Ländler

A dance in triple time

The Ländler is a folk dance from southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It is regarded as a slow folk dance in three-four time; the tempo is usually moderate and the time signature usually 3/4, rarely 2/4 or 7/8. The name is traced back to the “Landl” (Upper Austria), where the dance was danced; three possible roots are given for the name altogether.

What distinguishes it from the waltz above all is the tempo: the “landlerte” dance, that is, the slow one, is set against the faster waltz, and it probably influenced the origin of the waltz.

Ländler in 3/8 and in 3/4

Reference works give 3/4 as the time signature of the Ländler, nowhere 3/8. Fernando Sor’s archive sheet, by contrast, is notated in 3/8. Both are triple times; a 3/8 bar has three eighth notes, a 3/4 bar six, so with the same note value it lasts twice as long. The two lines below show the same movement pattern once in 3/8 and once in 3/4, with doubled note values.

Whether the sheet is in 3/8 or 3/4 makes no difference to the pattern: it remains a dance with three beats, the first of which is the stressed one.

The Ländler in the sheet music archive

Ländler in the archive

• Gitarrenschule, Stück Nr. 18 Fernando Sor (1778–1839), from the “Guitar-Skole” · guitar · 1 page

  Above the upbeat is “Ländler”, the time signature is 3/8, the key signature has four sharps; the chord symbols begin with E and also include “B” and “B7”, which fits E major. The upbeat is an eighth note. Part 1 runs to bar 8 and has no repeat sign. The last bar of each part fills only a quarter note, and the eighth note of the following upbeat completes it. Part 2 lies between repeat signs and runs to bar 24.

Common mistakes

• Counting the upbeat as a full bar: The upbeat is a single eighth note; the final bar of each part is shortened accordingly.
• Playing too fast: A Ländler is slower than a waltz.
• Confusing 3/8 with 3/4: The time signature says which note value is counted. In 3/8 it is the eighth note.