Sylvia,

I've danced to Duke Miller at Fitzwilliam with Bob McQuillen on piano.

It could also have been Life On the Ocean Wave.  Tom Hall, fiddler and melody guitar player at the
Killingly CT dances for most of my 25 years, had tunes he balked at.  Sometimes if you cajoled him
into one he'd play it a couple of times through and go on to something else. 

Never ask for Pistol Packin' Mama,

Bob
 


From: "Sylvia Miskoe sylviasmiskoe@gmail.com [trad-dance-callers]"
To: trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com; Rich Sbardella
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2017 1:38 PM
Subject: Re: [trad-dance-callers] Singing Squares

 
I thought it was Life on the ocean Wave.
Duke Miller was a supberb caller and called in Peterborough and Fitzwilliam NH in the summers.  His program  was the same week after week.  Lots of good budding musicians learned the craft there and after several years moved on.  Only in the last few years of Duke's life did the musicians stay.  They knew he was aging and might not be around the next year.  Also people were beginning to recognize what a treasure he was
Sylvia


On Mon, Jun 12, 2017 at 1:26 PM, Robert Livingston rlivngstn@yahoo.com [trad-dance-callers] <trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
 
Sylvia,

Some years ago Ralph Sweet would hold a afternoon dance in his barn on Christmas day.  One year he invited me up
to do a singing call.  Bob McQuillen was on piano.  Forgot what I called but later I read where Bob had refused to play
Spanish Cavaliero on many occasions.   Dang, I wished I had asked for it.

Bob Livingston


From: "Sylvia Miskoe sylviasmiskoe@gmail.com [trad-dance-callers]" <trad-dance-callers@ yahoogroups.com>
To: trad-dance-callers@ yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2017 11:57 AM
Subject: Re: [trad-dance-callers] Singing Squares

 
Hi Rich -
I'd like to offer a few opinions about the lack of interest in singing squares from a musician's point of view.

Most of the tunes are simple, often only 8 bars, repeated 4 times, for one round of the dance.  There is no room for substitution or picking alternate tunes.  Nowadays, unless the musician has a copy of Ralph Sweet and Nils
Fredland's singing calls book, they may not know where to find the appropriate tune.  Once found, there is the question of what key to play.  I have played the same dance in 4 different keys for 4 different callers: F, G, Bb and D.  

If one plays the same program for a weekly or monthly dance, boredom will set in.  For example, Golden Slippers put to the dance 'Down the Middle with a Butterfly Twirl'.  It is played AAB.  One must pay attention to that pattern.  By the time you finish the dance, you will have played it 24 times.

I don't want to see singing squares die out and willingly play them if asked but a whole evening, repeated every week loses its magic.

Cheers,
Sylvia Miskoe, Concord NH