Denver, Day 4

Today was the second day of the Gay Callers Association (GCA) caller school.

I skipped the morning session: working with multiple callers, chaired by John Marshall and Anne Uebelacker. I had the pleasure of seeing this last year with Anne and Mike DeSisto; the notes I took from that session could have been summed up in a single 3x5 card and the rest of the time was spent in practise. Suspecting that this year's session would be a near-total repeat, tdjohnsn and I opted instead to do some shopping and generally get out of the hotel a while. Call it a sanity break.

The notes I had from that session and from the prior years include:

• Don't do medleys.
  
• Don't use numbers with recorded background vocals.
  
• Use music with a mutually agreeable vocal key.
  
• Use well-known recordings.
  
• Decide before singing who is singing the lead and who is doing harmony.
  
• Match volume levels among the callers participating.
  
• Keep eye contact with the other callers to help blend, rescue each other and generally cooperate.
  
• Don't ever upstage your fellow callers.
  
• Let the least experienced caller pick the music; the more experienced callers can adjust to match.
  
• If alternating calls or figures, be kind, safe and gentle. Making the other caller look good makes you look good.
  
• Keep an even level of dance difficulty.

Rejoining kent4str, rlegters and Dave Decot at noon, the five of us followed another group to Sam's #3, a very reasonably priced diner a few blocks along 15th Street from the Hyatt.

The afternoon schedule was a joint session of all levels and coaches to discuss business aspects of square dance calling: contracts, professional behavior, code of ethics, music & performance licensing and such. I don't recall anything I haven't heard in many prior caller schools --or any business administration course since high school-- but the war stories from senior callers are always entertaining and educational.

Suggestions included:

• Get your contract from the club asap. Always keep a copy.
  
• Ensure you have the dance location address with both contact and backup contact cell phone numbers.
  
• Request early access to the dance space, always at least 1/2 hour before show time. You need to check the space for condition, acoustics, electricity, lighting, etc..
  
• Know who is supplying the caller equipment.
  
• Know what is expected: modern square dancing? traditional? line dancing? two-stepping? additional DJing?
  
• Know what levels are required and the number of dancers expected.
  
• Know the type of event: a first nighter? club night? monthly dance? fly-in? children present? alcohol being served?
  
• Insert a cancellation policy if desired.
  
• Be prepared with proof of ASCAP/BMI licensing.
  
• Always remember: we are professional callers but we're being booked by amateurs and volunteers. We need to use our experience to prevent miscommunication.

After dinner at the Paramount Restaurant --I had a chocolate sundae instead of an entree... sue me-- we returned for a split session. Half of the students were in a session with Barry Clasper on music awareness: listening for beat and musical phrasing, consideration of beat tempo vs. melody tempo, avoiding common traps in patter and singing call music, etc..

The other half of the student body was in vocal training with Bob Lamberson. Each student was asked to perform the intro and first figure of a singing call, then Bob would offer an analysis of what the caller was doing right, helping them improve their technique with some simple fixes and provide a basic understanding of good singing technique.

After 45 minutes, the student bodies switched between halls so everyone had an opportunity. While all of this was happening, each student also had a one-on-one session with a caller coach to analyze their current status and future goals.

Barry's portion was quite useful. He had done similar sessions with other callers previously but this particular session was a dry-run for something he plans to take to CALLERLAB (I believe). Take-away items:

• Make sure your first musical number is a well-worn favourite. You need that music to gauge the skills of the floor, the acoustics of the hall, the quality of the sound system, etc.. You don't want to fight your own music at the same time.
  
• Call patter firmly in the command (first) beat of 4/4 music. 2/2 boom-chuck music is much more forgiving.
  
• Don't call against the rhythm: try to call along it or at least not competing with it.
  
• Patter music should complement the singer call, not undermine it.
  
• Count the beats. It may sound slow and leisurely but the underlying beat may be faster than you think. Don't trust first impressions.
  
• Beware of the possible disconnect between the underlying beat and the melody tempo. One delightful ballad Barry played sounded like a smooth, moderate tempo melody but the beat underneath was actually 137 beats per minute, much faster than one might have guessed.
  
