3 Oct
2013
3 Oct
'13
5:14 p.m.
On Mon, Sep 30, 2013, Greg McKenzie wrote:
Aahz wrote:
Part of my point is the necessary emphasis on the "and": most sound
engineers from what I've seen focus on getting the sound of the band into
shape and spend only minimal time balancing the caller's voice just above
the band. Despite your admonition that the caller is responsible for
everything (which certainly is worthwhile as general advice), I think
that placing the onus for the sound system also on the caller is probably
going a bit too far.
You may in fact be one of the rarer contra callers with excellent
enunciation and a killer sound engineer (because it's a lot harder to get
good speech over live music), but I think it's really inappropriate for
you to encourage no-walkthrough as a general practice.
Thank you Aahz. You are absolutely correct. I was trying to restrict my
post length by focusing only on programming. My comments should have been
prefaced with a stipulation that this programming will not work if you do
not know and apply some of the core contra calling skills of; clear
enunciation, concise word choices, projection, using the most effective
word order, and impeccable timing. To that I would also add; knowing how
to earn and hold the attention of the crowd, clear transitions between
social and instruction times, and an effective strategy for integrating the
hall. (I mentioned in my post that integrating the hall was the primary
reason for the programming style I use. The caller's style, messaging, and
programming have to work together without "mixed" messages.) It is true that the vast majority of contra dance
callers do not do some,
or many of these things. Our dances "work" largely with the help of the
regulars who take responsibility. The dancers, largely, provide cover for
callers who lack these skills. I am a strong advocate of work on the
basic, core skills of calling. I would rather see all callers focus on the
basics rather than on complex dances or fancy calling "gimmicks." The
basics are where I try to put my own efforts at developing my calling
skills. The basics always need work.
Only experienced callers will potentially be able to master all the
foundation arts -- which is part of why describing calling techniques
that only work for people who have mastered the foundations is IMO a Bad
Idea unless carefully labeled.
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