I think the people who like the "new" bands are often reacting to those
bands sounding more like what they're used to. It's not so much the newness
of the musical sound as the familiarity - really the oldness - of the sound.
("Hey, isn't that the tune from (insert name of current favorite tv show or
rock band?")When we dance to hip-hop or blues or klezmer or whatever, it triggers a "hey, I know this!" reaction, and the sudden recognition of an old friend in a new context is basically fun. If I'm right about this, a band could even insert familiar classical music or the theme from Wired or Deep Six Under and start getting hired around the circuit. So if we (as dancers) want to keep having this kind of fun, we need to get rock-and-rollers to start dancing, or else we need to get our dancer/musicians to learn some rock-and-roll licks (I use rock-and-roll here generically - substitute your favorite "other" music). But I would certainly agree that a band with too many non-dancers in it is a pain. Heck, (don't tell anyone this) I have a band or two where I'm the only dancer, and I have a constant struggle to explain why we have to do things a certain way for the dancers. Twice I stepped out of the band to call a dance and got totally sideswiped -- by my very own band. M E On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 12:03 PM, Tom Hinds <[email protected]> wrote: > I too have concerns about the type of music that is played for contra > dances. It's not hard to not see a trend when looking at the last 50 year > of contra dance music. What I think happens is that there's competitiion > between bands. If a band want gigs, especially gigs playing for dance > camps, their music has to stand out. So, over the years the music tends to > get wilder and wilder, and at the same time straying from what the dancers > really need. > > I peronally know several fiddlers whose only concern is to wow the dancers. > They have absolutely no awareness of what's going on on the dance floor. > They are really not dancers themselves!!!! If there's good phrasing and a > good beat it's often the result of chance. Likewise, the music at many of > the dance camps I've called to often don't seem to support the dancers which > is a shame. I usually enjoy calling to the 'lowly' workshop bands more than > with the featured act. But the bands that play wild and crazy stuff get the > good gigs. That sends a message to the others for sure. > > It is possible to play exciting music and at the same time support the > dances. We all probably know of many musicians who can do this. I've toyed > with the idea of interviewing many of these fine musicians and making an > instructional video. But, would the other musicians watch it? > > The whole thing driving the contra dance revival is the dancers themselves. > Their tastes and inputs are a compass not only for the music but the > choreography as well. I'm thinking that those who value good solid music > are in a minority. The majority of the dancers like what they hear but may > not connect good solid music with good dancing. > > My experience is that folks who have called, played or danced for a > significant amount of time tend to come to this same conclusion about what > makes for good dance music. It's also my experience that some of our dances > and dance camps are run by relatively inexperienced dancers. So the > question is, how to spread some wisdom around? > > Tom > > > > > On Jan 12, 2010, at 12:00 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > Send Callers mailing list submissions to >> [email protected] >> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to >> [email protected] >> >> You can reach the person managing the list at >> [email protected] >> >> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..." >> >> >> Today's Topics: >> >> 1. Re: Caller's opinions on non-contra music at dances >> (Mark Hillegonds) >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Message: 1 >> Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:30:56 -0500 >> From: "Mark Hillegonds" <[email protected]> >> To: "'Caller's discussion list'" <[email protected]> >> Subject: Re: [Callers] Caller's opinions on non-contra music at dances >> Message-ID: <008e01ca9348$6b95d3b0$42c17b10$@net> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >> >> Hi all, >> >> As a dancer with a wide range of musical tastes, I enjoy dancing to a wide >> variety of music. As a few of the respondents said, as long as there is >> clear phrasing and an appropriate, steady tempo, I'm happy contra dancing >> to >> just about anything. I actually prefer really interesting music instead >> of >> the same tune played the same way at the same volume for the entire dance. >> >> As a musician who plays for contra dances, I also enjoy playing a wide >> variety of music. My band ranges from celtic to classical to old-timey to >> Eastern European to jazz and blues and swing. We tend to stray quite far >> from the original melody. Having said that, as three of the members of >> the >> band are also callers and dancers, we are extremely aware that we need to >> clearly define the 8 bar and A1, A2, B1, B2 phrases for the dancers. On >> the >> occasion that we get feedback from dancers that they had to count during >> one >> of our tunes, we assume responsibility for adjusting our playing such that >> we restore any missing structure to our tunes. >> >> On the other hand, we've had many dancers say they sometimes forget to >> concentrate on dancing because they so enjoy the music we're playing. >> Even >> though it's a compliment, we try to reserve those moments for our concert >> performances and not in dances. People come to a dance to dance and not >> listen to us give a concert. >> >> Great conversation. >> >> Mark Hillegonds >> Phone: 734-747-7148 >> Cell: 734-756-8441 >> Email: [email protected] >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [email protected] >> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Marian and Parker >> Mann >> Sent: Sunday, January 10, 2010 10:54 PM >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: [Callers] Caller's opinions on non-contra music at dances >> >> I'm looking for comments on a trend I've noticed in contra music, >> specifically, bands playing music far removed from pieces traditionally >> associated with the form. The catalyst was a mid-December dance in the >> northwest where "as a special treat" the band shifted to rock music during >> the next-to-last contra. The caller had stopped and we were left to our >> own >> devices. The A/B parts and the beat were hard to pick out, and the dance >> began breaking down as people had to guess when one move ended and another >> began. I was there with a group of experienced dancers and our opinions >> were uniformly negative. This was not the only time the band's selection >> of >> tunes was hard to follow, just the most excessive. >> >> Over the last few years I've seen bands play "unusual" music in several >> locations across the country and at both regular dance series and dance >> weekends. There are some good examples in Youtube (links provided >> offline.) IMHO, contra music is an integral part of the dance, cuing on a >> nearly subconscious level the changes between figures. Having to >> concentrate excessively on the timing takes emphasis off both the flow of >> the dance and the interaction with fellow dancers. >> >> Part of me can sympathize with the bands. It must be incredibly boring >> for >> talented musicians to play, say, Jefferson Reel over and over. On the >> other >> hand, they are hired to play for dancers, not each other, and some of the >> extreme examples smack of self-indulgence. >> >> I assume that essentially all of the members of this list are dancers and >> that a number of you are also musicians. I wondered what the group's >> feeling was on this and whether anyone felt it was a positive development. >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >> >> >> End of Callers Digest, Vol 65, Issue 8 >> ************************************** >> > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > -- For the good are always the merry, Save by an evil chance, And the merry love the fiddle And the merry love to dance. ~ William Butler Yeats
