Thread
Index
tempos, etc
SMiskoe
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
Have just read Syvia's story about the conflicting tempo requests. Guess you just can't please everyone.... At a dance last year, I consulted the branch teachers about tempo and found that both preferred everything to be on the slow side, which is how we played. Unfortunately, I discovered later that this very thing is a source of major complaint from the dancers to their teachers -- so I left knowing that there had been perhaps two happy people in the room that night (albeit 2 influential/in-charge people)....what's a goil to do??? Kim McGarrity
>Have just read Syvia's story about the conflicting tempo requests. >Guess you just can't please everyone.... At a dance last year, I >consulted the branch teachers about tempo and found that both >preferred everything to be on the slow side, which is how we played. >Unfortunately, I discovered later that this very thing is a source >of major complaint from the dancers to their teachers -- so I left >knowing that there had been perhaps two happy people in the room >that night (albeit 2 influential/in-charge people)....what's a goil >to do??? > >Kim McGarrity When I worked in Toronto, we always had scads of experienced, knowledgeable teachers on the dance floors. Of course, every one had their own opinion on what the proper tempo was. We (Scottish Accent) quickly learned to develop our own sense of proper tempo. I would say that, eventually, you develop your own sense of what an appropriate tempo is for a given dance at a given time. You begin to realize that people's (including your own) sense of tempo has a lot to do with age and mood (and other complicated things like hormone levels, adrenalin...who knows!). Some groups I play for have more beginners, others have more advanced dancers who might prefer, for example, slower strathspeys. I guess the key is flexibility and 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). If it does indeed feel right, it will also be easier to maintain the tempo, especially for a 8 1/2 minute strathspey! I should add that developing your own sense of tempo is easier if you are a dancer as well, as you depend as much on your dance sense as your musical sense. I'll be the first to admit that, if I haven't danced much recently, my bias will be to take the reels and jigs a tad fast. Hope this is useful to you. Etienne Ozorak, who is much pleased at having found the Non-NEXT text button!
Etienne writes: "When I worked in Toronto, we always had scads of experienced, knowledgeable teachers on the dance floors. Of course, every one had their own opinion on what the proper tempo was. We (Scottish Accent) quickly learned to develop our own sense of proper tempo. I would say that, eventually, you develop your own sense of what an appropriate tempo is for a given dance at a given time. You begin to realize that people's (including your own) sense of tempo has a lot to do with age and mood (and other complicated things like hormone levels, adrenalin...who knows!). Some groups I play for have more beginners, others have more advanced dancers who might prefer, for example, slower strathspeys. I guess the key is flexibility and 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). If it does indeed feel right, it will also be easier to maintain the tempo, especially for a 8 1/2 minute strathspey! I should add that developing your own sense of tempo is easier if you are a dancer as well, as you depend as much on your dance sense as your musical sense. I'll be the first to admit that, if I haven't danced much recently, my bias will be to take the reels and jigs a tad fast. Hope this is useful to you. Etienne Ozorak 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. Although this may not have worked for the particular situation I mention, I can't understand how a musician not on the floor could possibly think they can judge how the dancing actually *feels* to a good, experienced dancer who *is* out there on THAT floor, doing THAT dance, on THAT particular evening, with THOSE particular fellow-dancers. Of COURSE everyone has their own personal opinions about tempo. The thing is that if I'm playing I'm obviously NOT dancing, and as long as someone else whose dancing I *respect* IS, I'd prefer going with the DANCER's opinion rather than my own, no matter how acute my own tempo sense might be (or, more to the point, how acute I'd like to THINK it is). If I were out there on the floor, dancing to musicians whose tempo I thought was inappropriate, I sure wouldn't appreciate hearing that they thought they were "right", more "right" than the people on the floor, or the MC, or the branch teachers. 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
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
Etienne is right, it has to be mutual. What is dancing without music and how would we get our highs if we didn't have that wonderful palpable feedback from the floor. Dancers can get so persniskity that they cease to be fun to play for, and musicians can get so stiff necked that one doesn't want to deal with them. Sylvia