Here's something I'd like to share. This is one of the ways a traditional caller's card might look:
The moves that are done in each part of the music (each 8 counts) are shown in a grid - In the A1 section of the music, 8 counts for the circle left, 8 counts for the neighbor swing; in the A2 Section, 8 for the circle left and 8 for the partner swing.
Then in B1, 8 counts for the long lines forward and back, and 8 counts for the ladies chain. In B2, the hey for four takes all 16 counts.
That's 64 counts from beginning to end, just like all contra dance tunes, and quite a few (though not all) English Country Dance tunes.
I found another way to write down the calls for this dance in a book by Tony Parkes. He shows an 8-count grid, with the A1 A2 B1 B2 form just like the music, that writes the words in BEFORE the moves, in the place where they are CALLED, instead of in the place where they are DONE, like this:
There's an Intro line for the call you do before the music starts. "Get ready to circle left and swing your partner when the music starts."
Then you say nothing through the A1 section until the last 4 beats, when you say "circle left three quarters". Compare this notation with the card above, and you'll see what I mean.
The important words are spoken ON the COUNT. It's a bit of a task to find the right words to be super clear on, fit them into four counts, and make sure the important syllables are accented, but surely that's what we're supposed to do.
When I was practicing for my Big Calling Debut (even now I can feel the jitters, and it's over!) I couldn't believe how often the calls came up too fast for me to even think about getting them out of my mouth. The several hours of practice I did just for this one simple dance were all about trying to get my brain to believe that there was not much time between "chain the ladies" and "ladies pass right in a hey for four". The darn music just wouldn't stop while I pondered my next call.
What I've noticed about all the callers people pay money to bring to dance weekends is that they call rhythmically. When Bruce Hamilton calls English Country Dances, he often "deedles" the music so it's clear how much time you have for the moves and the transitions. On the other hand, I asked Chris Bischof if he called "musically" on purpose, and he claimed he didn't. I think some callers are completely unaware that they're doing it - they just do, and people like it. I don't know any big-name caller who doesn't.
M
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9 comments:
The several hours of practice I did just for this one simple dance were all about trying to get my brain to believe that there was not much time between "chain the ladies" and "ladies pass right in a hey for four". The darn music just wouldn't stop while I pondered my next call.
Ain't that the truth! My brain just doesn't like to think that fast, and especially when I'm nervous.
I really liked the call sheets/grids for practicing. I remember talking about different time signatures and this grid system, but don't remember if we resolved anything....
Brain vs. music seems to be a recurring problem.
Hey, thanks for inviting me to your party! I'm looking forward to joining you all at your practice sessions, which I painfully found that I need more of after my latest disaster at the Monday Club. Wow, was that a humbling experience. Oh well, I learned a few things from it, the most important being that attitude makes a huge difference!
I write my cards similar to Martha's 2nd example, which is the way I learned from my best teacher, Seth Tepfer from Atlanta. Not being a musician, I found one of the most difficult things to be keeping track of where the heck in the tune the band is! I've turned around and asked them, which is another humbling experience, especially if the fiddler happens to be your son and he is now both extremely annoyed and embarrassed by your ineptitude. Anyway, this method seems to help me find the right words, write them on the card, practice them with variations, and usually keep track of the A1/A2/B1/B2 stuff.
By the way, I notice that Chrystal is from Alton and wonder if she is interested in carpooling to any of the events way down there in Webster...?
Lyndon and I were talking about the grid sheets and we both agreed that we would rather have the calling notes on the music itself. I guess as a musician I like to see how the dance relates to a specific tune and not just to the structure of the tune (A1, A2, &c.). . .
I can see what you mean, Charles, with English dances where the tune and the dance go together. With contra (as I understand it) the music changes depending on what the band feels like playing.
I'm not sure that I (as a non-musician) could keep track of it that way. I mean, I took piano lessions for 6 months back in the Dark Ages, but.... Might be worth a try, though.
For English, I love Charles' idea of studying the dance with the moves written in the music where they happen so that you can see how the dance and the music fit together, but I also like the idea of practicing with a card that indicates the calls at the point at which we would say them, which is four counts earlier. Or two.
For contra, as Kay pointed out, you have to get used to calling to whatever the band throws at you. The CD from Kimmswick a few years back, Face the Creek, has an amazing variety of tunes and speeds, so it's perfect for practice.
Of course, the problem with using paper at all is that you're practicing...using paper. The habit then becomes one of "seeing" the card rather than seeing the dance. I guess that's why we need to get together, huh.
Just shows how long ago it was that I danced Contra. I didn't realize that the dance and the tune don't necessarily go together. As for English, one wouldn't have to write the call on the music just where it is happening. It could be indicated ahead of that spot, just like on a card.
I've never called contra but the cards make sense. Tony Parkes is a wonderful caller. I would trust anything he uses as a way to stay organized and on time.
With English, the music really does "tell you" IF you teach with the music. That's why with complicated dances I like to have the whole tune played (which I always do) and then teach in fragments so people can here the music. Then the trick is called BEFORE the phrase.
In contra, I can see how the grids showing what bar to call on make a lot of sense. It also does help to give yourself rhythm by calling with rhtyhm. There are always shortcuts too... (like CHAIN!)
Nothing much worse than a caller calling behind the beat.
Mary Jones is one of my favorite English callers (I also love Scott Higgs).
Anyway, Mary is funny, but she also tells people not to be afraid to count. She herself admits to counting all the time (to herself) when she's learning a new dance.
When I'm learning to call a dance I always walk it from all positions while I'm calling. That's my way of getting the beat in the body.
This is a great idea!
Sue
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