2 Dec
2011
2 Dec
'11
5:54 p.m.
Just a funny phenomenon brought to mind by Alan's good advice, quoted here:
Hmm. Do you pay attention to the music when
you're dancing? Do you know where
you are in the tune when you're on the floor? You kinda need for that to be
second nature - something you don't have to spend conscious brain cycles on.
As someone who listens to trad music a lot, I can say Alan's point is the case for me
(as a caller, dancer, music-appreciator, occasional hack musician.) I just
"know" which part is the A and which is the B - kind of like autopilot. In fact
I think I probably more reliably know automatically where I am in the music than where I
am in the dance sequence.
And it's HUGELY helpful to me as a caller.
But once in a great while there is a tune that just 'sounds backward.' The A
sounds to me like it's the B, and vice versa. I have no idea why this is true, but it
definitely is a phenomenon for me. Inevitably I am thrown off track by those tunes, and
sometimes do something wrong as a consequence (prompt wrong call, give band signals midway
thru the A1, start dancing the wrong thing, etc.)
Anyone else have this experience? Anyone know what might make a given part of the tune
sound "A-ish" or "B-ish"? And perhaps more to the point, does anyone
even want to spend bandwidth pondering these questions?? ;)
Chrissy Fowler
Belfast, ME