strathspey@strathspey.org:1102

SMiskoe

Re: tempos, etc

Feb. 25, 1995, 12:54 a.m. (Message 1102)

Tempos are relative and it is ok to say that the norm is..., but then one
must remember that each dance is a little different and you play the latter
part of the evening faster than the first to keep the tired legs moving.  A
Glasgow Highlanders really rips along, for a strathspey, while a Lea Rig is
slower.  My rule of thumb is that it should take 30-32 seconds to play 32
bars of a quick time and about 60 to play 32 bars of a strathspey.  But then
come the variations.  I used to always have a dancer cued to tell me how the
tempos were going but now I rely more on watching the way the dancers move.
 And after a couple of dances, I seek out a good dancer, preferably also a
musician, and ask them how the dancing feels.  Here's a laugh about tempos
and their adjustments. I once played for a party, given by a sub-group and
attended by the overall group head who was a musician.  8 bars into a dance
the party host told me to crank up the tempo.  I obliged.  8 bars later the
head person trotted up and emphatically told me I was too fast.  So I
obligingly slowed down, whereupon the host told me to speed up.  At the
finish, 2 disgruntled people began to converge upon me, but I was able to
deflect them onto each other.  Since then I've only listened to the party
host.  They, and only they, are entitled to adjust the tempo.
With regard to hand signals, I began playing for a contra dance caller a
number of years ago who had a whole set of signals for the musicians.  He
never communicated them to me in advance and his signal for ending the tune
was identical to the usual signal for speeding up.  The first time I was
embarassed.  The 2nd time I learned how to do it.  Sylvia Miskoe