I have been known to sing along with the band on a fiddle tune now and
then. One of the bands that I used to work with played tunes that most bands
didn't play. I would often be asked by the band to sing along as they played
"Waltz Across Texas". This was usually well received by the dancers. Some
would join in on the chorus. The band and I usually sang along with "Just
Because" when it was used as a polka. The dancers seemed to appreciate our
playfulness. I have also, rarely, sung along to Petronella. Then, there are the
times when a band didn't show up, or I was asked to call with no notice. I have
had to sing and hum for several dances over the years.
John B. Freeman, SFTPOCTJ
I've been talking with my band lately about coming up with some contra
tunes that I/they/we can sing.
a) suggestions for tunes? (Contra and waltz alike.)
b) when do you usually stop calling and start singing? What do you do if
the dance gets off track and you need to throw in some more calls?
c) other relevant things to consider when the band/caller tries to sing for
a less experienced group of dancers?
Thanks!
Maia
Wild Asparagus - Live At The Guiding Star Grange
Two magical live CDs with lots of energy. The tracks on this are the
most requested tracks wherever I call to CD.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
Maia,
I suggest you go to Dosido.com and check out the thousands of Square Dance Singing Calls available there. Most are structured with a 64 step chorus repeated for 7 total cycles. Some are contemporary, and some are more traditional.
I've included a link with a familiar tune that would easily work. I inserted Tony Parke's New England style (prompted) Malden Square figure into the Dick Leger singing call Yankee Doodle Dandy, but it could just as easily have been a contra figure. I could recommend many more tunes if you wish. Most strongly phrased tunes would work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB16Q348CWA
Rich Sbardella
Stafford Springs CT
--- On Tue, 11/27/12, Maia McCormick <maia.mcc(a)gmail.com> wrote:
From: Maia McCormick <maia.mcc(a)gmail.com>
Subject: [Callers] Sung fiddle tunes?
To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2012, 3:14 PM
I've been talking with my band lately about coming up with some contra
tunes that I/they/we can sing.
a) suggestions for tunes? (Contra and waltz alike.)
b) when do you usually stop calling and start singing? What do you do if
the dance gets off track and you need to throw in some more calls?
c) other relevant things to consider when the band/caller tries to sing for
a less experienced group of dancers?
Thanks!
Maia
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I think it can be fun when the band sings a bit. Besides Redwing/Union Maid, others for which I know at least some lyrics include old-time fiddle tunes like Cluck Old Hen, Greasy Coat, Liza Jane, Sandy Boys, Coleman's March, etc. And some Quebecois ones too (La Bastringue!)
I also think it's fun when the dancers do (think Nelson dancers with Chorus Jig, or Maine dancers on occasion with Sandy Boys ("Oh Sandy Boys!") or a Quebecois one (maybe Dedicado a Jos?) that just begs for loud la-la-las.
Chrissy Fowler
Belfast, ME
One of my all time favorites is "Fresh Wares" by the Groovemongers. It's a delightful arrangement of tunes, each a jewel. And, it has stood a real test of time for me. After more than ten years, I still enjoy it.
Rich
----- Reply message -----
From: "Kalia Kliban" <kalia(a)sbcglobal.net>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: [Callers] Favorite contra albums
Date: Tue, Nov 27, 2012 4:26 pm
I've been listening a lot lately to Elixir's album "Rampant" and Wild Asparagus's "From the Floor Up". I really like them just as upbeat music to listen to. KGB's waltz album "The Red Light of Evening" is in that class, too. What are some of your favorite contra band recordings, and what is it about them that really gets your tail wagging?
Kalia
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Do you do it? Or use cards? Do you think it's important to commit dances to
memory? Do you memorize your entire collection, or just a few? (And if just
a few, which sorts of dances are the most prudent to memorize?)
Peace,
Maia
Mark wrote:
> Taking Beth's point, however, I fully support her premise of keeping
> terminology as simple and logical as possible. I'm likely to call something
> like "Balance the ring and twirl to the left."
>
So...can we get rid of that "Angry Robin" figure now?
- Greg McKenzie
Chrissy Fowler wrote:
>> Seems most people most of the time balance the ring toward the center and back. Was it formerly more of a balance right then left?
Colin Hume wrote:
> In the original (Scottish) dance it was a "set" rather than a "balance", and that would be to the right and left.
Current SCD styling has setting being pretty much on the spot (even for balance-in-line), though I'm not sure how much that is a C20th invention of Miss Milligan's. Both the Petronella turn and the set are done with the setting step. The contra style balance-the-ring-and-Petronella occurs a couple of SCDs e.g. Back to the Fireside.
Beth Parkes wrote:
> One of the contra dance traditions has been a small set of named moves and, for the most part, directional names for any new moves. So, for example, we say, "Pass through to an ocean wave," instead of "Pass the ocean." Please, please fight any tendency to give obscure names for moves. If it is not descriptive, it is not appropriate.
Named figures are a shorthand that lets the caller concisely call a figure that they've already described. Unless you're going to call every movement every time, there's no particular harm in using a name that's not descriptive, as long as it's been explained. Pass the Ocean is actually a good example of this, as describing the movements would be more like "pass through, ladies catching LH and turning a quarter, men taking partner's RH at the far end of the line", though I'd avoid putting too many such figures on a programme unless I knew the dancers were familiar with them. Contra already includes many jargon terms it would be impractical to do without - gypsy, balance, cast &c. Petronella is far from obscure, and is the word I would use to call the movement once I'd walked it through. But I come from an SCD background where we have many more long figures that have extremely non-descriptive names (Espagnole, Tourbillon, Schiehallion Reel &c.).
and:
> And I was doing the two's variation in Petronella which uses a left turn back in the early 80s.
Can you describe this in more detail? If you spin to the left, don't you crash into the 1s spinning to the right?
Edmund Croft,
Cambridge, UK
When teaching a Petronella I often talk about "look right, spin right,
move right" and use some or all of the words the first time through the
calling, especially with beginners.
Emphasising the "look right and follow your head" can help a lot as it
is then even harder to turn the wrong way.
For experienced dancers I just call "Petronella (Turn)".
I agree that "twirl" can be confusing as the term is usually associated
with a swap with the hands connected over the head of one person.
If I go into a room full of experienced contra dancers and use the term
"Balance the Ring and Petronella Turn" then they will all just do it.
Why then would I want to use other words?
Yes, the meaning has changed from the original move in the dance
Petronella. But lots of other words have had their meaning changed over
the years. "billion" used to mean a thousand million; but now (mainly
due to American influence!) it means a million million. "Acronym" used
to mean abbreviations that you could pronounce as a word, eg. radar,
laser, UNICEF; but now people just use it when they mean abbreviation.
Swing used to mean two-hand turn. Does that mean we shouldn't use it to
mean a close-hold buzz-step?
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk <http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/> for
Dancing in Kent
