The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #132756 Message #3006935
Posted By: Tattie Bogle
14-Oct-10 - 12:53 PM
Thread Name: Tech: Acoustic drummin'
Subject: RE: Tech: Acoustic drummin'
I play in a very large ceilidh band: up to 40 attend a ceilidh band class, but when we go out to play for ceilidhs usually at least 20 of us! Putting yourselves in a semi-circle rather than straight lines seems to help with hearing each other or watching bowing on fiddles: any players with hearing or visual difficulties should sit nearer the epicentre of the band. (I'm not joking there!) Of course there may be constraints on this advice in some venues, and playing in the open air is the worst for "losing" each other, and getting out of synch.
Without causing war, decide amongst yourselves who is the best time-keeper, and appoint him/her as leader, maybe playing standing up so can be seen by the rest of the band: it does NOT have to be a drummer, but functions as a conductor would in a symphony orchestra, but without the baton. AND that person should have a notion of the best speeds for dancing - forget the X beats per minute: do a wee prance about to get the right speed before starting. If the dancers' knees start sagging you're too slow! If you're too fast, they'll be dropping out or having heart attacks or waving white flags.
Oh, forgot to say, I play bodhran in the band - for some dances, or for waltzes and slower numbers I'm on button accordion.