I think the "feel" of a dance is highly interpretive. It really is the "feel" of the music that sets the mood. The same tune played to the same dance can be very different with each band.
That is one reason the "mood" adjectives are so useful. I'm really not sure what the "mood" communicates to the musicians but some seem to like them. I try to, at least, make the "mood" signifiers both interesting and evocative. I know that--for some musicians--the mood adjectives are more for entertainment value. I try to use at least two very different mood adjectives for each dance. That gives the musicians permission to interpret the instruction to suit their own "feeling" about the dance. Here is a list of some of the "mood signifiers" I use on my cards and in the program I print for the band: Gallant, Stylish Exhilarating, Warm Fanciful, Yearning Amicable, Poignant Bouncy, Lighthearted Steady, smooth, chipper Driving, joyful, captivating Bold, naughty Dashing, Noble Hearty, Relaxed, Impish Thrilling, Entrancing Bright, Sprightly Touching, Piquant Rolling, Playful Spiffy, Meaningful Abounding, Urbane Luscious, Gentle Brisk, Endearing lighthearted, amenable I hope this is useful to some. Regards, Greg McKenzie (Santa Cruz, CA area) ********************** On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 10:09 AM, Maia McCormick <[email protected]> wrote: > Jumping off from the aforementioned thread, I'm sure this is quite an > elementary question, but one I've never had to deal with before because I > do most of my calling to a student band that has barely cobbled together a > set list for the dance in question and so isn't really capable of much > collaborating: what exactly sets the mood/feel of a dance? What are certain > adjectives you'd apply to a dance or it's music based on the move-content? > What sort of dances tend to go better to jigs as opposed to reels and vice > versa? I'd love to hear what you all think! > > Cheers, > Maia > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
