Re: [Callers] What to ask a band before the gig?

Hi Ron, When I was first learning to call, Becky Hill suggested that, instead of simply telling bands what kinds of tunes you want using the wide vocabulary at your own disposal, ask bands what kinds of adjectives they'd find useful. As a musician, hearing that the caller wants a "marchy" or "slinky" or "driving" tune set is very helpful, but hearing that they want a "bubbly" tune is really not all that helpful. Ask what language they'd like to communicate in, and it can go much smoother. I agree with Barb that simply sharing the dance card isn't the best approach. In dances where I play, apparently unlike Michael F.'s experience, this is an extremely common practice. But, in my view, it's the caller's responsibility to decide how the dance should be. Many dances work well either with smooth, flowing reels, or bouncy jigs, and the mood of the dance should be something the caller selects to fit in with the evening's program. That said, if the caller isn't giving me helpful adjectives, I'll ask to see the cards, just so I can at least make sure we won't be playing the bounciest set ever when there's a hey into a gypsy meltdown, etc. Also, I would echo other people's suggestions to find out which band member you should be communicating with, and at the very least, what style of music the band plays. Getting a recording or two is even more helpful. You should know ahead of time not to ask an old-time band to play a polka, and you should also know not to ask a band with no strings in it to play an old-time tune. It's a particular pet peeve of mine as a musician when a caller asks for an old-time tune with every square dance, regardless of who's in the band. It might require actually looking at the moves and figuring out what other music would work best with that particular dance, but it's always going to be a better experience for the dancers if the band plays music that they're good at playing. -Dave On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 10:58 PM, Ron T Blechner <contraron(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote: -- David Casserly (cell) 781 258-2761