Favorite dance music?
Robin Loeffler
I'm curious and would like to hear from other musicians, callers, and dancers
who have favorite tunes they love to dance to. I know that I have music that
I love to play for particular dances, and I'm always looking for tunes that
other people think really enhance their dance. It gets a little tedious just
to sit with a music book, sight reading the music to see if I can find
another tune I like.
If you are a caller, do you have any specific tunes you really like for a
specific dance? Or, if you are a musician or a dancer, is there any tunes
that when they are played lift the dancers right off their feet? One of our
favorites in Louisville is The Growling Old Man and The Grumbling Old woman.
It will always get the dancers feet flying!
I think alot of musicians on this newsgroup might be interested in hearing
about what is done in other regions, and callers can get some new music they
can ask their bands to try. Thanks in advance, and let fly!
Robin Loeffler
So many tunes, so little time
Bob Archer
In article: <320D44...@earthlink.net> Robin Loeffler <te...@earthlink.net> writes:
>
> If you are a caller, do you have any specific tunes you really like for a
> specific dance? Or, if you are a musician or a dancer, is there any tunes
> that when they are played lift the dancers right off their feet? One of our
> favorites in Louisville is The Growling Old Man and The Grumbling Old woman.
> It will always get the dancers feet flying!
>
One of my favourite reels is Mason's Apron, closely followed by Tam Lin (I think also known
as the Glasgow Reel). I have been known to run a dance through an extra 6 times just because
the band have changed into Mason's Apron.
When it comes to jigs, you can't beat John Kirkpatrick's Jump At the Sun. UK dance audiences
are notorious for ignoring the music but even they usually pick up on this one. I also
picked up a great jig at NEFFA this year called The Blue Jig.
Bob
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Bob Archer EMail b...@hottub.demon.co.uk |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kiran Wagle
Robin Loeffler <te...@earthlink.net> wrote:
What a wonderful chance to review my tunes! Thanks Robin. I'm quite
curious to see what tunes are liked by people from various parts of the
country, too.
> If you are a caller, do you have any specific tunes you really like for a
> specific dance? Or, if you are a musician or a dancer, is there any tunes
> that when they are played lift the dancers right off their feet? One of our
I like to match tunes to dances, but I don't have any particular
attachment to specific tune-dance matches. I do like to call dances that
fit certain tunes or medleys--The Brumley Brae, Skippin' Cat & Ragtime
Annie, for example--but I have a variety of dances to fit the tunes.
Here are a few tunes I don't hear often enough. Some of them, of course,
have to be straightned to work for contras. Others are four-part tunes,
but any competent caller should be able to handle that problem.
Icehouse // It Ain't the Heat, it's the Humidity // Tamlin //
Rock-A-Bye Baby // Pow Wow // Rockabilly Reel // Jeff Davis //
Mississippi Sawyer // Late for the Dance // Gravois Creek Pump
Seneca Square Dance // Wizard's Walk // Dick Gossip's // Evil Reel //
Music for a Found Harmonium // Golden Slippers // Forked Deer //
Buffalo Gals // Devil's Dream // Haphazard Breakdown //
Wild Hog in the Woods // Ways of the World // Thyme on Our Hands //
The White Leaf // The High Part of the Road // Reunion Jig //
North Carolina Breakdown // Cherokee Shuffle (straightened) //
Chinkapin Hunting // Muddy Road to Kansas // George Booker //
Seventeen Days in Georgia // The Brumley Brae // Lit Splickety //
Sequatchie Valley // Waiting for Nancy // Leather Britches //
Drunkard's Reel // Buzzard's Breath // Mouth of the Tobique //
Sligo Creek // Nail that Catfish to the Tree // Grapevine Twist //
Enough for now. Got to pack. See you at Sugar Hill, I hope.
~ Kiran "MIDI archive, anyone?" <ent...@io.com>
--
"Swing your partner, dosey-do, now clap your hands...
(uh-oh, that's all the square dance moves I know... I'll bluff the rest.)
Slap your partner in the face, Write bad checks all over the place,
Flirt with strangers, annoy your spouse, Get a divorce and lose your house,
...uh... dosey-do."--Scott Adams, writing as Dogbert
Kiran Wagle
Robin Loeffler <te...@earthlink.net> wrote:
What a wonderful chance to review my tunes! Thanks Robin. I'm quite
curious to see what tunes are liked by people from various parts of the
country, too.
