[Callers] cueing the band

[Claire Takemori via Callers]

Thanks Alan!   Sounds like a lot to learn.  I'm really grateful that there are so many callers willing to mentor new callers and help with these things. 
When I called at camp last week, I was listening for the 3rd song and even my experienced caller helper was not sure on the transition....... but knew when to ask. 

Must be an amazing thing when really good callers like George Marshall can get out on the floor and dance for a bit, or Nils Fredland can join the band...... 

Thanks for all the help! 
claire 


Message: 3
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2015 00:31:54 -0700
From: Alan Winston via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net>
To: <callers at lists.sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Thanks
Message-ID: <559F74EA.4010603 at slac.stanford.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"; format=flowed



On 7/9/15 11:58 PM, Claire Takemori via Callers wrote:
> 
> I'm still looking for good instructions on when to cue the band for the ending?   Is it simply when a couple is out at the top that you signal during B1 that there are 3 more times left?
Basically, mostly.

And you have to stay with them because sometimes they'll catch the 3, 
know it's happening, and then look to you for confirmation of the last 
one and if you're thinking about the next dance or glazing over and 
can't confirm it, confusion may ensue.  So it doesn't hurt to be ready 
to show them 1 finger (not that one) before the last time. Usually a 
full 3-2-1 is more than they need and actually unhelpful because your 
coming over with the "2" makes them think this is new information and 
they need to process it.


Complications:  Some dances have a couple out at the top in B1 who are 
going to be brought back in B2, so you have to know the end effects of 
the dance.

Talk to the band.

Rarely (in the Bay Area, anyway) you get an old-timey band that's just 
going to pound one tune all the way through, and they just want to know 
when to go out.

I've mostly been used to bands that are playing three-tune medleys. 
They're going to play like 6-6-7 or 6-6-5.  The last tune is probably 
climactic so you don't want to cut it short.  You ideally will keep 
track of which tune they're on (which can be surprisingly hard to do 
from the stage with your attention on the floor and no monitors pointing 
at you and the tune sounding different every time they play it because 
of variations and dynamics - you might not realize they've changed)  and 
know when they're in the third tune and give them the 3-more at B1 of 
tune 2 or 4.    If you give 'em 3 when they're about to change tunes 
they might wave you off and play 5.

But the band might want to play a two-tune medley, and then they want to 
know when you're (about) halfway through the dance so they know when to 
switch, and for that you have to decide how many times you want to run 
the dance, keep count of how many times it's been run by the time you 
said it was halfway, and count down to your "3", remembering to do it 
when there's a couple out at the top, if that's possible.

"If that's possible" because sometimes you're trying to manage all this 
and some couple drops out of one set or tries and fails to trade or some 
other damn thing and the sets get out of synch.  (For some reason that's 
happened to me most often calling Lake City.) Then it's not possible to 
finish after a couple has come in at the top in all sets.

People who care about that care about that,  most won't notice, and a 
lot of dancers will just say "huh" and move on if they do notice it.

> 
> 
> What I was mostly curious is if someone had written out ways to teach the various steps.  I guess this is one of those things that is still passed down the old-fashioned way.  I have to find a great caller, listen to them call and write down what they say.....  I was hoping I would not have to miss out on dancing to learn this.

You can set up a voice recorder and transcribe later.  (Polite to ask if 
it's okay first.)  If you're friends with the sound man you might the 
caller mic feed ...

-- Alan

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