[Callers] Re: Recorded contra music

Well, it’s not exactly what you asked for, but these programs have a looping feature: http://www.digitalmusicmagician.com/ http://squaredesk.net/ They’re made for MWSD callers and have a lot of features you probably don’t need, but I’ve used both for contras and trad squares. As for long(er) contra tracks: When bands record music for sale, one of their priorities is to make the tracks interesting for those who are just listening. Most bands’ idea of a good listening track seems to max out at around 5 minutes – unless it varies the tempo, e.g. from slow air to jig to reel. In the past, many bands were reluctant to issue tracks longer than 3 or 4 minutes. Reasons may have included hopes of airplay and worries that people would use longer tracks for dancing and be less likely to hire the band ‘live.’ This has changed: Many bands now routinely issue tracks of 9x32 measures (typically 3 tunes played 3x each), lasting around 5 minutes. Here are some of my favorites: Jigs (6/8) Brisk Young Lads (Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra) Debbie Keller’s (Old New England, ONE:IV) Little Burnt Potato (Greenfield Dance Band) Murray River Jig (Don Roy, Thanks for the Lift) Reels and Marches (2/4 or 4/4) Chickadee’s Polka (New England Chestnuts) Combination Rag (Strings and Things, on Lloyd Shaw label) Golden Slippers (Williams and Bray, Bluegrass Hoedown) Liza Constable’s (Old New England, ONE:TWO) Mount Cashel’s Brigade (The Rhythm Rollers, Grand Right and Left) Ross’ Reel #4 (New England Chestnuts 2) Silver Spire (Greenfield Dance Band) Most of these are still available, many from Great Meadow Music. Tony Parkes Billerica, Mass. www.hands4.com<http://www.hands4.com/> New book! Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century (available now) From: Harrison Keely via Contra Callers &lt;contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; Sent: Monday, August 7, 2023 11:00 AM To: contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net Subject: [Callers] Recorded contra music Hey, folks! Another techy contra question. I’m hunting for a music app where I can splice a track into intro, AABB, and outro parts. After the intro plays, the AABB could loop indefinitely until a button on screen is pressed to signal that I’m ready for it to play the outro. Bonus points if it's an iPhone app. Does such a thing exist yet? On a related note, I've had difficulty finding longer recordings of dance music (e.g. over five minutes). Most tracks I find on Apple Music are but three or four minutes. Any suggestions? Thanks! Harrison