2 Dec
2011
2 Dec
'11
11:54 a.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
2 Dec
2 Dec
12:34 p.m.
Chrissy Fowler wrote:
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.)
If the tune sounds flipped to other people and not just to you, I
would think it wasn't a good choice of tune. A vs B is part of what
it is the band's job to communicate.
It might also be that they're playing a tune that is commonly played
both ways round. There are a few tunes in this category, and they
sound fine either way around. People who have heard enough music to
have been exposed to the tune played the other way around will be
confused, though. This isn't so much of a problem for the dancers,
but it's not so fun as a caller if it's happening to you.
Jeff
3:32 p.m.
On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 12:54 PM, Chrissy Fowler
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?? ;)
I don't know how hard a rule it is, but on average at least the B part
is generally higher pitched than the A part.
4:07 p.m.
On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 4:32 PM, Donald Perley <donperley(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 12:54 PM, Chrissy Fowler
tunes played A/B/A/B. I have to keep repeating to myself, "One A, One B"
or
otherwise I'll call the wrong part.
So yes, I agree with Chrissy that it's incredibly useful to have AABB in
your bloodstream. Dance lots, and listen to lots of fiddle tunes.
Best,
Lisa
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lisa(a)lisasieverts.com
603-762-0235
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?? ;)
And then there's calling in Nelson, where it's common to hear Cape Breton
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3 comments
4 participants
participants (4)
-
Chrissy Fowler -
Donald Perley -
Jeff Kaufman -
Lisa Sieverts