Dugan asked: > What is your experience working with bands to establish an appropriate > tempo? Do bands ever ask you what tempo you want? Do you ever request a > particular tempo to fit a dance? Do you communicate tempo requirements > numerically (beats per minute) or maybe by tapping your feet? When are > slower tempos appropriate and when are faster ones appropriate? What do > you consider to be the range in beats per minute that is appropriate for > contra? Some preliminary research told me that a range of 112-120 beats > per minute is appropriate. Do you agree?
Numerical bpm don't particularly resonate with me. I've heard that the typical contra dance range is 108-120. I suspect there's a narrow range where a balance feels organic. With experienced contra dance bands I typically let them start where they want (which is usually just fine but sometimes too fast or too slow) and then signal walk over and say "a hair slower" while alternating holding thumb and forefinger close together to show that I'm talking about a small adjustment (when that's what's called for) and then making a sort of patting motion (palm down, fingers out, moving down) to show "slower". The only times I've ever had to speed a band up was when they reacted to a "slow down" suggestion by getting too slow. I need to set tempi for English dance bands all the time (since different dances very typically have different tempi, ranging from maybe 90 to maybe 120, and different callers prefer different tempi for the same dances). Things that work include doodling a tune for them at the desired tempo, walking at the desired tempo, walking the figure at the desired tempo, moving my hand at the desired tempo. Walking the figure at the desired tempo while doodling the tune seems to make those bands the happiest - but you're likely to fall off the stage if you do that at a contra dance. > I've called with maybe 20-25 bands in my young calling career and only 2 > have asked me for guidance or confirmation concerning the tempo of their > music (both bands play primarily for non-contra audiences, I believe). I > told both bands to use their judgment, which produced satisfactory results > in all cases except one dance in which the band misunderstood my request > for a sultry/flirty tune to mean that they should play at about half the > tempo one would normally expect for contra, which proved terribly confusing > for the dancers. The lesson I learned is that I ought to know more about > the range of tempo that is expected for contra and what tempos are > appropriate when so that I can provide that information to bands when asked. I would extend that lesson to say that you should know what's good for the specific dance you're calling, not just what's generally acceptable for contras in general. What style of tune works, what tempo works, etc. (And you may need to adjust tempi down from normal if it's a hot night, etc, etc.) If you're working with bands who haven't played for contra before you want to be sure you get your signals worked out with them in advance. -- Alan Winston Redwood City, CA -- =============================================================================== 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 ===============================================================================
