half. Further enhancements and
ornaments are appropriate.
22

Lngt ner i Smland
Roger Tallroth
= 72
4
2

Efter Thomas Westling Printed by Karen Myers (#1862)

Transcribed 5/1998
Ncken
Bodapolska efter Kpman

4
1.

2.

13

ULMA 11643: 93: 1
Efter Eva Karlsson
Printed by Karen Myers (#2930)
Transcribed 6/2007
Polsdans #832 frn Elverum

_ _
,

,
,

,
,
,
,

,
,
,
,
,
,

,
,
,
,
,
,, ,,
,
6
1.

2.
_
,
,

,
,

,
,
,
,

,
,
,
,
,
,

,
,
,
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
,

11
_
,
,
,

,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
15
1.

2.
_
,
,
,

,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,

lvdalen Printed by Karen Myers (#1054)

Transcribed 1995
Polska efter Pl Karl Persson

3 3
5

3
9

Bodapolska efter Soling Anders

Efter Sven-Erik Hansson
Printed by Karen Myers (#1865)
Transcribed by Carolyn Hunt 2/2007
Solingpolska i G

5
1.

2.

10

15
1.

2.