Seeking Title for my new CD and Book

[Hooves]

I’m putting the finishing touches on my latest tune book. 50 new tunes for contra, square, céilí and morris dance plus a few waltzes. I want to record another solo concertina CD to go with the book... 27 of these new tunes, a bit like my Naked Concertina CD that presents tunes from my first tune book, Feet In the Clouds.

 

So... I need a title that will work for both the CD and book to go along with this picture that will be featured on the cover of both items. Can you help? Here is the photo.

There are two titles that I’m considering at this point.

 

Cool Tunes for Country Dances

Hot Dance Tunes

 

Another title that I like but will not use is:

 

That’s Mr. Frosty to You!

 

Any ideas?

 

I'd like the picture better if your face wasn't in it, nothing personal...

 

hmmm, how about -

 

"Quit playing with your Snow Balls and Dance!"

 

 

or maybe just "Dances with Snow Balls"....

[Jody Kruskal]

Wow! What a response. Thank you everyone for your feedback and suggestions. They are all great and soon I'll have to pick one... or something else entirely. At this point, all the tunes are written but half need a bit of editing and formatting work. As for the CD, the tunes are selected and I've been practicing, but not a note has been recorded, though I'm ready to start.

 

I find that the "concept" part of this process the hardest. The tunes pretty much write themselves and one in ten is a keeper. Over the years they build up and this batch were all written over the past six years. The playing, recording and editing part is pretty straightforward, though time consuming. The hard part for me is that catchy phrase and image on the outside that really says something true about what is on the inside of the package.

 

So thanks again for your help. More ideas?

[Dieppe]

So thanks again for your help. More ideas?

 

 

Keeping your clothes on for this one is good advice, eh?

 

How about "Let's Build a Snowman!" (Look for "Cannibal: The Musical" for that one.. )

 

Uh.. that's a turkey?

 

What about "No Business like Snow Business"?? or "Pining for the 'Tina"? Hm. Because of the pine branches on the snow thing? Hm. "HUG a Snowthing Today! Just put your arms around it and SQUEEZE!" Too long huh? Uh. No idea at this point... good luck!

 

------

 

Patrick

[Chris Drinkwater]

So thanks again for your help. More ideas?

 

Cold Turkey - a selection of tunes to meat your requirements for contra dancing! But, seriously Jody, why did you chose the cover image? Does it somehow fit the tunes you have composed? Have you not got a tune with a title suitable to accompany the inlay card picture/design? Perhaps when you have chosen a suitably appropriate or catchy name for the CD, you could either rename a tune or write another tune with that title. Just a suggestion!

 

Chris

[asdormire]

Uh.. that's a turkey?

 

------

 

Patrick

 

All right, so it doesn't have a snoot.

 

Alan

[Rhomylly]

Yeah, "The Naked Concertina" is gonna be a tough one to beat...

[ragtimer]

I need a title that will work for both the CD and book to go along with this picture that will be featured on the cover of both items. Can you help?

Here's my idea:

 

(photo deleted to save space)

I think Bony's entry, "Come Out and Play", is perfect! For all the reasons given so far, plsy Jody is really hiding behind that snowman and we want him to come out and play -- and the title invites us to get out more with our squeezes -- not too many of us can host a contra in our house! --Mike K.

 

PS: QUestion for Jody: Are the tunes in the book all totally new, or have some appeared as TUne of the Month or otherwise? Not that it affects anything, I just wonder. You msut have been palyign the tunes for dances an concerts to "prove them in" -- as you said, one tune in 10 stands the test of time.

[drbones]

How 'bout

Can't Quit Cold Turkey,

Squeezed contra and other giblets

[Perry Werner]

Hey Jody:

 

If you're intent on using that photo then here's the winning title..

 

 

"SEASONED SQUEEZINS'

50 NEW TUNES FOR CONTRA, SQUARE, CEILI AND MORRIS DANCING SPICED WITH A FEW WALTZES

TO CELEBRATE THE YEAR 'ROUND"

 

Hope t works for you.

