hey chris - i have worked with bands before that didn't know what "contra" music was, and it can be an adventure!
if you have a chance to talk to the musicians ahead of time, PLEASE DO SO. you could give them a CD to listen to so they know what "contra dance music" sounds like. there are also some dance videos on the web, if they are interested. if you have the opportunity to listen to the music they play, that will help you, too. if they haven't played for a dance before, speed will be the most critical thing. make sure you have a way to communicate with them about tempo. they may also have to have "four potatoes" explained to them :-) fyi - almost anything can be played for contra dancing if it's the right length and tempo. i have danced to the liberty bell march (theme song from monty python), tv theme songs, flight of the bumblebee (really!), and numerous other pieces of popular music - it's not the "right tune" that will make the dance work, it's the "right music". whatever tunes they (or you) pick, what really matters is that the musicians have some comprehension of how a contra dance is supposed to work. good luck!! barb > Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2010 19:14:06 -0700 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > CC: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Callers] Best tunes for a band that normally doesn't play Contra > > Chris -- > > The best tunes for a band to play are tunes they _can_ play. Wizard's Walk is > a pretty great tune, but a band that doesn't play for contras is going to > massacre it anyway. > > What kind of music do they usually play? Do they play from sheet music? > > If they play old-timey, people here will have suggestions. (Angelina Baker, > Old Joe Clark, Liberty). > > If they play Irish, people here will have suggestions (Swallowtail, maybe). > > > If they're classical musicians who can play anything put in front of them, > it may still not feel very contra-like. But I'd put some kind of strongly > phrased jig ("Blackberry Quadrille", maybe) in front of them, since I think > that's the likeliest to be legible to previously non-dancing wedding guests. > > -- Alan > > > > > Greetings, > > > I'm planning for a one night stand, or, more precisely, a one dance > > stand, at my brother's wedding. I'm seeing all sorts of advice here > > for the kind of dances to use in such a circumstance, so thank you > > all. > > > But... he's asking what tunes the band should play, and I have no clue > > as to the names of the best traditional tunes for contra. I only need > > a couple. > > > Thank you in advance. > > > -Chris > > > Christopher Buck > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > -- > =============================================================================== > Alan Winston --- [email protected] > Disclaimer: I speak only for myself, not SLAC or SSRL Phone: 650/926-3056 > Paper mail to: SSRL -- SLAC BIN 99, 2575 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park CA 94025 > =============================================================================== > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with Hotmail. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multiaccount&ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_4
