{"items": [{"author": "Steven", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/426789184019103?comment_id=426836300681058", "anchor": "fb-426836300681058", "service": "fb", "text": "Yeah, you can get too clever, as I know from personal experience...", "timestamp": "1339601701"}, {"author": "Mac", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/426789184019103?comment_id=426878230676865", "anchor": "fb-426878230676865", "service": "fb", "text": "Absolutely correct about music too easy to slide around on. The dancers possess some crowd wisdom about where the beat is IF there are enough balances for the room to synchronize on. But I have seen ends of lines be a beat or three off.
Tangent: You describe tapping out 64 beats, which aligns with my understanding of how beats are counted in music. But it seems that I have heard contra musicians describe other units of beating that don't put 64 beats in an AA'BB' unit, but instead some lower number. Is this real, or just a non-understanding on my part?", "timestamp": "1339607817"}, {"author": "Chris", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/426789184019103?comment_id=426933940671294", "anchor": "fb-426933940671294", "service": "fb", "text": "Walker: I personally keep track of everything as 8 sets of 8 beats instead of 4 sets of 16. Even then, some moves can be broken up in to 4s (balance) or even 2s (pass thru).", "timestamp": "1339615135"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/426789184019103?comment_id=427092420655446", "anchor": "fb-427092420655446", "service": "fb", "text": "@Walker: people will also say \"32 bars\" where a bar, in both jigs and reels, has two beats. And people will occasionally count a reel as having 128 or 258 beats and a jig as having 192 or 384, but those very are unusual.", "timestamp": "1339638128"}, {"author": "Andrew", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/426789184019103?comment_id=427126790652009", "anchor": "fb-427126790652009", "service": "fb", "text": "Jeff, the top of your note referred to getting lost in the chord structure of the tune and general dance structure, and then later you talked about beats. I don't think most dancers know or notice I IV V, or even AABB.
I agree that dancers are more likely to get lost when it's hard to find the top/beginning of the tune. Not only do dancers have problems finding the top, but it is not unusual for whole bands to lose their place in the tune, and for callers to lose their place as well.
When the band gets lost, it's usually their lack of attention. When the caller gets lost, it's usually because he has forgotten the next call or has problem spitting the words out. When the dancers lose their place in the dance, it's usually because they've been led astray by the band, though sometimes by poorly phrased calling. When the music stays solid but the caller gets lost, the dancers will often just call corrections to the stage.", "timestamp": "1339643106"}]}