USING SINGING CALLS IN YOUR PROGRAM (May 2001)
Jeff Garbutt, Western Australia


How do you choose which singing call to do ? And when ? Is there a magic formula ? Well after 10 years I can safely say that I haven't found any magic formula ! And I bet there are callers around with more experience than me who haven't found the secret yet either.

But here are a few tricks that I have picked up.

Firstly, a program is essential. I know it's a pain. I know it doesn't guarantee success. But not programming will guarantee failure, maybe not the first night, or the second or third, but eventually "something will seems amiss. " A program gives you some guidelines and some coherence. A program gives a much better chance of providing good variety, both choreographic and musical. And a program also allows one to better manipulate dancers emotions during the evening (i.e. controlling the highs and lows)

What do you think are the most important parts of the program ? Well I reckon that the two most important parts are the start and the finish. The middle bits, of course, are important. But the start and finish are the most critical.

The first bracket (or tip) sets the mood for the night. It is an opening statement, "welcome to our dance, enjoy yourself and stay awhile". So go through your record box and pick out tunes that will make good "opening" numbers and make a list of them. The first bracket is important for another reason, we want to get dancers there on time. So if you have a reputation of great start brackets, more people will arrive on time. So start the evening firing on all cylinders.

The last bracket serves many purposes:
* It is the "wrap up" of the night's entertainment.
* It is time for winding down.
* Your last chance to really sell the dancing experience, and your calling, to the dancers.
* Dancers need to finish the night satisfied, happy, wanting more and hopefully still singing the words to your last song as they go out the door.
So, once again, go through your record box and make up a list of "closing" numbers. In picking out closing numbers remember to pick out different tempos. Some nights the dancers need a fast one to finish. Sometimes they need a romantic ballad to finish the night. So be prepared.

Now how about the rest of the night ? Well I reckon that the entire dance program should be like a story book. A typical book has chapters, pages, sentences and words. The words and sentences go together to make a coherent chain of events that form a chapter. The chapters all combine to form a coherent story that builds from start to finish. The story often has a theme, sometimes a hidden message, and generally a moral. But one thing is for sure, each sentence tends to lead onto to the next. Each paragraph leads on to the next. And each chapter can be woven together somehow. And so it should be that each song chosen should build upon the previous one somehow.

If you ever get a chance, go to a concert by a truly great entertainer, and watch how each song they use seems to build like pages in a story. A good example is Neil Diamond, his entire program flows from one song to another so smoothly. If we could capture that same technique, we'd be on a winner.

Now how do you use your singing calls ? Do you get the most value from them ? Most of the tunes we use tend to lose something in the translation to 64 beat figures at 128 beats per minute. So do some research into the original song. Kevin Kelly will tell you that he will always attempt to get hold of the original words and record of each song. He wants to capture the original feel of the song when presenting it. Keeping in mind that Square Dance Callers are not there to sing, as such. Sometimes, singing can detract from the dancing. After all, that is what the dancers relate to. You may also be fortunate to find videos of the original song . For instance I have copies of the videos "Al Jolson Story" and "Jolson Sings Again" and will sometimes study the performances of his classic numbers.

Another idea is to give a song life in your introduction. A quick story about who did the song or what the song was about may help to give it meaning. (But make sure it is only a quick story.) For instance:
* (I'll be your baby tonight) - This next number was originally done by Robert Zimmerman. But it didn't do so well for him until he changed his name to Bob Dylan. It was also done more recently by a group called "UB40". But by far the most famous version was done by Burl Ives. 
* (Tears in Heaven) - This next song got most of the Grammy awards in 1993. It was written in memory of the life of Eric Clapton's son.
* (I will always love you) - This song was used as the theme for two different movies. And I wonder if anyone can tell me which movies they were. (Answers - "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and "The Bodyguard".)
* (Any singalong) - This next song is a singalong, and if you know the words please join in. Oh, I just realised that there is no-one in this hall old enough to remember this song. Oh well, just in case your grandparents taught it to you, you can join in. 

Also, learn to read the vibes of the dancers. Are you one of those callers who when using "Beautiful Noise" will turn the music way down. Have you ever noticed that the dancers want to make noise and not keep their own volume down ? Does this tell you something ? Could it be that the music itself lends itself to being heard ? Well it does. The music is wonderful, and should not be subdued in any fashion. And if you're not convinced - go to a Neil Diamond concert and listen to how he does it. He doesn't subdue the volume at all - he really lets go with both the music and his voice. Try it at your club, and notice the reaction from your dancers.

So you've got 200 records. Great ! Do you use them all, or do you always seem to use the same 5 or 6 every night ? Dancers want variety, so try not to fall into that trap. Paul Bristow once said that he keeps a card with each record. On that card he notes the date (and probably dance function) each time he uses it. This becomes a tool for him to know when he last used that tune. David Cox keeps a list on computer of each time I he calls a record so that he can cycle through the records regularly. Graham Rigby works through the alphabet - one night all his singing calls will start with the letter A, the next time all his singing calls will start with the letter B, and so on. He reckons it is an easy way to ensure that he will only do the same record twice every 12 months at most. ( I wonder what does he do on "Q", "V", "X" and "Z" nights ? Whatever system works for you is fine, but discipline yourself to cycle through your collection.


Finally, if I could offer two pieces of advice:
Firstly, call from the heart. Try and capture the original meaning of the song. 
Secondly, call for a purpose. Try to make a story out of your program.