New subject: [Callers] [Musicians] worthiness of a tune for contra?

31 Jul 2015

I, too, had no trouble hearing phrases of 4-beats, 8-beats, and the 
major parts. (In music speak: 2-bar phrases, 4-bar phrases, and 8-bar 
parts.) I would have no trouble calling to either tune in that video. 
Thus, I'm also curious about what makes it hard to hear, for those of 
you who have trouble with it.

~erik hoffman
     oakland, ca

On 7/30/2015 6:52 PM, James Saxe via Musicians wrote:
...
  After Emily Addison asked about the tunes in this
video

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DkJQ9xNGuU

 several people commented that they found the phrasing of
 the jig (Jim Rumboldt's Tune) deceptive.  I'm curious to
 know what any of you--or other list members--think after
 listening to it at 1.25x speed, as described in my previous
 message (quoted below).

 I did a little searching for other videos of the tune.
 This one

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx_E3qeZAfQ

 is played at about 165 bpm.  If it were played at a
 normal contra tempo and with a clear four-beat intro, but
 otherwise in the same style as in the video, I think it
 would be fine for dancing.  Yes, there are a couple places
 where, if I started the video at a random point in the
 tune, I could momentarily wonder whether a particular note
 was a pick-up note or the true beat 1 of a new phrase.
 But, to my ear, there are enough other places where the
 phrasing is quite clear so that it's not a problem.  I'd
 be interested in reading other people's reactions.

 I found another rendition starting about 3:15 in this
 video

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCnFlmrN1mk

 with tempo in the high 140s.  I can't make sense of
 the phrasing in this one at all.  It seems to me it's a
 different, and genuinely crooked, variant of the tune.
 Does anyone disagree.

 After watching that last video, I tried searching for abc
 notation or pdfs of sheet music or tablature to see whether
 I'd find notation for different versions--straight vs.
 crooked--of the tune.  So far, however, I haven't turned
 up any notation at all.

 --Jim

  On Jul 30, 2015, at 1:58 AM, James Saxe
&lt;jim.saxe(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote:

 I'm a mere caller and pretty much a musical muggle, but
 here are some observations about the jig for what they're
 worth.

 First off, in the video the jig is played at about 93 or 94
 beats per minute (based on my stopwatch timing, which also
 appears to agree closely with the YouTube time counter).
 You might get a better idea of how it would sound as a dance
 tuen by playing it at 1.25x speed.  (Click on the gear-shaped
 "Settings" button near the lower right of the YouTube video
 frame; then click on the Speed box (typically defaulting
 to "Normal"); then click "1.25" in the menu that pops up.
 YouTube should then play at 1.25x normal speed but with the
 audio pitch-shifted back down to normal pitch.)  <remainder snipped>

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Re: [Callers] [Musicians] worthiness of a tune for contra?