[Musicians] worthiness of a tune for contra?

[Patricia Campbell via Musicians]

​I had no trouble hearing the A & B parts of the jig - I've had a lot more
trouble with other tunes, but this one sounded pretty straight forward to
me. Where someone might have any issue is between the two B parts, but even
that was pretty clear to me.

Just my 2 cents - ​

Patricia


Patricia Campbell

203-364-4554



On Thu, Jul 30, 2015 at 1:45 PM, Dave Casserly via Musicians <
musicians at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I guess I disagree with the majority here.  I think there is absolutely
> nothing wrong with that jig, and it's perfectly well-phrased and suitable
> to contra dancing.
>
> I think there are a lot of well-phrased jigs out there that we can make
> sound like they're not by putting an amorphous beat behind them and perhaps
> tying some notes over that would normally be repeated.  This is one such
> jig.  I played through it myself this morning on whistle, and I don't even
> think it's a particular smooth jig when you just play it normally
> (repeating the first note in the first bar rather than tying it over,
> playing the pickup triplet to the B part so that it sounds more like a
> pickup, and playing it at 120bpm).
>
> I have no recommendations for how a band should use this jig other than
> how I think a band should play every jig-- start with four clear potatoes,
> use a strong beat (at least the first few times through), play so that it's
> phrased clearly and notes don't cross over the phrase.
>
> To the musicians who think this jig is not well-phrased, I encourage you
> to play it for yourselves at 120bpm.  As long as you are clear on the
> phrasing, the dancers will be, too.  I've heard plenty of bands play jigs
> with a lot less clear phrasing in the melody (such as the Roaring Barmaid
> or Myra's) for contra dances with no problems.
>
> -Dave
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 30, 2015 at 12:37 PM, Thomas Verdot via Musicians <
> musicians at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> As was mentioned by Susan, my first thought was that it was a slip jig.
>> It is a fine tune for listening but one that I would not use for a dance.
>> If you really like it well enough to play it for a dance you probably want
>> to have a stronger rhythm than the band in the video. I don't mean louder,
>> just less amorphous.  That also doesn't mean dead on regular - it could
>> just be punctuated to maintain a sense of form.
>>
>> I think it is good to always keep in mind that we are there to serve the
>> dancers & at times some of our favorite tunes just don't quite meet the
>> purpose.  I have sadly rejected several favorites.
>>
>> Regards, Tom
>>
>>
>> On 7/29/2015 9:48 PM, 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
>>>
>>>
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>
>
>
> --
> David Casserly
> (cell) 781 258-2761
>
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