> If you are a caller, do you have any specific tunes you really like
> for a specific dance? Or, if you are a musician or a dancer, is there
> any tunes that when they are played lift the dancers right off their feet?
I like to match tunes to dances, but I don't have any particular
attachment to specific tune-dance matches. I do like to call dances that
fit certain favorite tunes or medleys--The Brumley Brae, Skippin' Cat & Ragtime
Annie, for example--but I have a variety of dances to fit the tunes.
Here are a few tunes I don't hear often enough. Some of them, of course,
have to be straightened to work for contras. Others are not two-part tunes,
but any competent caller should be able to handle that problem.
(This is just a compact list, not a bunch of suggested medleys!)
Icehouse // It Ain't the Heat, it's the Humidity // Tam Lin
Rock-A-Bye Baby // Pow Wow // Rockabilly Reel // Jeff Davis
Mississippi Sawyer // Late for the Dance // Gravois Creek Pump
Seneca Square Dance // Wizard's Walk // Dick Gossip's // Evil Reel
Music for a Found Harmonium // Golden Slippers // Forked Deer
Buffalo Gals // Devil's Dream // Haphazard Breakdown //
Wild Hog in the Woods // Ways of the World // Thyme on Our Hands
The White Leaf // The High Part of the Road // Reunion Jig
North Carolina Breakdown // Cherokee Shuffle (straightened)
Chinkapin Hunting // Drunkard's Reel // Buzzard's Breath
Seventeen Days in Georgia // The Brumley Brae // Lit Splickety
Sequatchie Valley // Waiting for Nancy // Leather Britches
Pulaski Skyway // Sligo Creek // Muddy Road to Kansas
George Booker // Grapevine Twist // Nail that Catfish to the Tree
Enough for now. Got to pack. See you at Sugar Hill, I hope.
~ Kiran "MIDI archive, anyone?" <ent...@io.com>
--
"Swing your partner, dosey-do, now clap your hands...
(uh-oh, that's all the square dance moves I know... I'll bluff the rest.)
Slap your partner in the face, Write bad checks all over the place,
Flirt with strangers, annoy your spouse, Get a divorce and lose your house,
...uh... dosey-do."--Scott Adams, writing as Dogbert
"Our gods are dead. Ancient Klingon warriors slew them a millenia ago.
"They were... more trouble than they were worth." --Worf, DS9, "Homefront."
(202) 483-3373 <http://www.io.com/contradance/> 1628 5th St NW Wash DC 20001
Thomas Norulak
Our Band, Magic Forest likes Judi Morningstar's March of St Timothy, and
we always get lots of whoops and hollers from our Eastern European tunes,
Katushka and Who Stole the Keeshka.
Tom Norulak
Pgh PA
http://www.lm.com/~norulak
Laura Leibensperger
In article <320D44...@earthlink.net>, Robin Loeffler
<te...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> I'm curious and would like to hear from other musicians, callers, and dancers
> who have favorite tunes they love to dance to.
Or, if you are a musician or a dancer, is there any tunes
> that when they are played lift the dancers right off their feet
> Robin Loeffler
>
from one dancer/would-be musician:
Dick Gossip's, Dinky's (yes, I think that's really the name!), Brenda
Stubbert's (by Jerry Holland) and Trip to Durrow are "Celtic" tunes that
have a good kick! Somebody played MacMahon's (The Banshee) here a few
dances back, and that worked well too.
Jonathan Sivier
Robin Loeffler <te...@earthlink.net> writes:
>If you are a caller, do you have any specific tunes you really like for a
>specific dance? Or, if you are a musician or a dancer, is there any tunes
>that when they are played lift the dancers right off their feet? One of our
>favorites in Louisville is The Growling Old Man and The Grumbling Old woman.
>It will always get the dancers feet flying!
One tune/dance combo I had a very good experience with calling, and that
I can think of off the top of my head, is Mark Richardson's "Gypsy Squared"
danced to "Tuba City Truckstop". This was a great combination. I mark good
tunes on my dance cards and so I could make a list if I referred to them, but
this on I do remember.
Jonathan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
| Jonathan Sivier | Ballo ergo sum. |
| j-si...@uiuc.edu | (I dance therefore I am.) |
| Flight Simulation Lab | - des Cartwright |
| Beckman Institute | |
| 405 N. Mathews | SWMDG - Single White Male |
| Urbana, IL 61801 | Dance Gypsy |
| Work: 217/244-1923 | |
| Home: 217/359-8225 | Have shoes, will dance. |
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Stein
}Or, if you are a musician or a dancer, is there any tunes
}that when they are played lift the dancers right off their feet?
