Woo Hoo!

I’m taking a brief break from cutting music to celebrate! One of the things I spend a TON of time on before games is cutting down tracks to performance length.  Before, I would convert a CD track to a .wav file and then modify it as best I could in the Windows Sound Recorder – usually into two halves, which I would then merge in the CD burning software.  This often gave less than desireable results.  Not only was it a major pain in the ass to get the final round of the tune (plus ending chord) to meet up with where I severed it mid-track, it often did not merge well together many times producing an audible “pop”.  You see, for performances, I usually have to take an 8 round tune track and cut it down to three or four rounds, otherwise, the performances get either very long or very repetitive.  The problem is that if a recording exists for a dance (Merry Reapers, Reel of the 51st Division) they are recorded as for a dance: usually 8 rounds.  Yes, I could take a three round recording out of my library for most things, but I am pretty anal about dancing music to its name tune.  If a tune is prescribed, and I have it recorded, I’m using it.

I have had an editing software on my computer for some time (Goldwave), which I use during my classes to slow tracks down if needed.  I haven’t delved into it’s actual editing capability until tongight.  I was sort of forced to.  I had the CD track I needed in Windows Media Player, but what I didn’t know was that a .wma does not equal a .wav, and the sound recorder refused to deal with that type of file.  So with some trepidation, I opened the track in Goldwave and began.  Almost instantly I realized this was the way to go.  For one thing, I could hack two minutes out of the middle and the two existant ends would naturally meet.  Then I just have to fine tune (hehe) the merge.  The result? A 3×24 version of the Merry Reapers with a seamless transition from round two to round eight.

Awesome!!!!

Eureka!

If anyone has fallen into this blog via any of the RSCDS tags, they’re probably fairly disappointed.  In fact, of all my activities and hobbies, I have written the least about dance (even though it probably takes up MORE of my time).  This will undoubtedly change as we start to enter Games season and performances start lining up. 

Our first performance will be in a month.  It is the Camellia Festival, a multi-cultural dance “concert” (the link has stills and videos from previous performances – my group is the White Heather Dancers).  I have always obsessed over this performance: it’s invitation only, it’s a large audience, it’s in the round, it’s radically different than the Games.  I have eight minutes or less to showcase Scottish Country Dance for people who have no idea that such a thing exists.  It is the chance for the choreographer in me to claw its way out (and believe me, sometimes it can be a monster) for a brief spot in the sun.

This year, faced with a dwindling class, I have been concerned about exactly what we’ll be performing.  I always have the option of pulling in some adult dancers, though it means I have to take care to pick dances that are well known so that they can be dropped into position with minimal rehearsal.  This year, I’ve also lost two of my more experienced dancers, which means I have to be cautious about the difficulty level. 

I think I have found this year’s program.  At the party this evening we had to modify the Wild Geese to accommodate a three couple set (first couple led waaaay down and returned to third place, then danced rights and lefts with the threes).  The track we danced to was actually the Flock of Geese (the five couple version of the Wild Geese) from the Memories of a Scottish Weekend CD.  I have always loved this version, from it’s simple beginning with just flute and piano, to it’s expansion into lush strings for the middle tunes, to it’s thrilling finish.  And yes, I’m sure I’m biased because of the heavy flute use.  Nevertheless, I think it is thrilling music and I love to use it whenever possible.  So, here’s my plan: mirror the music.  Start with just three couple set for the first round/tune.  Add a couple for the second round/tune (instruments are being added here), add another couple (we’d now be dancing Flock of Geese) for the third round.  Then start taking couples away as the second and main tunes return.  The B part of the main tune, last round is very exciting, and I’d like to see if I can choreograph an ending that can lead into our bow.  I’ll have to futz with it a bit.  Wild Geese is on our ball, which is the week before the concert, and is immensely popular (never mind easy), so any adults I pull in can, indeed, be dropped into place.

That will take up 2.5 minutes.  If I add a strathspey (I’m thinking St. Andrew’s Day because a student requested it and it will use the space well), that will bring our dance time to just under 6 minutes, well within the limit.  I won’t be presenting a reel this year, but I think I can live with that.  Considering that last year the poor kids had to learn and remember 5 (five! what the f*** was I thinking???) dances, giving them only two this year is a well deserved respite.