Rochdale Coconut Dance

Reel · 4/4 · E minor

Rochdale Coconut Dance is a traditional English ritual dance tune associated with the Bacup Coconut Dancers from Lancashire, who traditionally perform while wearing blackened faces and wearing wooden discs on their hands, knees, and waists. Because the exact historical origins of the tune and its accompanying dance remain uncertain, scholars continue to debate whether they stem from local mining traditions or imported minstrel shows. Played as a steady reel in four-four time and E minor, the music features a driving, rhythmic character designed to accompany the precise striking of the wooden bobs.

Rendering music notation and GDAE tablature...