7 Mar
2012
7 Mar
'12
10:45 p.m.
Dugan asked:
What is your experience working with bands to
establish an appropriate
tempo? Do bands ever ask you what tempo you want? Do you ever request a
particular tempo to fit a dance? Do you communicate tempo requirements
numerically (beats per minute) or maybe by tapping your feet? When are
slower tempos appropriate and when are faster ones appropriate? What do
you consider to be the range in beats per minute that is appropriate for
contra? Some preliminary research told me that a range of 112-120 beats
per minute is appropriate. Do you agree?
Numerical bpm don't particularly resonate with me. I've heard that the typical
contra dance range is 108-120. I suspect there's a narrow range where a
balance feels organic.
With experienced contra dance bands I typically let them start where they want
(which is usually just fine but sometimes too fast or too slow) and then signal
walk over and say "a hair slower" while alternating holding thumb and
forefinger close together to show that I'm talking about a small adjustment
(when that's what's called for) and then making a sort of patting motion (palm
down, fingers out, moving down) to show "slower". The only times I've ever
had
to speed a band up was when they reacted to a "slow down" suggestion by getting
too slow.
I need to set tempi for English dance bands all the time (since different
dances very typically have different tempi, ranging from maybe 90 to maybe 120,
and different callers prefer different tempi for the same dances). Things
that work include doodling a tune for them at the desired tempo, walking at the
desired tempo, walking the figure at the desired tempo, moving my hand at the
desired tempo. Walking the figure at the desired tempo while doodling the tune
seems to make those bands the happiest - but you're likely to fall off the
stage if you do that at a contra dance.
I've called with maybe 20-25 bands in my young
calling career and only 2
have asked me for guidance or confirmation concerning the tempo of their
music (both bands play primarily for non-contra audiences, I believe). I
told both bands to use their judgment, which produced satisfactory results
in all cases except one dance in which the band misunderstood my request
for a sultry/flirty tune to mean that they should play at about half the
tempo one would normally expect for contra, which proved terribly confusing
for the dancers. The lesson I learned is that I ought to know more about
the range of tempo that is expected for contra and what tempos are
appropriate when so that I can provide that information to bands when asked.
I would extend that lesson to say that you should know what's good for the
specific dance you're calling, not just what's generally acceptable for contras
in general. What style of tune works, what tempo works, etc. (And you may
need to adjust tempi down from normal if it's a hot night, etc, etc.) If you're
working with bands who haven't played for contra before you want to be sure you
get your signals worked out with them in advance.
-- Alan Winston
Redwood City, CA
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Alan Winston --- WINSTON(a)SSRL.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU
Disclaimer: I speak only for myself, not SLAC or SSRL Phone: 650/926-3056
Paper mail to: SSRL -- SLAC BIN 99, 2575 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park CA 94025
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