Ländler

As Printed on a Score

Printed as a title or within a tempo heading (“Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers”) at the start of a movement or section in triple time. It sets a style and an approximate tempo for the whole section.

Also spelled: Laendler

How Composers Use It

The Ländler is the rustic Austrian ancestor of the waltz: 3/4 or 3/8, heavier and slower, with stamping downbeats, yodel-like leaps and simple harmonies. Schubert wrote sets of them; Mahler used the style for earthy, often ironic movements. Evoke it with a solid bass on the downbeat, a little roughness and a tempo word — Mahler qualifies his (gemächlich, täppisch, derb).

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 9, second movement: headed “Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers. Etwas täppisch und sehr derb.”