11 Jan
2010
11 Jan
'10
2:59 p.m.
I love it when the band plays a "bluesy" tune or adds a "swing" to a
traditional tune. I am also intrigued when the band sings the words
to a popular or traditional song while playing. Sometimes I enjoy a
waltz being sung.
These variations, however, can get tiresome fairly quickly. I love
them as a break from the "oom-pah" of traditional reels. But I agree
that some bands these days are carrying these variations too
far. Recently I danced to a band that played almost no tunes during
the evening in a traditional style. The dancers loved the swing in
the music but something was missing. Missing was the trance state
achieved by the regular, repetitive, driving tempo of a traditional
reel or jig.
Some bands have learned that, in order to achieve that magical trance
state, it is actually better to play a steady, traditional reel
through the entire dance slot--without switching tunes. This allows
the dancers to achieve that "dance nirvana" with a hypnotic tune like
"Brenda Stubbert's Reel."
Phrasing is also important. It should be noted, however, that
phrasing can sometimes be achieved using only rhythmic "markers", or
accents in the phrases--without any melody whatsoever. As a
percussionist I am delighted that more percussion is being used these
days at contra dances. Percussionists, however, need to recognize
that there is a reason for the structure of the traditional
tunes. Like all dance musicians, percussionists need to dance, at
least occasionally, to understand how the music "feels" to dancers.
At 07:54 PM 1/10/2010, you wrote:
I'm looking for comments on a trend I've
noticed in contra music,
specifically, bands playing music far removed from pieces traditionally
associated with the form. The catalyst was a mid-December dance in the
northwest where "as a special treat" the band shifted to rock music during
the next-to-last contra. The caller had stopped and we were left to our own
devices. The A/B parts and the beat were hard to pick out, and the dance
began breaking down as people had to guess when one move ended and another
began. I was there with a group of experienced dancers and our opinions
were uniformly negative. This was not the only time the band's selection of
tunes was hard to follow, just the most excessive.
Over the last few years I've seen bands play "unusual" music in several
locations across the country and at both regular dance series and dance
weekends. There are some good examples in Youtube (links provided
offline.) IMHO, contra music is an integral part of the dance, cuing on a
nearly subconscious level the changes between figures. Having to
concentrate excessively on the timing takes emphasis off both the flow of
the dance and the interaction with fellow dancers.
Part of me can sympathize with the bands. It must be incredibly boring for
talented musicians to play, say, Jefferson Reel over and over. On the other
hand, they are hired to play for dancers, not each other, and some of the
extreme examples smack of self-indulgence.
I assume that essentially all of the members of this list are dancers and
that a number of you are also musicians. I wondered what the group's
feeling was on this and whether anyone felt it was a positive development.
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