Ok...
Jigs:
Out on the Road (Liz Carroll)
Cliffs of Moher
Tony Rowe's
Calliope House
The Coul Aoudh
Handsome Maids
Reels:
Homage a Edmond Parizeau
Reel a Levis Beaulieu
Lady Ann Montgomery
Miss Thompson's
Miss Shepherd's
The Earl's Chair
Paddy Ryan's Dream
The Waldorf Reel
Hollow Poplar
I could go on....these are ones that stand out as excellent, uplifting
dance tunes. They all have different tones and effects on the dancers.
Nice thread. I hope someone compiles the results (hint)
Cheers,
-Bob S
--
Bob Stein, squ...@voicenet.com
http://www.voicenet.com/~squeeze/
"The left hand is for people you hate, so you mash those buttons hard, the right hand is for people you like, so you caress them."
--Judy Tenuta, explaining the psychology of accordion technique
Theron Friedman (520) 621-2456
(Personally, I've gotten tired of playing the tune, but...)
One evening I asked the band to play "Tune for a New Found Harmonium"
as the 2nd tune for something - memory rusts, but I think the dance
was Symmetric Force - I forget what the first tune of the medley was,
but the mood change really woke the dancers up.
tz
Paul J. Stamler
So many thousands of tunes to choose from! For what it's worth, a few of
my favorites:
French-Canadian & New England:
Grumbling Old Man/Growling Old Woman
La Grondeuse (it's got some points in common with "Whiskey Before Breakfast")
Moon and Seven Stars
Gaspe Reel
Morpeth Rant
Old-Time Southern:
Whiskey Before Breakfast
Arkansas Traveler (a chestnut of chestnuts, and still great to dance to)
Late for the Dance
Goin' Down to Cairo (used to be a chestnut around here, now seems to have
faded out a bit, worth reviving)
Marmaduke's Hornpipe
Granny, Will Your Dog Bite?
Newly Composed Tunes:
Nail That Catfish to a Tree
One-Eyed Cat
Give me an hour and I'll do a whole different list.
Peace.
Paul
Robin Loeffler
I have to agree with Bob Archer, Jump at the Sun is one of the great jigs to
play. Around Halloween we will pair it with "The Funeral March Of The
marionettes"(the theme from Alfred Hitchcock), after making the song fit
contra dance norms. Some other tunes that we are very fond of, and that don't
seem to be played often enough are:
Spootiskerry // Caliche Creek // Old Grey Cat // Tuttle's Reel // Pretty
Little Dog // Puff Adder Step Dance // Morrison's Jig // The Mason's Apron //
Breaking Up Christmas // Jig of Slurs // Emma's Pride // Woodchopper's Reel
// Cold Frosty Morning // June Apple // Mickey Chewing Bubblegum // Tuba City
Truck Stop
Kiran, you had several tunes on your list that I am not familiar with, like
Lit Splickety, and Music For A Found Harmonium. Any ideas where all of us can
find some of this music? Thanks! I wish we were going to Sugar Hill, but we
are already booked at a civil war encampment for that weekend. Enjoy your
dancing!
Robin Loeffler
Robin Loeffler
Good point Bob, I think when this thread has finished, I'll compile a
list of tunes and post them here. (hint taken)
Robin
Kiran Wagle
> One evening I asked the band to play "Tune for a New Found Harmonium"
"Music for a Found Harmonium," a tune by Simon Jeffes of the Penguin Cafe
Orchestra. I heard them play it on a recent anniversary recording, and it
was amazing strange to hear the original version.
Swallowtail plays it for dances; Tim (?) calls Kirston Koth's "Good
Friday" to it. The Mando Mafia and the "Celtic Fiddle Festival" trio of
Kevin Burke, Johnny Cunningham, and Christian Lematre have recorded it. I
love this tune; musically speaking, it's quite interesting and it sure
builds up dancers' energy.
Musically speaking, the only more interesting tune I knw is "Hog Wallow"
by Erik Sessions, on Pigs Eye Landing's CD "Wild Hog." THAT is a
masterpiece.
I've been told (Hi, Ralph) that it was inspired by an early minimalist
composition known as "Music for a Lost Harmonium," but in my perusal of
minimalist music, I've never come across this composition. I'd love to
find a recording of it.
