Humppa is a type of music from

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is related to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and fast

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

, played two

beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...

s to a bar ( or ) at around 110 to 130 beats per minute. Humppa is also the name of a few

social dance Social dances are dances that have social functions and context. Social dances are intended for participation rather than Concert dance, performance. They are often danced merely to socialise and for entertainment, though they may have Ceremoni ...

s done to humppa music. All dances involve a bounce that follows the strong bass. In Finnish, the word ''humppa'' can be used for

social dancing Social dances are dances that have social functions and context. Social dances are intended for participation rather than performance. They are often danced merely to socialise and for entertainment, though they may have ceremonial, competitive ...

. The name humppa was invented by Antero Alpola for a radio show in the 1950s. He picked it up from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

where the locals used the word oompah to describe the music. The band probably used a

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

, as the sound of tuba on the first beat is like ''hump'', the second beat coming as a ''pa''.

Dances

Three different dances are typically danced to humppa music. They existed long before the word "humppa" was coined. One form of Humppa dance is related to

one-step The One-Step was a ballroom dance popular in social dancing at the beginning of the 20th century.Claude Conyers. 'One-step', in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001) Troy Kinney writes that One-Step originated from the Turkey Trot dance, with all man ...

, which arrived in Finland 1913. In this kind of humppa, both dancers take a step on each first beat (on "hump") and progress to the direction of dance. This is danced making turns in

closed position In partner dancing, closed position is a category of positions in which partners hold each other while facing at least approximately toward each other. Closed positions employ either body contact or body support, that is, holding each other is ...

or making figures by changing various

open position In partner dancing, an open position is a position in which partners are connected primarily at the hands. The connection is through the hands, wrists, and fingers, and relies heavily on frame and the compression and tension of both partners' ar ...

s. The second Humppa form is related to two-step, which came to Finland in 1910. This Humppa has some

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

and movement from

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

and

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

. A third form of dance, ''Nilkku'', is based on a slow, slow, quick, quick rhythm. The first quick step hardly takes any weight and gives the dance an appearance of limping. In the early 1970s, pop music and dancing almost killed social dancing, but the revival of humppa keeps traditional social dancing alive. The revival meant that humppa had become the most popular music and dancing form for older people and for the countryside's youth in the Eastern and South-Eastern parts of the country. Popular humppa artists from the 1970s include male singers Erkki Junkkarinen,

Henry Theel Henry Per-Erik Theel (November 14, 1917 – December 19, 1989), also known by his pseudonym Heikki Hovi, was one of the most prominent Finnish singers during the 1940s and the 1950s, though he continued to perform until the late 1980s. His most f ...

, Mikko Järvinen, Eino Valtanen, Eero Aven, female singers , Eija-Sinikka, and bands Tulipunaruusut, Kaisa & Kumppanit, and Mutkattomat. The most popular humppa festivals were in

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...

References

{{Finnish folk music Dance in Finland Music of Finland Social dance Finnish dances Karelian-Finnish folklore

Dances

See also

References