Period: English Renaissance
Source: Playford's Dancing Master
Difficulty: Early Intermediate
Notes Used: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C, D (high)
Time Signature: 6/8
Key: G Major
A pastoral dance evoking the harvest of pea pods. "Peascods" (pea pods) were a common crop in rural England. Play with rustic charm!
Practice the scale in dance rhythm.
Master the opening G Major arpeggio.
Practice smooth stepwise motion.
Work on the graceful descent.
Master the concluding gesture.
"Gathering Peascods" is one of the most charming dances from Playford's collection, evoking the rural agricultural life of Renaissance England. "Peascods" are pea pods, and gathering them would have been a common task during harvest season. The dance celebrates this pastoral activity, transforming agricultural labor into joyful recreation. In rural communities, dances often reflected the rhythms of agricultural life - planting, harvesting, and celebrating the fruits of labor. The 6/8 meter creates a gentle, rocking quality that might suggest the rhythmic motion of gathering pods or the swaying of pea plants in the wind. Such dances would have been performed during harvest festivals, when communities gathered to celebrate successful crops. The simple, folklike melody demonstrates how country dances drew from and contributed to the oral tradition of folk music. "Gathering Peascods" remains popular today in English folk dance revivals.
Once you can play Gathering Peascods confidently, try: