Hi Dave, Jeff, Jerome, Don, John, & Paul (+ others),
A belated thanks for all of the sound advice! I've been pulled in many
directions the last month so I put the sound equipment research on hold but
I'm getting back to it now. :)
You all brought up some really good points... the noise of the room/band,
multiple handlers of equipment, various options for micing, etc.
The challenge we're facing is that we're a community band that anyone can
join but we're also a group who are wanting to work on arrangements, hear
different voices etc. We're quite new so we may grow to 20+ players but
right now we're around 8 and so we're wanting to really hear the nykelharpa
or quiet fiddler do solo work.
I like the mic'ing some people approach! Our oboe/bombard player doesn't
need a mic, that's for sure. :)
We're also experimenting with seating arrangements and are going for a
tight semi-circle as we don't have monitors for folks. ... ... having a
small sound system to experiment on before we buy is proving helpful.
I'm going to go hunting in that yahoo groups link you sent Dave.
Thanks!
Emily in Ottawa
On Sat, Mar 9, 2013 at 12:00 PM, <organizers-request(a)sharedweight.net>wrote:
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> 1. Re: Organizers Digest, Vol 42, Issue 1 (John W Gintell)
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2013 12:09:14 -0500
> From: John W Gintell <john(a)gintell.org>
> To: organizers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: Re: [Organizers] Organizers Digest, Vol 42, Issue 1
> Message-ID: <23655727-DC54-4F44-B1AE-B06A01ACB12A(a)gintell.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>
> > 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.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
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> End of Organizers Digest, Vol 42, Issue 2
> *****************************************
>
I have a question for organizers who use Facebook to publicize
their dance events: How far in advance of an event do you send
out a Facebook invitation?
Sufficient advance notice can give time for some buzz to build
as people get to see that other people have marked themselves
as "Going" or posted replies. But with too much lead time,
people could decide not to plan that far ahead, and by the time
the event draws nearer they could have forgotten about it. How
much lead time is a good compromise?
The frequency of dances might also be a consideration. Sending
invitations two or three weeks in advance might make more sense
for a monthly dance than for a weekly dance. I'm currently one
of the organizers for a dance that runs on 2nd, 4th, and 5th
Saturdays, so dances are usually two weeks apart but occasionally
only one week apart. A similar situation would apply for a dance
that ran on, say, 1st, 3rd, and 5th Saturdays (or Wednesdays, or
whatever). I know one series that runs on 1st and 3rd Saturdays
and 4th Fridays, so that about once ever seven years they have
consecutive dances on Friday, February 28 and Saturday, March 1.
Dances could also be closer-spaced than usual if a special-date
event is *added* to the calendar (instead of *replacing* a
regularly-scheduled dance). Organizers could want to get timely
word out for whichever event happens second, but not want to
stomp on the earlier one. With a calendar on a regular web page,
you can just list all the events, with as much or little
special emphasis on any particular ones as you choose. But what
do you do about timing the Facebook invitations?
Thanks.
--Jim
> 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
Thanks for all the input and good ideas! It looks like snacks are in.
My favorite snack was gleaned from a bicycling event -- bananas, sliced
thru the skin lengthwise then cut in inch or two pieces. Easy and
non-messy.
Cheers, Sue R.
I agree with Stephen and Jeff. Snacks are terrific. Especially good way to build a thriving community. Low cost for great return.
Chrissy Fowler
PS For 6 years our Tasty Treat potluck was a vital part of our dance. We've recently let our snack potluck slide into oblivion, due to lack of interest on the part of dancers and organizers both. It was complicated by our series structure (Community dance then Contras, with snacks in between the two) and hall configuration (nowhere to eat snacks but on the crowded dance floor) We were hearing complaints from parents with young kids who didn't want them sugared up before bedtime, and no one from the contras was coming early to contribute. For a while we had a coordinator solicit/buy snacks and set them up ($30 or so per dance, for fruit, cheese, crackers, etc.) When the coordinator 'retired', we decided to stop spending money and time on it, and saved ourselves from trying to sweeping up the crumbs and mess before the contras started (a futile task.) We may change our minds and revive the snacks in some other configuration. But for now we only do snacks on our 'birthday dance' - the anniversary of the series.
But I definitely would suggest doing it as part of a new series. Food greases the social machine.
Hi folks,
This is (or feels like) my first time writing to this list. Somehow, it feels like there must be an easier way to send a response, but if this works, so be it........
Sue, is your community dance geared toward folks who just want to have fun doing all sorts of dances? You call it "old style community contra with a variety of dance forms", which sounds like what we have been doing now for 3 years in the Albany, NY area. We have tried 2 different locations and experimented with times. Our dance season is November through April, Saturday nights.
At this point, I think we would be better off running it as a two and a half hour dance, with a 10 to 15 minute break. Right now, we are running it for 3 hours (7:30 to 10:30) with a 15 minute break, and by the last half hour, more than half of the dancers have gone home. We are thinking maybe 7 to 9:30 or 7:30 to 10. We get maybe 4 to 6 children, who go home after intermission.
Another community dance that I have been involved with, run twice a year (Oct or Nov and April) goes from 7 to 9:30 (15 minute break), and is a huge success. They get lots of children for the first half of the evening, but there are still enough folks after the break to have good energy.
Paul Rosenberg
www.homespun.biz
518-482-9255
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 20:59:28 -0500
From: Sue Robishaw <sue(a)manytracks.com>
To: organizers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Organizers] Length of Dance
Message-ID: <50F9FE00.8050201(a)manytracks.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Hi All,
I'm in the process of organizing a new dance series (old style Community Contra with a variety of dance forms). It will be on a week-day evening. I'm wondering how long others run their regular dances, not including beginner sessions or potlucks or such. And typically how long is your mid-break?
Thanks!
Sue Robishaw, U.P. of Michigan
P.S. And thanks also for all the sharing that has gone on in the past on Shared Weight. I have lots of good notes and ideas from past posts (from the Callers list).
Hi Organizers,
I have been exploring holding a 2 or 3 day fundraising event in June in the
venue where we hold a monthly dance series. Two prominent and popular
callers have agreed to call one on the Friday and one on the Saturday of the
weekend. A third caller may be available if the event is scheduled for
three days. The committee is afraid it will be another Woodstock with kids
sleeping in school busses and peeing in the bushes. Have you encountered
these fears before (I have not). They are afraid that we will be inundated
with large numbers of people, many of them unruly. I feel we can limit
attendance if need be by requiring pre registration or tickets, and I am
frankly not so worried. I am definitely not looking to organize a huge
event. 50 to 100 paying customers would easily meet our fundraising goals.
I also see it as a way to reach out to the community around us - with
beginners' events and family dances and free outdoor activities. I believe
that the fears of the committee are grossly exaggerated.
Have you ever organized a small multi-day event? What were your experiences
in terms of having too many people? What has worked? What has not? If you
have experience with this please let me know your experiences, on or
offline, and if it would be ok to put committee members in touch with you.
Direct, people to people contact is always best I feel.
Rickey
P.S. If you feel you know where this is, please do not say so, so that I can
preserve their privacy.
r.
Regarding microphones for use by the Caller (not by the band), do you have a particular brand and model that you think is superior for use by a caller?
Our group (Queen City Contras, Burlington, Vermont) does not own sound equipment, so we are at the mercy of the the equipment provided by the band (or sometimes a small-time, local provider). Often it is quite difficult to hear the caller during a dance, and I have experienced the same problem in many other halls, with many other sound systems (even some very expensive systems). The calling needs to be intelligible, not acoustically accurate. I know that there are many contributing factors, but I suspect that often the microphone is a big part of the problem.
Do you supply a microphone for the caller? Do you have a particular brand and model that you think is superior for use by a dance caller?
Thanks,
-Brian Appleberry
Queen City Contras
Frozen in Vermont
Hi,
Thanks so much for all the responses to my dance length question. It was good to get an idea of what others do.
Another area that is up in the air for our new series is snacks. How important do you think they are or aren't at a twice a month Community Dance series? Our organization group is very small at this point so we're thinking maybe this is something we could add in later if dancers want.
Cheers,
Sue R.
U.P. of Michigan
