> I have a question about music that an aspiring caller could practice > to? What is something that would be a good beginner band to listen to > while practicing at home?
Any contra dance band CD that has a good beat and clear melody line: Rodney Miller, Nat Hewitt, Larry Unger. Frank Ferrell. Note that these are all classic New England musicians. If you want to practice to old time, The Horseflies CD "In the Dance Tent" is a good one. Lift Ticket and other new bands have very nice CDs out, but some of the tunes are very syncopated and may not be easy to practice to, although listening to that kind of music makes for good ear training. > > What signifies a "crooked tune"? Contra tunes are 32 bars/64 beats. A crooked tune has more or fewer bars, usually just within one part of the tune (the A or the B). You can feel a crooked tune because it's like a hiccup. Ruthie Dornfeld plays a lot of crooked tunes; there's one on her "Egyptian Dominoes" album. Old time bands love crooked tunes, so Bruce Molsky and Dirk Powell play them on their respective CDs. Lisa
