[citation needed] The polska is almost always seen as a partner dance in 34-beatⓘ, although variants in 24 time, as well as in compound meters also exist.
As suggested by the name, the roots of the polska are often traced back to the influence of the Polish court throughout the northern countries during the early 17th century.
This view is sometimes challenged by those who see earlier evidence of the musical tradition in Nordic visor or songs, that may have become grafted onto the newer foreign influences when the court dances began to filter out into the middle class and rural communities.
In Sweden, the polska music tradition is continuous, with tunes and styles passed down through families, relatives, and neighbors.
In addition, through the 19th century a series of professional and semi-professional archivists travelled the land transcribing and annotating tunes.
In contrast, however, polska dance traditions came under severe pressure during the industrialization of Sweden and, with few exceptions, succumbed entirely during the early 20th century.
Broadly, there are three styles of music for Swedish polska: A typical tune in the Swedish polska tradition shows a common structure, with two related eight-measure phrases, each repeated (a total of 32 bars constituting a single complete rendition of the tune), and the whole structure repeated two or more times.
Provides separate descriptions of music and dance traditions in the four Nordic countries in the local language, followed by complete translation in English.