• A good swing piece or unusual non-boom-chuck patter music is as good as a singer for A2 and higher levels.

The vocal training was the most interesting portion: I haven't seen anything like this previously, although I understand CALLERLAB has had such coaching available at past conventions. Not being a registered student this time, I didn't participate; it's just as well since nearly everyone present had some degree of past vocal coaching, whereas I have absolutely none and utterly suck at it. I'm certain I would have been utterly shredded and depressed by the experience.

Despite my reservations, there were a number of ideas and techniques which were inflicted offered to other callers which I will attempt to incorporate into my crude singing, including:

• Consciously raise the eyebrows and forehead. This produces a happier, brighter quality to one's voice.
  
• Breath with the diaphragm, not the chest. I knew this already but it's harder than it sounds, and it keeps one's voice from going flat.
  
• Relax the jaw and throat. A tight, clenched jaw restricts the voice.
  
• Keep the mouth fully open, lips puckered outwards rather than curled in.
  
• Over-articulate consonants and sing the vowels, not the other way around.

In July of 2004, as I was about to pick up a microphone for the first time, I contact David, a friend who is a music and voice coach for basic advice. From him, I learned (a) I was a baritone, (b) I had a wider range than I knew, and (c) that I should sing in the car while commuting each morning to build vocal strength. I'm going to try incorporating the above list into my singing commute for a month or so, then contact David again for follow-up coaching.

Surprisingly, I wasn't exhausted by the end of the day. The roomies and fuzzygruf and I went out for a drink & snack at the Hard Rock Cafe before returning to our hotel room for bed.

Favourite quotes of the day:

John Marshall, referring to less-than-successful caller collaborations: "Cluster-sing"

John Marshall, on our aging caller population: "The average age of our callers is-"
Anne Uebelacker: "Deceased."

Deborah Carroll-Jones, using her mother metaphor to describe callers being protective and supportive of their understudies: "We don't want our kids to fall."
John Marshall: "Well, yes we do, but we want it to be a controlled fall. And that's why you're [the new callers] here."

Deborah Carroll-Jones on dress codes: "My father always said, the bigger the belt buckle, the smaller the -."

Denver, Day 4

Today was the second day of the Gay Callers Association (GCA) caller school.

I skipped the morning session: working with multiple callers, chaired by John Marshall and Anne Uebelacker. I had the pleasure of seeing this last year with Anne and Mike DeSisto; the notes I took from that session could have been summed up in a single 3x5 card and the rest of the time was spent in practise. Suspecting that this year's session would be a near-total repeat, tdjohnsn and I opted instead to do some shopping and generally get out of the hotel a while. Call it a sanity break.

The notes I had from that session and from the prior years include:

• Don't do medleys.
  
• Don't use numbers with recorded background vocals.
  
• Use music with a mutually agreeable vocal key.
  
• Use well-known recordings.
  
• Decide before singing who is singing the lead and who is doing harmony.
  
• Match volume levels among the callers participating.
  
• Keep eye contact with the other callers to help blend, rescue each other and generally cooperate.
  
• Don't ever upstage your fellow callers.
  
• Let the least experienced caller pick the music; the more experienced callers can adjust to match.
  
• If alternating calls or figures, be kind, safe and gentle. Making the other caller look good makes you look good.
  
• Keep an even level of dance difficulty.

Rejoining kent4str, rlegters and Dave Decot at noon, the five of us followed another group to Sam's #3, a very reasonably priced diner a few blocks along 15th Street from the Hyatt.

The afternoon schedule was a joint session of all levels and coaches to discuss business aspects of square dance calling: contracts, professional behavior, code of ethics, music & performance licensing and such. I don't recall anything I haven't heard in many prior caller schools --or any business administration course since high school-- but the war stories from senior callers are always entertaining and educational.

Suggestions included:

• Get your contract from the club asap. Always keep a copy.
  
• Ensure you have the dance location address with both contact and backup contact cell phone numbers.
  
• Request early access to the dance space, always at least 1/2 hour before show time. You need to check the space for condition, acoustics, electricity, lighting, etc..
  
• Know who is supplying the caller equipment.
  
• Know what is expected: modern square dancing? traditional? line dancing? two-stepping? additional DJing?
  
