I'm just home from the awesome dance organizer's conference that just took
place in White River Junction, VT.
My mind is buzzing and I want to share some of my thoughts.
First, I feel so validated in my choice to invest lots of time and energy
into our local dances. Giving people the opportunity to experience
community in the context of social dance is a worthwhile and valuable thing
to do. I knew that already, but spending time with 80 other organizers
helped me to see this again, with new eyes.
Second, I'm energized about our dances, and about broadening the team that
manages the events. I see clearly that being able to help with the dance is
a privilege and an honor. I can feel good about tapping a regular on the
shoulder and saying, "would you like to be part of the team that puts this
dance on"?
I'm so happy that we already have this venue of Shared Weight - Organizers.
Let's keep the energy and support that we had this weekend flowing.
Thanks to CDSS, NEFFA, DEFFA, New England Dancing Masters, MFS, and the
hard work of Chrissy Fowler, Delia Clark, Linda Henry and Mary Wesley.
--
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103582272438&s=522&e=001yMXrq9ir0gBX7ESCD5f3q…>
lisa(a)lisasieverts.com
603-762-0235
> Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2013 13:47:24 -0500
> From: Jeff Kaufman <jeff(a)alum.swarthmore.edu>
> To: A list for dance organizers <organizers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Organizers] Soundsystem question for community band
> On Thu, Mar 7, 2013 at 1:20 PM, Emily Addison <emilyladdison(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>> we have tested and would like to purchase a soundsystem
>> that mic's kind of like a choir (pencil mics etc).
>
> A choir has a quiet audience while a dance band has a noisy one. Most
> singers in a choir are about the same volume (and where they're not
> that's a problem for the choir director to fix) while some dance
> instruments are much louder or quieter than others. So while a choir
> can do well with mics that are far away from the singers ("area mics")
> that often doesn't work well for dance bands.
>
> Approaches I've seen work are, in descending order of difficulty,
> effort, and expense:
>
> 1) Mic no one. Hard on the caller to be loud enough.
> 2) Mic only the caller.
> 3) Also mic a couple anchor instruments like piano and fiddle.
> 4) Also mic some quiet instruments like mandolin or jaw harp.
> 5) Individual mics for everyone.
>
> I think #2 and #3 are a good choice for a lot of situations.
>
> Jeff
To me the basic three musts for sound are:
1) can you hear the caller?
2) can you hear the beat and phrases?
without these dances may fall apart
3) are the musicians happy?
happy musicians play better
Thus I recommend 3) or 4) - depending on musician style.
Hello Contra Dance Organizers!
I hope this question is ok for the organizer list. Is it a fit? Is there a
better place to ask? I'd love some advice on an appropriate sound system
for a community band!
*The context:*
www.ottawacontra.ca started a "Community Talent Contra Dance" in September
2012. As part of this, we created a community band that anyone can join...
right now we have about seven regulars as well as other drop in musicians.
None of the musicians are mic'd, only the caller. However, we have some
really quiet instruments (e.g., nykleharpa) and we want to get into playing
dynamics ... thus we have tested and would like to purchase a soundsystem
that mic's kind of like a choir (pencil mics etc). The band will be doing
it's own sound and we want something relatively light and easy to move
around.
*Might anyone have advice on the system and mics we might buy??? Here is
what we are thinking (although we are open to many suggestions!)....*
*System:*
We're thinking of getting the Samson XP308i. It would allow us 1 caller
mic, 3 pencil mics, plus a couple more inputs for say an electric piano or
the like. It would be nice to have the option of 1-2 more pencil options
but that could be too much. Samson has a more powerful version but it costs
more and even if we get 20 players out to the community band, we don't have
to mic everyone. *Are there other options we should be considering??? Any
experience with this system???*
*
*
*Caller mic:*
I'm thinking a Shure 58. * This is the common wired mic yes?*
*3 pencil mics:*
We had tested Samson C02... I wasn't necessarily completely sold on these
but they could be all right. *Do you have any preferred suggestions that
would each work to mic a couple of instruments beside each other?*
*
*
Much thanks for any advice!
Emily Addison
Ottawa, Ontario