(Mando Mafia can be reached by email c/o <bus...@cstone.net>)
(Pigs Eye Landing can be reached by email c/o <blac...@bitstream.net>)
("Cetic Fiddle Festival" is on Green Linnet and can be found most anywhere.)
~ Kiran <ent...@io.com>
--
<http://www.io.com/contradance/> 1628 5th St NW Wash DC 20001 (202) 483-3373
Kiran Wagle
Robin Loeffler <te...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Kiran, you had several tunes on your list that I am not familiar with, like
> Lit Splickety, and Music For A Found Harmonium. Any ideas where all of us can
> find some of this music? Thanks!
Most of those strange tunes have *known* authors (as opposed to all the
ones whose authorship is extant but unknown, he said peevishly.)
I'm going to put a copy of my list with sources for recordings on my Web page.
(There are some perks to being the one who runs the page, but if anyone
else wants to prepare an annotated list, I'll be happy to post a
compilation of them along with the names of people who recommend them.
Bob, do you want to handle the MIDI archive? :-))
All the CDs are on the desk next to me; I reviewed every one of those
tunes before I was willing to suggest they be done more often, and even
cancelled the post to add "Pulaski Skyway." But I have to PACK, so who
knows whether I will get it done before I leave.
~ Kiran <ent...@io.com>
"The sun's exploded, Henry. Who do you suggest we call, the fire department?"
Alan Gedance
On Tue, 13 Aug 1996, Kiran Wagle wrote:
> > One evening I asked the band to play "Tune for a New Found Harmonium"
>
> "Music for a Found Harmonium," a tune by Simon Jeffes of the Penguin Cafe
> Orchestra. I heard them play it on a recent anniversary recording, and it
> was amazing strange to hear the original version.
>
> Swallowtail plays it for dances; Tim (?) calls Kirston Koth's "Good
> Friday" to it. The Mando Mafia and the "Celtic Fiddle Festival" trio of
> Kevin Burke, Johnny Cunningham, and Christian Lematre have recorded it. I
> love this tune; musically speaking, it's quite interesting and it sure
> builds up dancers' energy.
<..snip..>
I've never heard a more electrifying performance of it than that by Uncle
Gizmo, with Larry Unger on guitar, Ginny Snowe on electric base, and Amy
(nee) Richardson on fiddle, with Amy leading the pack with her driving
performance. Unfortunately, it's not on their Uncle Gizmo CD.
(I believe that Amy's now married. I don't remember her new name.)
Alan
John Price
In message <entropy-1308...@192.0.2.3>
ent...@io.com (Kiran Wagle) writes:
> "Music for a Found Harmonium," a tune by Simon Jeffes of the Penguin Cafe
> Orchestra. I heard them play it on a recent anniversary recording, and
> it was amazing strange to hear the original version.
....
> I love this tune; musically speaking, it's quite interesting and it sure
> builds up dancers' energy.
....
> I've been told (Hi, Ralph) that it was inspired by an early minimalist
> composition known as "Music for a Lost Harmonium," but in my perusal of
> minimalist music, I've never come across this composition. I'd love to
> find a recording of it.
There is a delightful video tape called "Still Life at the Penguin
Cafe" which starts with a performance of the ballet of that name, and
then has a profile of The Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
I am not a lover of ballet, but Still Life is a magnificent and
touching performance about a number of extinct species. (It also has
some quasi morris dancing in it. Right on!!)
In the Profile, Simon Jeffes describes how he came to start the
"orchestra", and introduces some of the numbers - one of which is
"Music for a Found Harmonium". So does he explain where it comes
from? Well, what do you think? Sod's Law applies.
I also have audio recordings by PCO themselves (on the cd
Broadcasting from Home), Patrick Street, Sharon Shannon, and one
other I can't put my hand on. (Yes, I too am a nutter for this tune!)
Again, no information on the origins.
So I guess you're really glad I replied to this. ;-)) Never mind. if
it encourages a few other people to experience the Penguin Cafe
Orchestra or Music for a Found Harmonium ......! (Recording
details available if you want to email me.)
jOHN of St Albans, UK
David Elek Kirchner
: So many tunes, so little time
Too true, too true. Skipping those already mentioned, I'll add:
Devil in a Haystack / 28th of January / Leather Britches / Breaking Up
Christmas / Catharsis (Amy Kahn) / Kitchen Girl / Morrison's Jig / All
the Rage (jig) / Curvy Road to Corinth / It's Too Hot! (those last three
by Larry Unger).
