View source for Humppa

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Short description|Type of music from Finland}}{{More citations needed|date=May 2025}}
[[File:Elakelaiset on strage.jpg|thumb|right|Finnish humppa band [[Eläkeläiset]] on stage]]
{{Music of Finland}}
'''Humppa''' is a type of music from [[Finland]]. It is related to [[jazz]] and fast [[Foxtrot (dance)|foxtrot]], played two [[beat (music)|beat]]s to a [[bar (music)|bar]] ({{music|time|2|4}} or {{music|time|2|2}}) at around 110 to 130 beats per minute. Humppa is also the name of a few [[social dance]]s done to humppa music. All dances involve a bounce that follows the strong bass. In [[Finnish language|Finnish]], the word ''humppa'' can be used for [[Social dance|social dancing]]. The name humppa was invented by [[Antero Alpola]] for a radio show in the 1950s. He picked it up from [[Germany|German]] [[Oktoberfest]] where the locals used the word [[oompah]] to describe the music. The band probably used a [[tuba]], as the sound of tuba on the first beat is like ''hump'', the second beat coming as a ''pa''.<ref name="TANSSI"/>

== Dances ==
[[File:Humppafestivaalit satamatorilla.jpg|thumb|left|Humppa music festival held between 1977–1988 in [[Lappeenranta]]]]
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]], 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]] or making figures by changing various [[open position]]s. 

The second Humppa form is related to [[Two-step (dance move)|two-step]], which came to Finland in 1910. This Humppa has some [[rhythm]] and movement from [[samba]] and [[waltz]]. 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.<ref name="TANSSI">{{cite web |url=http://tanssi.net/fi/lajit/humppa/index.html |title=Humppa |website=Tanssi.net |publisher= |access-date=18 July 2022 |language=fi}}</ref>

In the early 1970s, pop music and dancing almost killed social dancing, but the revival of humppa keeps traditional social dancing alive.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tanssit.fi/tanssin-abc/tanssilajit/humppa/ |title=Humppa |website=Tanssi.fi |publisher=Suomen Tanssistudiot |access-date=22 December 2016 |language=fi}}</ref> 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]], [[Mikko Järvinen]], [[Eino Valtanen]], [[Eero Aven]], female singers {{ill|Berit (Finnish singer)|lt=Berit|fi|Berit (laulaja)}}, [[Eija-Sinikka]], {{ill|Hanne (Finnish singer)|lt=Hanne|fi|Hanne (laulaja)}} and bands Tulipunaruusut, Kaisa & Kumppanit, and Mutkattomat. The most popular humppa festivals were in [[Lappeenranta]].

==See also==
*[[Eläkeläiset]], a band making humppa covers of famous pop songs.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Finnish folk music}}

[[Category:Dance in Finland]]
[[Category:Music of Finland]]
[[Category:Social dance]]
[[Category:Finnish dances]]
[[Category:Karelian-Finnish folklore]]
[[Category:Finnish inventions]]