May 8, 2006, 11:54 p.m. (Message 45200)
Marie Disiewicz <xxxxx@xxxxx.xxx> wrote: Trust me, there are 24 recordings for Hamilton House with 24 different bands if you can believe it. Thank goodness they didn't look around and say 'I cannot record that". They believed in themselves and recorded it again and again. 24 recordings of "Hamilton House" - which is very rarely danced these days - is probably 16-20 too many! It would be nice to have recordings of some of the other 12000 dances recorded in DanceData than the same dances over and over again - "The Montgomeries Rant", "Mairi's Wedding" to name just two. There are so many really good dances out there that do not have music, and, lets face it, most will never be danced because there is no recorded music! Regards, Iain Boyd Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com
May 9, 2006, 12:53 a.m. (Message 45201, in reply to message 45200)
Well there is an opening for a band. What ones were you thinking of Iain. I was giving examples. I do find for demonstrations people love the music and to be able to sing along to Mairi's Wedding, but 8 times through is too much to watch being danced. A request for The Royal Exchange has just come across my desk today. Guess what, it is not on a CD that I can find. Those who know their music would know what to choose for this dance. This is the reason that so many of the new CDs are being used for dances that have no recording . The best advantage of course is live music. We all have our opinions on music and be sure I hear a lot of it. Cheers Marie
May 9, 2006, 11:25 a.m. (Message 45205, in reply to message 45200)
Iain Boyd wrote: > 24 recordings of "Hamilton House" - is probably 16-20 too many! > > recordings of the same dances over and over again - "The Montgomeries Rant", "Mairi's Wedding" to name just two. Likewise with kilts. Black Watch & Royal Stuart tartans are available everywhere, but try to buy something less common - pay the earth, or wait, and wait, and wait! Kiltmakers, like record companies, are not too adventurous. Martin, in Grenoble, France.
May 9, 2006, 6:36 p.m. (Message 45207, in reply to message 45205)
It's not just record companies. There are independent bands, like mine, that do it as a hobby. So if I think of sinking $10,000 out of pocket for a CD that has limited market appeal, then I have to have some guarantee that the dance is worth having music to. The way I think it, each track costs me anywhere between $500 to $1,000 to record, so it better be something that has some market appeal rather than just pull something out of obscurity. When I look at dance tune books, the same is true. There are tons of published fiddle tunes, but how many of them are really worth recording? How many versions do we need to have of tunes that are done to death (such as Ian Burns' "Spootiskerry"?). Etienne, Meadville, PA
May 9, 2006, 7:10 p.m. (Message 45209, in reply to message 45207)
Actually, it gets a bit more complicated than that. I have some very good recordings of Sets of Reels / Jigs etc, but the first thing I do when selecting CDs is to see if I have a recording for the dance (even if it hasn't actually got a named tune!). So I finish up using what might be an inferior recording, just because someone bothered to make a recording for a particular dance. I suppose I could go through all my dances to see if any of them have recommended tunes, and then check to see if that was the tune used on a particular recording - but I won't! I will continue to search my CD database to see if the dance has a recording, and use it if there is one. Malcolm Malcolm L Brown York (UK)
May 9, 2006, 7:14 p.m. (Message 45210, in reply to message 45207)
On 5/9/06, Etienne Ozorak <xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx> wrote: > When I look at dance tune books, the same is true. There are tons of > published fiddle tunes, but how many of them are really worth recording? So, is there any way to find this out? Is this something that can be reasoned out from ball programs? What kind of information do we have (or can get) that would help us know what is needed? Or do we need more explicit method? For example, would some sort of Vote button for online copy of DanceData work as a capture method? For an example of votable interface, see http://www.digg.com/ Regards, Alex.