Oh, and a new one I heard a couple of weeks ago: L'homme a deux femmes.
--
David
dav...@artsci.wustl.edu
Dave Goldman
In article <4utt4d$5...@newsreader.wustl.edu>, dav...@artsci.wustl.edu
(David Elek Kirchner) wrote:
>... Catharsis (Amy Kahn) ...
Actually, Amy Cann. The CDSS newsletter said "Kahn" when it printed
Catharsis a couple of years ago, but this was apparently due to an
over-correction of a different typo. Or something like that...
-- Dave Goldman
Portland, OR
Kiran Wagle
> dav...@artsci.wustl.edu (David Kirchner) wrote:
>>... Catharsis (Amy Kahn) ...
da...@rsd.com (Dave Goldman) wrote:
> Actually, Amy Cann. The CDSS newsletter said "Kahn" when it printed
> Catharsis a couple of years ago, but this was apparently due to an
> over-correction of a different typo. Or something like that...
This is apparently a common mistake. (I made it.)
Amy Cann composed "Catharsis," and also runs a dance in southern Vermont.
Amy Kahn wrote a dance called "Sweet Music," which is collected, with
Erik's modification, in Erik Hoffman's book "Contra Comments," which can
be ordered from him at <erik...@aol.com> (or bought from me, assuming I
can find it in the back of my car.) At the time the book was published,
Amy K lived in Syracuse.
Amy J? she's a different person, and lives in Albany.
~ Kiran "Any more?" <ent...@io.com>, still shovelling
Phil Katz
Bob Archer <b...@hottub.demon.co.uk> writes
> In article: <320D44...@earthlink.net> Robin Loeffler
> >
> > If you are a caller, do you have any specific tunes you really like
for a
tunes
of our
> > favorites in Louisville is The Growling Old Man and The Grumbling Old
woman.
> > It will always get the dancers feet flying!
> >
>
(I think also known
> as the Glasgow Reel). I have been known to run a dance through an extra
6 times just because
> the band have changed into Mason's Apron.
>
>
> Bob
>
> --
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> | Bob Archer EMail b...@hottub.demon.co.uk
|
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
tune in North of England. Came across the same phenomenon in
Alnwick, Northumberland. Now mind you Mason's Apron is considered a fine
enough tune here in the US (I use it at dances myself from time to time),
but at least among the folks I do (US) Northern music with, it is one
among many "A" reels. So how does it come to be a standout on Bob's
side of the water?
Nancy K. Martin
Robin Loeffler (te...@earthlink.net) wrote:
: I'm curious and would like to hear from other musicians, callers, and dancers
: other people think really enhance their dance. It gets a little tedious just
: to sit with a music book, sight reading the music to see if I can find
: another tune I like.
The Ploughboy. Those two tunes are almost too cheery and major key, but I
love what they do to the mood of a dance. I get sick of playing them but I
could never tire of dancing to their optimism. Nancy and I learned both
melodies from a tape of Don Messer playing on the radio.
I have a favorite memory to go with my favorite tunes: A sweet
sunny 1984 Sunday on the long veranda of an antebellum officer's house
near Fort Vancouver, dancers and pickers stuffed with delicious potluck
picnic, lubricated to a mellow fuzz with sun-warmed Irish whiskey, dancing
some mindlessly simple contra while the jamband thrashed joyously about my
favorite tunes. No wonder I love those melodies; if I never danced again,
that afternoon contra with my pals on the porch would do.
WWWWW
W/\ /\W
/ ( 0) ( 0) "huh?"
( .. )
\ ///\\\ /
\/ O \/ Bill Martin
VVVV gitf...@teleport.com
Gary D. Shapiro
I just called "Trip to Lambertville" and the Hot Flashes played "Sharps,"
"George Booker" and "Cheetham." (Did I get those names right?)
I don't know which tune was which, but at least two of the tunes sounded
so good I wanted *badly* to be down there dancing.
--
Gary D. Shapiro | Saying "drugs and alcohol" is
www.rain.org/~gshapiro/ | like saying "cars and sedans."
Todd Wagner
My favorite dance music includes many of the Csardas and Invirtita
tunes from the Kalotaszeg region of Transylvania, although many of
my friends prefer music from the Mezoseg region.