• Know what levels are required and the number of dancers expected.
  
• Know the type of event: a first nighter? club night? monthly dance? fly-in? children present? alcohol being served?
  
• Insert a cancellation policy if desired.
  
• Be prepared with proof of ASCAP/BMI licensing.
  
• Always remember: we are professional callers but we're being booked by amateurs and volunteers. We need to use our experience to prevent miscommunication.

After dinner at the Paramount Restaurant --I had a chocolate sundae instead of an entree... sue me-- we returned for a split session. Half of the students were in a session with Barry Clasper on music awareness: listening for beat and musical phrasing, consideration of beat tempo vs. melody tempo, avoiding common traps in patter and singing call music, etc..

The other half of the student body was in vocal training with Bob Lamberson. Each student was asked to perform the intro and first figure of a singing call, then Bob would offer an analysis of what the caller was doing right, helping them improve their technique with some simple fixes and provide a basic understanding of good singing technique.

After 45 minutes, the student bodies switched between halls so everyone had an opportunity. While all of this was happening, each student also had a one-on-one session with a caller coach to analyze their current status and future goals.

Barry's portion was quite useful. He had done similar sessions with other callers previously but this particular session was a dry-run for something he plans to take to CALLERLAB (I believe). Take-away items:

• Make sure your first musical number is a well-worn favourite. You need that music to gauge the skills of the floor, the acoustics of the hall, the quality of the sound system, etc.. You don't want to fight your own music at the same time.
  
• Call patter firmly in the command (first) beat of 4/4 music. 2/2 boom-chuck music is much more forgiving.
  
• Don't call against the rhythm: try to call along it or at least not competing with it.
  
• Patter music should complement the singer call, not undermine it.
  
• Count the beats. It may sound slow and leisurely but the underlying beat may be faster than you think. Don't trust first impressions.
  
• Beware of the possible disconnect between the underlying beat and the melody tempo. One delightful ballad Barry played sounded like a smooth, moderate tempo melody but the beat underneath was actually 137 beats per minute, much faster than one might have guessed.
  
• A good swing piece or unusual non-boom-chuck patter music is as good as a singer for A2 and higher levels.

The vocal training was the most interesting portion: I haven't seen anything like this previously, although I understand CALLERLAB has had such coaching available at past conventions. Not being a registered student this time, I didn't participate; it's just as well since nearly everyone present had some degree of past vocal coaching, whereas I have absolutely none and utterly suck at it. I'm certain I would have been utterly shredded and depressed by the experience.

Despite my reservations, there were a number of ideas and techniques which were inflicted offered to other callers which I will attempt to incorporate into my crude singing, including:

• Consciously raise the eyebrows and forehead. This produces a happier, brighter quality to one's voice.
  
• Breath with the diaphragm, not the chest. I knew this already but it's harder than it sounds, and it keeps one's voice from going flat.
  
• Relax the jaw and throat. A tight, clenched jaw restricts the voice.
  
• Keep the mouth fully open, lips puckered outwards rather than curled in.
  
• Over-articulate consonants and sing the vowels, not the other way around.

In July of 2004, as I was about to pick up a microphone for the first time, I contact David, a friend who is a music and voice coach for basic advice. From him, I learned (a) I was a baritone, (b) I had a wider range than I knew, and (c) that I should sing in the car while commuting each morning to build vocal strength. I'm going to try incorporating the above list into my singing commute for a month or so, then contact David again for follow-up coaching.

Surprisingly, I wasn't exhausted by the end of the day. The roomies and fuzzygruf and I went out for a drink & snack at the Hard Rock Cafe before returning to our hotel room for bed.

Favourite quotes of the day:

John Marshall, referring to less-than-successful caller collaborations: "Cluster-sing"

John Marshall, on our aging caller population: "The average age of our callers is-"
Anne Uebelacker: "Deceased."

Deborah Carroll-Jones, using her mother metaphor to describe callers being protective and supportive of their understudies: "We don't want our kids to fall."
John Marshall: "Well, yes we do, but we want it to be a controlled fall. And that's why you're [the new callers] here."

Deborah Carroll-Jones on dress codes: "My father always said, the bigger the belt buckle, the smaller the -."