May 9, 2006, 3:30 p.m. (Message 45206, in reply to message 45200)
Iain Boyd wrote: > 24 recordings of "Hamilton House" - which is very rarely danced these days - > is probably 16-20 too many! > > It would be nice to have recordings of some of the other 12000 dances > recorded in DanceData than the same dances over and over again - "The > Montgomeries Rant", "Mairi's Wedding" to name just two. > > There are so many really good dances out there that do not have music, and, > lets face it, most will never be danced because there is no recorded music! > In my experience, not having the correct music is rarely a show-stopper! It would be interesting, though, to know how many of those 12,000 dances actually specify a particular tune. Does anyone know if there's a way to get this information from DanceData? The other information that I'd find interesting is how many distinct tunes are specified in those 12,000 records, and how many repeats there are. -- Steve Wyrick -- Concord, California
May 10, 2006, 8:55 a.m. (Message 45213, in reply to message 45206)
On 09/05/2006 15:30, Steve Wyrick wrote: > In my experience, not having the correct music is rarely a show-stopper! It > would be interesting, though, to know how many of those 12,000 dances > actually specify a particular tune. Does anyone know if there's a way to > get this information from DanceData? Seems to me that the best way to answer this one would be to ask the programmer. Answer - 6900 Alan
May 9, 2006, 10:55 p.m. (Message 45212, in reply to message 45200)
Frequently, a track with the required tune is for a well known dance which can not be used because the dancers will complain - "We can't dance to that - the music is putting us off." - or some such comment. Also, a track may have the required tune or a suitable alternative but the rest of the tunes (although good) are not suitable for the dance. I frequently have this problem when trying to recommend 'suitable recorded music' for my dances. Regards, Iain Boyd mlamontbrown <xxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx> wrote: Actually, it gets a bit more complicated than that. I have some very good recordings of Sets of Reels / Jigs etc, but the first thing I do when selecting CDs is to see if I have a recording for the dance (even if it hasn't actually got a named tune!). So I finish up using what might be an inferior recording, just because someone bothered to make a recording for a particular dance. I suppose I could go through all my dances to see if any of them have recommended tunes, and then check to see if that was the tune used on a particular recording - but I won't! I will continue to search my CD database to see if the dance has a recording, and use it if there is one. Malcolm Malcolm L Brown York (UK) Postal Address - P O Box 11-404 Wellington New Zealand Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com
May 10, 2006, 9:27 a.m. (Message 45214, in reply to message 45212)
Iain Boyd wrote: > ..."We can't dance to that - the music is putting us off." > Well, obviously, if you play a waltz or a slow march, you may well get such a comment. Or if you use a recording dating from the 40s & 50s, when dancers apparently had more energy than they do today. But I fail to see how a jig, a reel, or a strathspey, with accepted tempo and standard length, can put dancers off performing a jig, a reel, or a strathspey, whatever the tune. > ... tunes (although good) that are not suitable for the dance. Could you give us an example, please? > Malcom wrote that he sometimes used "what might be an inferior > recording, just because someone bothered to make a recording for a particular dance. " > That seems an unfortunate choice. What is dancing anyway? It's just something to do while listen to nice music. Although I too devise dances and think am critical/appreciative of poorly-compiled/pleasing sequences, it is the music that is the most important, imho. There are so many good recordings, why use anything else? Martin, Grenoble, France.
May 10, 2006, 12:31 p.m. (Message 45216, in reply to message 45214)
Sorry, Martin, I should have been more precise. One can not use recordings of "The Montgomeries' Rant" or "The Sailor" or "Red House" (even if the alternative tunes are suitable) because the original tunes are so well known and identified with their dances. Iain Boyd Martin Sheffield <xx.xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xx> wrote: Iain Boyd wrote: > ..."We can't dance to that - the music is putting us off." > Well, obviously, if you play a waltz or a slow march, you may well get such a comment. Or if you use a recording dating from the 40s & 50s, when dancers apparently had more energy than they do today. But I fail to see how a jig, a reel, or a strathspey, with accepted tempo and standard length, can put dancers off performing a jig, a reel, or a strathspey, whatever the tune. > ... tunes (although good) that are not suitable for the dance. Could you give us an example, please? > Malcom wrote that he sometimes used "what might be an inferior > recording, just because someone bothered to make a recording for a particular dance. " > That seems an unfortunate choice. What is dancing anyway? It's just something to do while listen to nice music. Although I too devise dances and think am critical/appreciative of poorly-compiled/pleasing sequences, it is the music that is the most important, imho. There are so many good recordings, why use anything else? Martin, Grenoble, France. Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com
May 11, 2006, 12:13 a.m. (Message 45229, in reply to message 45214)
> What is dancing anyway? > > It's just something to do while listen to nice music. > > Although I too devise dances and think am critical/appreciative of > poorly-compiled/pleasing sequences, it is the music that is the most > important, imho. > There are so many good recordings, why use anything else? > > Martin, > Grenoble, France. > It seems to me that you have answered the question yourself. Moving to the music is the most important thing but La Russe to a samba tune is just not on. A lot of dances _need_ their own music. The Robertson Rant would not be the same dance without the music especially composed for it. Lamb Skinnet just would not be the same to any other set of tunes than those originally recorded. Try the Round Reel of Eight or The Rothesay Rant to anything else but their own sound is unthinkable. Of course many dances without their own tune can be danced to almost anything. However many are so specific in their requirements that I, personally often spend considerable time (which can be counted in hours) getting just the right music to some very nice new dances which have a definite personality but are without their own music. Often 'any old tune' will do but equally often 'a.o.t' just will NOT do.