David Glick
> > In article: <320D44...@earthlink.net> Robin Loeffler
> <te...@earthlink.net> writes:
> > >
> > > If you are a caller, do you have any specific tunes you really like
> for a
> > > specific dance? Or, if you are a musician or a dancer, is there any
> tunes
> > > that when they are played lift the dancers right off their feet? One
> of our
> > > favorites in Louisville is The Growling Old Man and The Grumbling Old
> woman.
> > > It will always get the dancers feet flying!
There are a few dances I like to see with certain tunes (Cello with
Symmetrical Force, for example). However, what I want from the band is
much of what I want for the rest of the propgram - variety! Some good
jigs mixed with the reels, maybe an occasional march. Some minor key
music. Flowing tunes and bouncy tunes. One of my favorite tunes is Jump
at the Sun - if it is in a band's repertoir, I'll make sure I have a
dance that will suit it!
Philip Rowe
I think at long last, I've worked out how to post things to the news group...
There have been over 100 favourite tunes listed on this thread so far.
I already knew about 20 of them - all good tunes which I use regularly.
I have managed to trace some of the others in books. Several of them
are really dreadful, so either I've found some rather odd versions of the
tunes or different tunes altogether with the same names.
I would be very interested in finding sheet music for the other tunes
on the list. Can anyone help? I'm sure I'm not the only musician
who would be interested.
I have set up an internet page containing about 35 of the tunes so far.
If you have music for any of the others, please send it to me, and while
space permits, I'll put them on the web for us all to enjoy. If you have
different versions of the tunes that are already there, I'd like to see them
too.
URL: http://www.doc.ntu.ac.uk/~par/kc/fav/
or you can get at it via a link from the bottom of Knotted Chord
Folk Dance Band's homepage at: http://www.doc.ntu.ac.uk/~par/kc/
If you have access to a scanner, or typesetting software, I will happily
accept e-mailed scans of pages of music in almost any common bitmap
file format, or PostScript.
E-mail to p...@doc.ntu.ac.uk
Snail mail address available on request.
===================================
Philip Rowe, Axiomatic Technology Limited
Tel (0115) 9418418 ext 2875, Fax (0115) 9486518
Bob Archer
I'm posting this on behalf of Philip Rowe who can read the group but can't post to it.
Philip says:
"I've added a link to the bottom of the Knotted Chord homepage
which points to an index of GIFs containing some of the
rec.folk-dancing favourite tunes.
I still haven't figured out why our news server won't let me
submit articles though. Perhaps you could post something
for me, to tell people the tunes are there, and to invite them
to add to the archive. Tunes can be e-mailed to me at
p...@doc.ntu.ac.uk in PostScript format or any of the bitmap
file formats
Knotted Chord site: http://www.doc.ntu.ac.uk/~par/kc/
Favourite tunes: http://www.doc.ntu.ac.uk/~par/kc/fav/index.html"
Check out the site, and if you get a chance, check out the band - they're one of my favourites.
Susan Songer
In article <1.5.4.32.1996082...@rik.doc.ntu.ac.uk>,
p...@doc.ntu.ac.uk (Philip Rowe) wrote:
>I think at long last, I've worked out how to post things to the news group...
>
>There have been over 100 favourite tunes listed on this thread so far.
>I already knew about 20 of them - all good tunes which I use regularly.
>I have managed to trace some of the others in books. Several of them
>are really dreadful, so either I've found some rather odd versions of the
>tunes or different tunes altogether with the same names.
>
>I would be very interested in finding sheet music for the other tunes
>on the list. Can anyone help? I'm sure I'm not the only musician
>who would be interested.
>
I'll take this opportunity to put in a plug for a project I've been working on
for about a year and a half. I will be publishing a collection of contradance
music sometime within the next few months. This is a book specifically aimed
at contradance musicians. It will contain over 300 jigs and reels, about 85
of which are recently composed. Although it is based on the Portland
repertoire, it contains many of the standards that are played from coast to
coast. All genres of dance music are represented--New England, Irish,
Scottish, French Canadian, Southern. Clyde Curley is writing comments about
each of the tunes providing stylistic tips, personal anecdotes, and especially
the comments of the composers about their tunes. Many of the tunes mentioned
here as favorites are in the book.
If you would like more information about how to get ahold of this book when it
is printed, please email me (son...@teleport.com) your US mail address and
I'll send you a flyer describing the book and how to order it in more detail.
Sue Songer
Portland, OR