It does for me!

Perry Werner

Edited February 12, 2009 by Perry Werner

[david fabre]

Hello Jody,

One question : will the tunebook be melodies & chords or full arrangements ?

and what about the previous "feet in the cloud" one ?

[Jody Kruskal]

Hey Jody:

 

If you're intent on using that photo then here's the winning title..

 

 

"SEASONED SQUEEZINS'

50 NEW TUNES FOR CONTRA, SQUARE, CEILI AND MORRIS DANCING SPICED WITH A FEW WALTZES

TO CELEBRATE THE YEAR 'ROUND"

 

Hope t works for you.

It does for me!

Perry Werner

That's really funny Perry, I love it.

[Jody Kruskal]

Hello Jody,

One question : will the tunebook be melodies & chords or full arrangements ?

and what about the previous "feet in the cloud" one ?

Sorry David, no full arrangements in either book. The tunes are not meant for concertina players only. I take great care that the tunes work on fiddle and piano as well.

[ragtimer]

Hello Jody,

One question : will the tunebook be melodies & chords or full arrangements ?

and what about the previous "feet in the cloud" one ?

Having just about worn out my copy of "Feet in the Clouds", I can add to Jody's response of Feb 17.

His books are "lead sheets" with melody line and "fake chords". Jody sometimes uses the "slash" notation to suggest walking bass runs, as in C C/B C/A C/G, etc. You may add whatever countermeldoies or embellishments you desire.

 

As an intermediate Hayden Duet player, I find Jody's book ideal. Great for trying out new "arranging" techniques.

I paly thru FitC every few days, like a pianist using Chopin etudes or Bach's 48. Lots more fun, tho.

 

Jody does indeed run his tunes past his band members, and will tweak notes here and there until the passages fit right with fiddle, piano, and Anglo. We Duet players might move a note or two ourselves, but we'll never tell.

--Mike K.

[Jody Kruskal]

We Duet players might move a note or two ourselves, but we'll never tell.

--Mike K.

 

Hi Mike,

 

I'm so glad to hear that you make free with my tunes. I certainly do!

 

The other day, Barbara Greenberg wrote to me about publishing my tune "Riverwoods" from Feet in the Clouds for her Rum and Onions contra dance band in New Jersey. She liked the tune but wanted to simplify the second half of the B section to make it more like the first half. I looked at the tune and realized that I've been doing exactly that for years at my own dances.

 

Even though I do write this stuff down, I think of it as folk music and you have my permission to play it any way you want. These and all tunes only improve with age and as you play them they change. The fussy parts get dropped, the fancy chords and bass lines get ignored and the true tune emerges or dies from neglect. Only the good stuff gets remembered and passed down to the folks you play with. I'm putting it out there as "performance ready" as I can, but it's up to you to make it work on your instrument and for your situation.

 

Still, I like the idea of you reading through Feet in the Clouds for fun and hope you enjoy the new book as well (when it's ready). I think there are some really cool new tunes coming your way.

[ragtimer]

We Duet players might move a note or two ourselves, but we'll never tell.

--Mike K.

 

Hi Mike,

 

I'm so glad to hear that you make free with my tunes. I certainly do!

 

The other day, Barbara Greenberg wrote to me about publishing my tune "Riverwoods" from Feet in the Clouds for her Rum and Onions contra dance band in New Jersey. She liked the tune but wanted to simplify the second half of the B section to make it more like the first half. I looked at the tune and realized that I've been doing exactly that for years at my own dances.

Gee Jody, I never thought the B strain of Riverwoods was too busy or fussy -- even the Mixolydian C chord works well.

FWIW, I added bellows reversals on the long notes in B, and an extra Em chord down the road.

 

My boxes sit open on a shelf right behind this PC, so I just swiveled around and ran thru Riverwoods when I saw your post.

