27 Nov
2012
27 Nov
'12
8:14 p.m.
I've been talking with my band lately about coming up with some contra
tunes that I/they/we can sing.
a) suggestions for tunes? (Contra and waltz alike.)
b) when do you usually stop calling and start singing? What do you do if
the dance gets off track and you need to throw in some more calls?
c) other relevant things to consider when the band/caller tries to sing for
a less experienced group of dancers?
Thanks!
Maia
27 Nov
27 Nov
9:32 p.m.
Maia wrote:
I've been talking with my band lately about coming
up with some contra
tunes that I/they/we can sing.
Good question. This is something I've thought about over the years. In
general I would be very cautious about this kind of thing for several
reasons. It is something that seems more appropriate for events which are
gatherings of contra dance enthusiasts, rather than open public dance
events.
a) suggestions for tunes? (Contra and waltz alike.)
For myself, personally, I would choose simple songs with few words,
possibly that folks can sing along with. The singing will preclude other
activities--such as flirting and talking amongst dancers--so it has to be
done in small doses. This is often done by bands during waltzes around
here (San Francisco area). People seem to enjoy it.
b) when do you usually stop calling and start singing? What do you do if
the dance gets off track and you need to throw in some
more calls?
With a simple song I would start calling and allow dancers to carry the
song while I stepped in with calls. But I would probably not even try this
unless I were confident that there would be no problems. A simple song,
and an easy dance.
c) other relevant things to consider when the
band/caller tries to sing for
a less experienced group of dancers?
I wouldn't do this to a hall with more than a few confident newcomers. I
wouldn't do it more than once in an evening. And if I did it I would
practice carefully with the band until we had it down pat. This is not
something you want to do half way.
- Greg McKenzie
29 Nov
29 Nov
5:49 p.m.
I have called to bands that sing occasionally. I've even thrown in a chorus
or refrain once the dancers hit the groove. I'd be very careful. Singing
tends to focus attention and energy to the song and away from being there
for the dancers. There are any number of good waltzes with words, though
I'd thrown in the caveat that not every song in 3/4 time is a waltz (though
you can waltz to most of them).
.
On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 4:32 PM, Greg McKenzie <grekenzie(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Maia wrote:
I've been talking with my band lately about
coming up with some contra
tunes that I/they/we can sing.
Good question. This is something I've thought about over the years. In
general I would be very cautious about this kind of thing for several
reasons. It is something that seems more appropriate for events which are
gatherings of contra dance enthusiasts, rather than open public dance
events.
a) suggestions for tunes? (Contra and waltz
alike.)
For myself, personally, I would choose simple songs with few words,
possibly that folks can sing along with. The singing will preclude other
activities--such as flirting and talking amongst dancers--so it has to be
done in small doses. This is often done by bands during waltzes around
here (San Francisco area). People seem to enjoy it.
b) when do you usually stop calling and start singing? What do you do if
the dance gets off track and you need to throw in
some more calls?
With a simple song I would start calling and allow dancers to carry the
song while I stepped in with calls. But I would probably not even try this
unless I were confident that there would be no problems. A simple song,
and an easy dance.
c) other relevant things to consider when the
band/caller tries to sing
for
a less experienced group of dancers?
I wouldn't do this to a hall with more than a few confident newcomers. I
wouldn't do it more than once in an evening. And if I did it I would
practice carefully with the band until we had it down pat. This is not
something you want to do half way.
- Greg McKenzie
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27 Nov
27 Nov
9:40 p.m.
Waltz songs I've enjoyed dancing to when sung:
- Log Riders Waltz
- Tennessee Waltz
- Star of the County Down
- After the Ball (although the lyrics are really a downer)
- Take Me Out to the Ballgame
- Home, Sweet Home
- I Could Have Danced All Night
(And "Shall We Dance" is a fun polka, for that matter.)
I've also experienced a wonderful band with a fabulous vocalist who can
concertize on her own, but whose sung waltzes are often unsatisfying to
me *as waltzes* because they're at the tempo which allows for full
emotional expression of the song and that's too slow for good rotary waltz.
In contra dancing I've enjoyed "mouth music" breaks on fast Irish tunes
but haven't tried to dance to anyone singing lyrics.
English dance has a rich history of dances set to ballad tunes and we've
had balls where that was a theme.
Unlike singing squares, I've more generally encountered bands that sing.
The main thing to remember, I should think, is that you're serving the
dance experience. Keeping the set from breaking down is more important
than finishing the lyric. Also, this should be spice, not meat and
potatoes.
Experiment slowly; do it on simple dances; use your judgment. For
getting your feet wet I would say that you
might run a simple dance with instruments + calling 2/3 of the way
through, then sing at a point where you could
expect to drop out from calling - and then end the dance if it looks
like there's a problem.
I'd also say: rehearse, use a metronome, record yourself, make sure you
can sing satisfactorily at dance tempo.
Make sure your ego is okay with dancers essentially ignoring your
singing; they're there to to dance with each other, not to to listen to
you. [You can get much more responsiveness to singing behind couple
dances, I think.]
And as for the less-experienced group of dancers: If you have any doubt
about how it will work, you shouldn't do it.
-- Alan
On 11/27/2012 12:14 PM, Maia McCormick wrote:
I've been talking with my band lately about coming
up with some contra
tunes that I/they/we can sing.
a) suggestions for tunes? (Contra and waltz alike.)
b) when do you usually stop calling and start singing? What do you do if
the dance gets off track and you need to throw in some more calls?
c) other relevant things to consider when the band/caller tries to sing for
a less experienced group of dancers?
Thanks!
Maia
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
9:59 p.m.
