Contra Callers July 2017

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

1 participants
21 discussions

Second call Re: Seeking *lists* of tunes for patter squares

by jim saxe via Callers

Folks, This is a reminder about the query I sent out in May asking for people's lists of recommended tunes for patter squares. If you were thinking of sending me such a list, please do. While I've gotten some responses, the number so far has been disappointingly low. (If anyone knows of some other online forum where it would be appropriate to post this query, perhaps with hope of a higher response rate, please let me know.) At the bottom of this message, I'm including a copy of my original, rather detailed, request. Perhaps that request was so wordy as to put some of you off reading and responding. To summarize the essential points: * Please send (if you feel qualified and inclined to do so) a list of tunes that you would play or recommend for traditional-style western and/or southern square dancing ("patter squares" for short, as distinguished from New- England-style prompted squares or singing squares of any sort). * Please send responses directly to me, <jim.saxe(a)gmail.com>, not to the entire mailing list on which you're receiving this, so that anyone else's responses won't be influenced by yours. I'll eventually send out a summary of the responses. * I'm hoping particularly to hear from people who can come up with a list of ten or more (perhaps many more) tunes without scraping the bottom of their personal barrel. (At risk of belaboring the obvious, I mean ten or more tunes per responder, not as a grand total.) * Please don't send lists (or references to lists) where tunes suitable for patter squares are mixed in with other stuff. * You don't have to educate me about how "it's not just the tune; it's the way it's played." Thanks in advance for any responses. --Jim On May 12, 2017, at 6:24 PM, James Saxe <jim.saxe(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > [I'm sending this query to the trad-dance-callers list, to the > SharedWeight callers' and musicians' forums, and to a number of > individuals. Please send responses directly to me *off-list* > (see Note 1 below). I plan to collect responses for about the > next two months and will summarize results to the lists and to > individual respondents some time in July. Thanks. --Jim] > > Folks, > > As some of you may know, I've worked on and off in fits and starts > for some time at gathering lists of recommended tunes [see Note 2 > below] for (traditional-style) patter squares. [In case you're > wondering what I mean by "(traditional-style) patter squares", see > Note 6 below.] My idea is to compile lists from a wide variety of > sources and to look for tunes mentioned independently by many > different recommenders. So far, I've compiled tune lists from a > few dozen books and albums, and I'm currently adding lists from > a bunch more books, articles, record catalogs, etc. I'm sending > this message because I'd like to supplement all these sources with > lists from current informants, possibly including you. So ... > > * If you are a musician who has substantial experience > playing for (traditional-stye) patter squares and if > you have a list of recommended tunes that you're > willing to share--either an existing set list or a > list you come up with by sitting down and scratching > your head for a while--please send it to me *off-list* > [see Note 1] at > > jim dot saxe at-sign gmail dot com > > * If you are a musician who mostly plays for other things > than patter squares (e.g., contras or New-England-style > squares or concert performances) or even if you're not > a musician, but if you nonethelessAå have accumulated a > list of tunes you particularly like *for patter squares*, > I'd also be interested in hearing from you. > > * I'd also be interested if anyone can supply lists of > tunes played *for patter squares* by players skilled > in the genre who are no longer living (e.g., Ralph > Blizard, Lyman Enloe, Benton Flippen, Bob Holt, Pete > McMahan, Lee Stripling, Joe Thompson, or Melvin Wine, > to name a few). However, see Note 5. > > * If you know other people who might be willing and able > to contribute lists of recommended tunes, please feel > free to pass this request along. (But please try not > to put up my email address in places where spammers > are likely to harvest it. Also, see Note 1. Thanks.) > > Below are some notes clarifying what kind of responses I am > and am not interested in. ***Please read at least Notes 1-3 > before responding.*** > > Note 1: If you got this query via a mailing list, please send > tune lists directly to me and *not* to the entire mailing list. > As stated above, I'm trying to see which tunes get mentioned > *independently* by many recommenders, so I don't want the lists > anyone sends me to be influenced one way or another by whatever > suggestions other people have already sent. If you pass my > request along to some of your friends, I'd prefer that you each > send tune lists just to me rather than discussing tunes among > yourselves first and then sending me a combined list (unless > you and your friends are in the same regular band and such > discussions are how you normally create your set lists). Please > look carefully at the "To:" (and "Cc:") line of any reply and > make sure that that it doesn't include the address of any mailing > list. That would include addresses of the form > > James Saxe via ... <...