Even though I do write this stuff down, I think of it as folk music and you have my permission to play it any way you want. These and all tunes only improve with age and as you play them they change. The fussy parts get dropped, the fancy chords and bass lines get ignored and the true tune emerges or dies from neglect. Only the good stuff gets remembered and passed down to the folks you play with. I'm putting it out there as "performance ready" as I can, but it's up to you to make it work on your instrument and for your situation.

Good, thanks, I'm glad you agree with adapting music to the instrument. You brought that out in the first class I took from you, at a New England workshop.

 

FWIW, I tend to *add* chords as I get to know a tune, not simplify them. And I throw in bass runs, like you heard me do on Gone FIshing at NESI. But the guitarist in our group does deal better with fewer chords, so there's an incentive to KISS.

BTW, sometimes throwing in an extra note makes a passage easier to finger, at least on a Duet.

Still, I like the idea of you reading through Feet in the Clouds for fun and hope you enjoy the new book as well (when it's ready). I think there are some really cool new tunes coming your way.

I'm sure I'll like the new book -- whatever it's called

Take care --Mike K.

Edited February 20, 2009 by ragtimer

[Jody Kruskal]

Gee Jody, I never thought the B strain of Riverwoods was too busy or fussy -- even the Mixolydian C chord works well.

 

FWIW, I added bellows reversals on the long notes in B, and an extra Em chord down the road.

 

My boxes sit open on a shelf right behind this PC, so I just swiveled around and ran thru Riverwoods when I saw your post.

 

FWIW, I tend to *add* chords as I get to know a tune, not simplify them. And I throw in bass runs, like you heard me do on Gone FIshing at NESI. But the guitarist in our group does deal better with fewer chords, so there's an incentive to KISS.

 

BTW, sometimes throwing in an extra note makes a passage easier to finger, at least on a Duet.

 

Hi Mike,

 

Well I know what you mean about adding chords as you get to know a tune. I like to do that as well as adding extra melody notes, just as you do. However, if I put in all the cool stuff you could do with a tune as the published tune itself then I would be violating KISS in a big way. That's the dilemma of tune writing, cutting out the extra and leaving the core. That way, I invite you to discover the possibilities in the tune and give you room to make it your own.

 

Here is the way I've been playing "Riverwoods"... not so different, just a bit simpler in measures 5 and 6 of the B section. The original way had a bunch of eighth notes in there to give it variety, but any player could make up their own just as well, I didn't need to spell it out.

[ragtimer]

Hi Mike,

 

Well I know what you mean about adding chords as you get to know a tune. I like to do that as well as adding extra melody notes, just as you do. However, if I put in all the cool stuff you could do with a tune as the published tune itself then I would be violating KISS in a big way. That's the dilemma of tune writing, cutting out the extra and leaving the core. That way, I invite you to discover the possibilities in the tune and give you room to make it your own.

Right. Figuring out the happy medium of just how fancy to make the published arrangement is a big decision. Printing all the variations, grace notes, and syncopations, plus all the extra chord changes, would turn off many players. It's easier for us players to throw more stuff in than to decide what to leave out, when reading a piece off the page.

 

BTW, I've had a lot of fun working with that Elk River Blues you handed out at NESI. A simple tune iwth lots of possibilities.

Here is the way I've been playing "Riverwoods"... not so different, just a bit simpler in measures 5 and 6 of the B section. The original way had a bunch of eighth notes in there to give it variety, but any player could make up their own just as well, I didn't need to spell it out.

OK, you echoed bar 1 (where I put a bellows reverse) in bar 5, then simplified 6 to go with the new bar 5.

I still like the original better, but diversity is the spice of life -- and music.

 

I should post graphics of some of my own pieces up here, someday.

Thanks for the chat, Jody -- Mike K.

Edited February 21, 2009 by ragtimer

[Jody Kruskal]

I should post graphics of some of my own pieces up here, someday.

Thanks for the chat, Jody -- Mike K.

 

Yes you should Mike. I for one would love to see/hear what you are up to.