Good suggestions. I also ask the band if they do roll-ins or if they can vamp. If they don't do roll-ins we can sometimes plan to practice a couple of roll-ins before the dance begins. That really helps to build the confidence of the dancers. Some musicians have a specific way they roll-in the music during the walk-through. It helps to get our signals straight before the dance starts.
I give the band a printed program of dances I'm planning for the evening with a "mood" column that some use as a guide for selecting tunes. Some bands want to see my cards as well. - Greg McKenzie Santa Cruz, CA ******************* On Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 8:12 AM, barb kirchner <barbkirch...@hotmail.com>wrote: > > hey ron - some good points! i think what we're coming up with here is that > it doesn't exactly matter WHAT you ask the band, as long as you set up some > good communication with them. take the time to talk, to ask who is in > charge of what, what they reallly like to do most, etc., etc., etc. ron - > i have a slightly different approach if the caller doesn't give me good > clues. i watch the walk-through. seriously, i program the music like the > caller programs dances (start out easy and straightforward, kick up the > energy, change the tempo, up the energy again, change the tempo again, big > ending number). i USUALLY know what i want to play next, or at least have > it narrowed down to two or three sets (ie, i have three different sets that > i could use to "change the tempo"). if the walk-through goes well, i play > whatever my first choice was. if not, i'll pick a more laid-back set :-) > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 10:59:14 -0500 > > From: david.j.casse...@gmail.com > > To: call...@sharedweight.net > > Subject: Re: [Callers] What to ask a band before the gig? > > > > Hi Ron, > > > > When I was first learning to call, Becky Hill suggested that, instead of > > simply telling bands what kinds of tunes you want using the wide > vocabulary > > at your own disposal, ask bands what kinds of adjectives they'd find > > useful. As a musician, hearing that the caller wants a "marchy" or > > "slinky" or "driving" tune set is very helpful, but hearing that they > want > > a "bubbly" tune is really not all that helpful. Ask what language they'd > > like to communicate in, and it can go much smoother. > > > > I agree with Barb that simply sharing the dance card isn't the best > > approach. In dances where I play, apparently unlike Michael F.'s > > experience, this is an extremely common practice. But, in my view, it's > > the caller's responsibility to decide how the dance should be. Many > dances > > work well either with smooth, flowing reels, or bouncy jigs, and the mood > > of the dance should be something the caller selects to fit in with the > > evening's program. That said, if the caller isn't giving me helpful > > adjectives, I'll ask to see the cards, just so I can at least make sure > we > > won't be playing the bounciest set ever when there's a hey into a gypsy > > meltdown, etc. > > > > Also, I would echo other people's suggestions to find out which band > member > > you should be communicating with, and at the very least, what style of > > music the band plays. Getting a recording or two is even more helpful. > > You should know ahead of time not to ask an old-time band to play a > polka, > > and you should also know not to ask a band with no strings in it to play > an > > old-time tune. It's a particular pet peeve of mine as a musician when a > > caller asks for an old-time tune with every square dance, regardless of > > who's in the band. It might require actually looking at the moves and > > figuring out what other music would work best with that particular dance, > > but it's always going to be a better experience for the dancers if the > band > > plays music that they're good at playing. > > > > -Dave > > > > On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 10:58 PM, Ron T Blechner <contra...@gmail.com > >wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > What sorts of questions do you ask bands prior to the dance, > especially by > > > e-mail / phone? > > > > > > A couple I like are: > > > - Do they have particular music sets they like to play at certain > times, > > > like, to end the night, etc? > > > - Especially if I haven't heard them before in person, what overall > types > > > of music do they enjoy playing the most? > > > > > > I'd love to hear your thoughts. > > > > > > Best, > > > Ron T Blechner > > > contradances.tumblr.com/ron > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Callers mailing list > > > call...@sharedweight.net > > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > David Casserly > > (cell) 781 258-2761 > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > call...@sharedweight.net > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > call...@sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
