{"items": [{"author": "Mac", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=301286726571391", "anchor": "fb-301286726571391", "service": "fb", "text": "As a dancer, I need two things from the musicians -- beat and energy. You're absolutely right; sometimes the music is boring for the musicians, and they go off into variations for entertaining themselves. It's like when good singers jam, somebody has to stay on the melody. When a contra band is working, somebody has to stay on the beat. Energy? If it ain't there, it ain't fun. Much of performing art (any art, really) is providing an _example_ for the audience of how to live well, how to have a good experience. Dancers want to be rhythmic, energetic, and happy. The band is there to show them how. Thanks!", "timestamp": "1323356511"}, {"author": "Robert", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=301315213235209", "anchor": "fb-301315213235209", "service": "fb", "text": "There's the additional practical factor that if you make the dancers happy, they'll be the more inclined to hire you again, and recommend you to their friends and acquaintances.", "timestamp": "1323360207"}, {"author": "Paul", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=301378189895578", "anchor": "fb-301378189895578", "service": "fb", "text": "I agree with Walker. I would add that some of the best dance music varies the dynamics in creative ways, though generally the beginning may be slow and the volume moderate,and then building to a crescendo. Another factor that's hard to define is music that fits a particular dance, though I'm sure that's somewhat subjective.", "timestamp": "1323365739"}, {"author": "Phillip", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=301387016561362", "anchor": "fb-301387016561362", "service": "fb", "text": "The fact that all members of Free Raisins are dancers probably helps the band's perspective on this. Things that I find work for dancers: 1) driving music (grumbling old man and cackling old, or flying tent come to mind as examples), 2) better is what I refer to as up-shifting, going from a typical tune to a fast driving one : the moving violations do this when they finish a set with the Red Crow (see \"Faster than a Walk\" CD with the track Cul Aodh / The Cliffs Of Moher / The Red Crow), 3) similarly shifting from a standard contra tune to a familiar one from popular culture (the way you work in the tune from Grease, The Cantina Band from Star Wars etc). I have memories of Yankee Ingenuity moving to the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 9th. The latter two things could be considered gimmicks, but I see the reaction of the dancers, and it is super positive.", "timestamp": "1323366837"}, {"author": "Danner", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=301431689890228", "anchor": "fb-301431689890228", "service": "fb", "text": "First off, great article. you hit lots of points. In a 'squeeky wheel gets the grease' type of way, the things I totally hate are when the band continually goes for the cheers by fluctuating the energy level from low to high then back down again. sure, it gets cheers, but it gets cheers because the dancers love being at the high energy state - stay there, don't go back down just to get another cheer. Good bands keep the energy high and just going higher through the entire dance, never back down. Smooth dances are good too, if you have them, i don't thing energy level always has to be a priority - let me slide through a dance to music like velvet and cashmere, it's a great experience.
Also, I like it if the band is having fun up there, playing off each other. watch out about being drained at a gig, it shows up in your music.", "timestamp": "1323371882"}, {"author": "Christopher", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=301780939855303", "anchor": "fb-301780939855303", "service": "fb", "text": "@Danner Are you referring to Giant Robot Dance's Jig-Reel-Jig-Reel thing that they do with Wizard's walk? That's the only time I've ever experienced this happening.", "timestamp": "1323409055"}, {"author": "Danner", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=301781929855204", "anchor": "fb-301781929855204", "service": "fb", "text": "Christopher: nope, but pay attention to some well known bands. there are some that rollercoaster, and others that just keep going up. I'm not going to name names, better to have you analyze multiple bands :-)", "timestamp": "1323409258"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=301991019834295", "anchor": "fb-301991019834295", "service": "fb", "text": "@Christopher: My understanding is that some dancers, including Danner, find it a bit manipulative when the band brings the energy level down only to let the dancers enjoy the change when they bring it back up again. The most common way of doing this is to get a bit quieter for the penultimate time through and then go all out the last time.
I think of this as separate from things like having the piano drop out and just having two fiddles or something, though it does have a similar effect.
While danner says he wants the band to play high-energy and stay there, though, I'm worried about dancers getting tired. Callers and bands usually work together to roughly alternate higher and lower energy dances so that the dancers don't get tired out.", "timestamp": "1323440738"}, {"author": "Christopher", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=302006863166044", "anchor": "fb-302006863166044", "service": "fb", "text": "Thanks Jeff - after a reread, I'm on the same page.", "timestamp": "1323442898"}, {"author": "Christopher", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=302011086498955", "anchor": "fb-302011086498955", "service": "fb", "text": "I think in general, too much tiered dynamics (jumping from high energy to low energy several times through a dance, as Danner describes in the first part) is a bit annoying. I roll my eyes at that - in my head, I'm going \"really, guys?\". But I do not feel that way about dropping a little right before the end to end with a bang. I think that's a very natural thing to do. Although, I prefer to drop the energy in the anti-penultimate time and keep the energy up for the last two.
Many different dynamic curves should work well for contra dances, but I think the importance is making the changes be fairly slow and gradual.", "timestamp": "1323443471"}, {"author": "Andrew", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/301255906574473?comment_id=302084959824901", "anchor": "fb-302084959824901", "service": "fb", "text": "I agree with Jeff's main note, and in my note here, I don't mean to imply that I'm disagreeing with what he said. Jeff said he wants the dancers to have as much fun as he can manage. To be slightly cheeky, I'd say you want the dancers to have as much fun as *they* can manage. I'm not just playing with words. I'm emphasizing that the goal is to entertain the dancers by making the *dancing* as good and entertaining as possible, not just by making the dancers as loud or excited as possible.
It happens often, and with good, popular bands, that they play music that whips the dancers into a froth, and the dancers get so excited that the dancing *really* breaks down, in that the dancers get distracted and lost.
I think it's the musician's responsibility to control the music so that it is most danceable, and to avoid tricks that excite the dancers if they will cause the dancing to suffer. The worst and most common trick is speeding up the tempo. Dancers will roar with delight when a band gooses the tempo, and then often the dance comes apart at the seams. Faster tempo is a distraction to all the dancers, like slapping them on the head. The \"best\" dancers will adjust quickly. Some dancers (younger ones, in general) will get so excited that their dancing becomes erratic. Some dancers (older ones and novices in general) will be confused by the change, or might not have the stamina or skill to keep up with the new tempo. So a pleasant dance at one tempo becomes a mess at a faster tempo, and the excited crowd will roar its approval while the slower ones get the \"deer in the headlights\" look in their eyes.
And not only do some bands goose a good tempo into a too-fast tempo, but they continually play music that is so fast that many/most people can't keep up. It's usually older folks and novices who can't keep up, and when that happens, younger and more experienced dancers don't want to dance with them, and it causes the dancers to become segregated into those who can and those who cannot, caused by the musician's decisions.
So yes, I'm saying that like beating eggs, it's not a good idea to whip the dancers as much as possible, at some point, they get too frothy and stiff.", "timestamp": "1323452715"}]}