> > > where <...> is a list address. > > I plan to gather recommendations for the next couple months and > to post a summary some time in July. > > Note 2: Please *don't* explain to me that the suitability of > a tune for a particular kind of dance can depend very strongly > on how it's played. I'm already quite well aware of that. > However, I also think it would be widely agreed that some tunes > lend themselves to being played well for dancing more than > others. (If you strenuously disagree, I will look forward to > your forthcoming album of rip-roaring square dance arrangements > of tunes from the Child ballads and _The Sacred Harp_. Meanwhile, > please don't respond to my query by attempting to un-ask it.) > > After I've settled on a list of frequently-recommended tunes, > a possible follow-on project would be to try to identify one > or more renditions--online and/or on commercial recordings--of > each tune played in a danceable style worthy of study by > musicians learning to play for patter squares. For such a > project, style of playing would of course be a prime concern. > But that's not what I'm working on or asking about right now. > > Note 3: Please *don't* give me lists (or references to lists, > albums, tune books, syllabi, etc) where tunes well suited for > patter squares are mixed with other sorts of tunes without > specific indication of which tunes are which. > > Note 4: I'm not all that interested in recommendations for just > one or a few tunes. If you have substantial experience playing > for patter squares, I'd expect that you can come up with at least > ten tunes that you think are quite suitable, and perhaps you > can come up with many more than that without feeling that you're > starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel. (If you send a long > list, you might want to distinguish which are your favorites and > which are the second-tier or third-tier choices.) > > Note 5: If you send me a list of tunes from the repertoire of > some deceased musician, please tell me something about how you > compiled that list. I'm not merely looking for a list of tunes > played or recorded by, say, late great fiddler Bestus Bowslinger, > but for a list of tunes that Bestus actually played *for patter > squares*. And if you happen to have some tapes of Bestus playing > at actual dances, and if they include 30 different patter-square > tunes, and if you send me the names of the 20 tunes you happen > to recognize, then I'd like to be informed that the your sampling > of Bestus's repertoire has been filtered by the limitations of > what tunes you recognize. > > Note 6: When I say "(traditional-style) patter squares," I mean > to exclude singing squares and squares that are prompted to the > phrase of the music in the New England style (or in the style of > 19th-century quadrilles) and I mean to include the kinds of > squares generally thought of as traditional to the western and/or > southern U.S. I specifically would include visiting couple dances > in this genre, even when the progression is around a big circle > or by a scatter promenade, rather than around a square of four > couples. I'd also include most "transitional" (50's era) western > squares (other than singing calls) as well as more recent > compositions in similar style. I do *not* mean to say that the > dances in question must be called in a style that includes a bunch > of rhyming doggerel ("do-si high, do-si low, chicken in the bread > pan scratchin' out dough") or other extra verbiage. > > Much of the "hoedown"/"patter" music produced in recent decades > for the MWSD market is, IMO, very non-traditional in character > and thus not of interest for purposes of my current inquiry. > (Hint: If a tune isn't found in any tune books, played at any > jam sessions, or recorded on any non-MWSD label, it's not what > I'm after.) > > I'm happy to get recommendations for recently-composed tunes in > traditional style, as well as for genuinely traditional (old) > tunes. I'm also happy to get recommendations for tunes from > "northern" sources that nonetheless have the right feel to work > well for traditional southern/western dances. > > Of course I realize there aren't precisely defined and widely > agreed boundaries between different kinds of square dances or > different styles of calling (prompted vs. patter vs. singing; > phrased vs. unphrased; New-England vs. southern vs. traditional > western vs. ...). Ditto regarding precise definitions of musical > genres. I also realize that a particular choreographic pattern > might be danced to different styles of music and calling, etc. > That said, I still hope that the preceding paragraphs will suffice > to provide an adequate idea of what I'm looking for. > > Thanks in advance to any of you who have tune lists to share. > > Regards, > --Jim >

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Contra Callers July 2017