A few Decembers ago the band surprised us with a holiday tune by playing the Chipmunk Song
for the final waltz - everyone knew many of the words and sung along - it was fun!
Mac
________________________________
From: Alan Winston <winston(a)slac.stanford.edu>
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 3:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Sung fiddle tunes?
Waltz songs I've enjoyed dancing to when sung:
- Log Riders Waltz
- Tennessee Waltz
- Star of the County Down
- After the Ball (although the lyrics are really a downer)
- Take Me Out to the Ballgame
- Home, Sweet Home
- I Could Have Danced All Night
(And "Shall We Dance" is a fun polka, for that matter.)
I've also experienced a wonderful band with a fabulous vocalist who can concertize on
her own, but whose sung waltzes are often unsatisfying to me *as waltzes* because
they're at the tempo which allows for full emotional expression of the song and
that's too slow for good rotary waltz.
In contra dancing I've enjoyed "mouth music" breaks on fast Irish tunes but
haven't tried to dance to anyone singing lyrics.
English dance has a rich history of dances set to ballad tunes and we've had balls
where that was a theme.
Unlike singing squares, I've more generally encountered bands that sing.
The main thing to remember, I should think, is that you're serving the dance
experience. Keeping the set from breaking down is more important than finishing the
lyric. Also, this should be spice, not meat and potatoes.
Experiment slowly; do it on simple dances; use your judgment. For getting your feet wet I
would say that you
might run a simple dance with instruments + calling 2/3 of the way through, then sing at a
point where you could
expect to drop out from calling - and then end the dance if it looks like there's a
problem.
I'd also say: rehearse, use a metronome, record yourself, make sure you can sing
satisfactorily at dance tempo.
Make sure your ego is okay with dancers essentially ignoring your singing; they're
there to to dance with each other, not to to listen to you. [You can get much more
responsiveness to singing behind couple dances, I think.]
And as for the less-experienced group of dancers: If you have any doubt about how it will
work, you shouldn't do it.
-- Alan
On 11/27/2012 12:14 PM, Maia McCormick wrote:
I've been talking with my band lately about coming
up with some contra
tunes that I/they/we can sing.
a) suggestions for tunes? (Contra and waltz alike.)
b) when do you usually stop calling and start singing? What do you do if
the dance gets off track and you need to throw in some more calls?
c) other relevant things to consider when the band/caller tries to sing for
a less experienced group of dancers?
Thanks!
Maia
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
10:14 p.m.
I have polkaed to the Hamster Dance tune. It's *brutal*.
-- Alan
On 11/27/2012 1:59 PM, Richard Mckeever wrote:
A few Decembers ago the band surprised us with a
holiday tune by
playing the Chipmunk Song for the final waltz - everyone knew many of
the words and sung along - it was fun!
Mac
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* Alan Winston <winston(a)slac.stanford.edu>
*To:* callers(a)sharedweight.net
*Sent:* Tuesday, November 27, 2012 3:40 PM
*Subject:* Re: [Callers] Sung fiddle tunes?
Waltz songs I've enjoyed dancing to when sung:
- Log Riders Waltz
- Tennessee Waltz
- Star of the County Down
- After the Ball (although the lyrics are really a downer)
- Take Me Out to the Ballgame
- Home, Sweet Home
- I Could Have Danced All Night
(And "Shall We Dance" is a fun polka, for that matter.)
I've also experienced a wonderful band with a fabulous vocalist who
can concertize on her own, but whose sung waltzes are often
unsatisfying to me *as waltzes* because they're at the tempo which
allows for full emotional expression of the song and that's too slow
for good rotary waltz.
In contra dancing I've enjoyed "mouth music" breaks on fast Irish
tunes but haven't tried to dance to anyone singing lyrics.
English dance has a rich history of dances set to ballad tunes and
we've had balls where that was a theme.
Unlike singing squares, I've more generally encountered bands that sing.
The main thing to remember, I should think, is that you're serving
the dance experience. Keeping the set from breaking down is more
important than finishing the lyric. Also, this should be spice, not
meat and potatoes.
Experiment slowly; do it on simple dances; use your judgment. For
getting your feet wet I would say that you
might run a simple dance with instruments + calling 2/3 of the way
through, then sing at a point where you could
expect to drop out from calling - and then end the dance if it looks
like there's a problem.
I'd also say: rehearse, use a metronome, record yourself, make sure
you can sing satisfactorily at dance tempo.
Make sure your ego is okay with dancers essentially ignoring your
singing; they're there to to dance with each other, not to to listen
to you. [You can get much more responsiveness to singing behind
couple dances, I think.]
And as for the less-experienced group of dancers: If you have any
doubt about how it will work, you shouldn't do it.
-- Alan
On 11/27/2012 12:14 PM, Maia McCormick wrote:
I've been talking with my band lately about
coming up with some contra
tunes that I/they/we can sing.
a) suggestions for tunes? (Contra and waltz alike.)
b) when do you usually stop calling and start singing? What do you do if
the dance gets off track and you need to throw in some more calls?
c) other relevant things to consider when the band/caller tries to
sing for
a less experienced group of dancers?
Thanks!
Maia
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers@sharedweight.net>
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers@sharedweight.net>
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
28 Nov
28 Nov
12:03 a.m.
I and the band I play with and call for once played a dance at a union hall
for a labor organization. So of COURSE we played "Redwing" and sang the
lyrics to "The Union Maid". That went over quite well and was a lot of fun.
-cynthia
4160
days inactive
4162
days old
contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net
6 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
Alan Winston -
Cynthia Phinney -
George Mercer -
Greg McKenzie -
Maia McCormick -
Richard Mckeever