[Musicians] worthiness of a tune for contra?

[Susan Rachel Lorand via Musicians]

Hi Emily,

Thanks for sharing these tunes - they were fun to hear!

With the first one, I initially thought I was hearing a slip jig, but 
toward the end of the A part it started to sound crooked. Eventually I 
figured out how to hear it as 6/8 with 8-bar phrases; it wasn't obvious.

So I'd echo everyone who has already suggested a clear 4-beat intro if you 
use this tune for dancing. It might work for a very smooth, flowy dance 
(e.g. with lots of heys and gypsies - no balances or long lines). I think 
melody players would need to think about conveying not just the phrasing 
but the meter itself clearly.

Hope this helps,

Susie Lorand

On Wed, 29 Jul 2015, Emily Addison via Musicians wrote:

> Hello fellow musicians!
>
> I've had the following two tunes suggested for our contra band.  The reel
> at the end seems straight forward (with some doubling up) but the jig seems
> to have really weird phrasing (especially in the A) that would make it hard
> for dancers to follow.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DkJQ9xNGuU
>
> I'm curious what you guys think!
>
> Emily in Ottawa
>