Family Dance

with Mixed Age Dance (MAD) Band

sponsored by Princeton Country Dancers

Join in the fun of an old-fashioned barn dance for all ages with live music and professional calling. All dances are taught; no experience or partners are necessary. Great fun for the whole family, from toddlers to grandparents! Musicians of all ages and abilities are welcome to play in the Mixed Aged Dance (MAD) band with a rehearsal immediately prior to the dance (details below). Admission for Dancers and Mad Band Musicians is $5 per person, or $15 per family.

Family Dances are being planned for:

• Sunday Nov. 6, 2011 with caller Richard Fischer and band leader Louise McClure
• Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 with caller Janet Mills
• Sunday Feb. 26, 2012 with caller Ridge Kennedy --> See extra tunes for this dance only...
  
     Extra tunes for February 26: (violin version)

  1. Alley Cat
  2. Galopede
  3. Joys of Quebec
  4. La Bastringe
  5. Zemer Atik
• Sunday April 1, 2012 with caller Sue Dupré and band leaders Louise McClure and Amy Zakar --> See extra tune for this dance only...
  
     Extra tune for April 1: (violin version)

  • Sellenger's Round

The band leader will lead a rehearsal for those wishing to play in the band at 1:45 PM, and the dance will called from 3:00-5:00 pm. Both rehearsal and dance in the Suzanne Patterson Center (on Monument Drive behind the police station, at the corner of Rt. 206 and Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08540). For this dance, the tune list directly below will be used.

About the Mixed Age Dance (MAD) band The band plays easy-to-learn tunes for the Family Dance. Participants range in age from grammar school to senior citizens. Anyone of any age, on any instrument, is welcome to join in. It’s a great way to learn a new instrument or learn to play with a live band. You don’t need to go to lots of rehearsals; just show up early on the day of the dance for a practice! But you do need to know some of the music. Learn only as many as you are comfortable with. Some people like to play just a few tunes and dance the rest of the time. The whole point is to have fun. And you don't need to know every tune to play in the band!

Required

• Musicians must print out and bring their own music for tunes that they wish to play.
• Children must be accompanied by an adult during both the practice and the dance.
• Please bring your own music stand. It is a good idea to write your name on the stand--address labels are helpful for this.

Music

The music is divided into approximately three levels of difficulty. You may play one or all pieces or levels, or any number of notes in a given piece. The half measure will be ~ metronome marking 108. Bandleader Louise McClure recommends learning at least one or two of the “easy” pieces first.The point is to have fun and not stress out.

Some tips for faking: play the first note of each measure, or of each group of three (In 6/8 time) or four (in 2/4 and 4/4 times) notes. If you can follow the printed notes with your eyes, even if you can’t play them yet, you’re halfway there. Some people learn best just by listening to the tune several times through before starting to “fiddle” with it, or even by watching someone else’s fingers.

MAD Band Tunes for 2011-2012:

For the tunes below, the link brings you to the violin music (.pdf file) and a .midi file. Though not yet complete, some pdf files for viola, cello, Bb instruments, and Eb instruments are available.

See our previous event list and last year's tunes.

For questions about MAD band, contact Louise McClure at .

For corrections to MAD band web pages, contact Pat Palmer at .