My first real concentrated dance experiences were in the old time square dance community where tunes tend to be played much faster. As a result, I generally don't mind fast playing and tend to get annoyed with some of the more laid back contra tunes that are often well below 118...the 110 is not unheard of but unless you're playing for a wedding or bar/bat mitzvah or some other one time dance or a senior center or children's dance, it's too slow for me. I always recommend old dance tunes for a beginning fiddler. They grew up with the dance and tend to be the perfect complement. I'm not saying limit to that. There are too many good newer tunes to even suggest that, but the old tunes are a good place to start. As a dancer, I have two general requirements: real tunes (usually with distinct A and B parts) that tell my body where it is in the dance (old time square dances are often an exception to this, because they often don't depend on tune structure); and a solid, hard core rhythm that tells my feet where they should be. I don't mind medleys and find they often enhance the dance experience, but don't find them necessary. I have little use for "contra band tricks" used to generate interest, to entertain the band or to demonstrate how clever the band is. Far, far too many musicians tend to pick up the "tricks" before they really master the dance tunes, in much the same way far, far too many dancers tend to pick up the flourishes before they learn how to do the actual dance moves. Finally, I'd tell any would be dance musicians to try dancing and get the feel for what the music does for the dancers and the dance; and, if at all possible, keep an eye on the dancers. You'll see how your music is doing.
Thanks, George On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 12:00 PM, Kathryn Bowman <[email protected]>wrote: > Out in the Pacific northwest, we generally tend to play quite a bit lower > than 120. We get complaints about 118 that we are playing too fast from > the dancers and callers. Kind of depends on the dance, how many four or > eight count moves, how far apart the lines are if its a big hall, the > experience of the dancer, some of the moves like hays and wavey lines. I > generally like about 114 if its not too hot. Some callers ask us to call > as slow at 110 which feels pretty draggy to me. > > On Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 10:47 PM, tavi merrill < > [email protected] > > wrote: > > > 120 bpm is generally considered normal - but one of my best dance > > experiences ever, with the band "Old Grey Goose" left me both feeling > > sublime, and realizing their tempos were on average a little lower than i > > was used to. Ralph Sweet has a great thought about tempo - the idea that, > > based on the length of the average human leg, there is a frequency of > > motion at which the least force is expended to set it swinging (imagining > > the dancer's leg as a pendulum)... > > > > And i suppose that, like everything about dance music and calling, what > is > > ideal really depends upon the dancers present. Suffice it to say i've had > > great experiences as a dancer around 118, but when i'm really "into" a > tune > > on the fiddle, it's easy to warp up to 126 without realizing it. As a > > fiddler new to playing for dancers, if your technique on notey reels is > up > > to snuff, it's easy to get carried away and confuse "energy" with speed - > > sometimes the hardest thing is slowing down. On the dance floor that > > confusion never happens, fast is just fast... and less enjoyable to > dance. > > Hence my making a somewhat conservative suggestion. > > > > tavi > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
