strathspey@strathspey.org:1118

Etienne Ozorak

Re: tempos, etc

Feb. 28, 1995, 2:25 a.m. (Message 1118, in reply to message 1102)

Kim McGarrity adds:

>Regarding Etienne's remarks:
>I speak as an experienced dancer and teacher, who has a "tempo  
>sense" humming away inside me.  My perspective, however, is that a  
>musician who prefers to follow his/her *own* sense of tempo  in  
>preference to that of people *actually on that floor, that night,  
>actually dancing* is at risk of sacrificing the dancers pleasure for  
>their own (egotistical?) sense of I-always-know-better. 


No, not in preference to.  I clearly said  "a keen awareness on what  
feels right at the time, given the variables involved  (and not just  
keying on one or two people within a group)".  The variables are  
extensive and involve more than just musical sense.  It includes how  
sippery the floor is, how warm the room is and, as Sylvia Miskoe  
previously said whether the dance is in the early or later part of  
the program, whether the dance is lagging....Age plays into it, and  
you will probably note that musicians in their later years (60s, 70s)  
will likely play things slower as a rule.  I was simply responding to  
your comment about relying only on one or two people as sole source  
of feedback for a "correct" tempo.


>Please....One complaint I've heard about a band which shall be  
>nameless is their refusal to adjust their tempos when asked to by  
>the MC.  Who does a dance belong to, anyway?  I think it belongs to  
>the dancers, not the band -- the band is there to serve the dancers.
>Kim McGarrity
>Palo Alto, CA

An interesting question.  But is there consensus among the dancers as  
to what that tempo should be?  For example, I played for a group last  
year where the MC asked that Ian Powrie's Farewell to Auchterarder be  
played at breakneck speed.  I did, because it's what (some of) the  
dancers asked.  Did it feel good?  No.  Did the dancers enjoy it?   
Some of them did and others were clearly furious.  Did I do what was  
right?  I really don't know.  


As I said before, I try to maintain a keen awareness on what feels  
right at the time not simply to me, but to all who are a part of the  
experience of which I am but a part.  I don't think it's a question  
of servitude, but perhaps of mutual exchange.

Peace,
Etienne Ozorak
Meadville, PA  USA