Western Gathering:
FGConnections Fall 2006
From Contradancer to Contradance Musician
By Dick Bellin
 Dick Bellin |
For as long as I have been going to Gathering, one of the high points of the week has been the contradancing. I have seldom participated in this activity at home, but at Gathering I would almost always find myself on the dance floor. Occasionally I wondered how one got to play with the band. I am a lifelong amateur musician, and at various times I have played tuba in a band, string bass in an orchestra, as well as piano, organ, and several other instruments. But my training, my experience, and my knowledge did not extend to the type of music used for contra and square dancing. Besides, the dancing was so much fun I never thought too much about it.
The last time I was on the dance floor was at Rochester in 2000, after two years of some health problems. It was obvious to me then that the time was rapidly approaching when I would no longer be able to keep up the pace. A year later, at Blacksburg, it happened. No dancing for me. I can still remember how wistful I felt as I looked at everyone dancing and couldn’t join them. The following year, at Normal, the same thing happened, and once again I was feeling very out of the loop.
Except that year, Way Opened. I looked in one evening and saw that nobody was at the piano. In retrospect, it took quite a bit of courage to walk over and ask if I could play, while admitting that I had never played this type of music before. Fortunately I knew several of the people playing, and after a brief audition to make sure I knew enough to follow the tunes, I joined the band. Without a bass player, the piano becomes the bass and rhythm instrument. My years of playing, especially the bass, stood me in good stead, so it didn’t take me long to catch on. Everyone was most helpful and made allowances for my novice status.
Playing that piano was a revelation. I discovered a whole new world of music. I learned that there are hundreds of tunes—mostly jigs and reels, as well as waltzes—melodically very intricate and difficult even though relatively simple in chord structure. I was introduced to the Fiddler’s Fake Book, an absolutely essential part of any contradance player’s library. When I got home I bought a copy of it on the internet and over the next year I spent a lot of time at the piano learning melodies. I also attempted to find someplace at home where I could play more regularly, but as yet that has not happened. By the time I returned to the Gathering the following year I was ready and eager to play again.
When I got to Johnstown I found that the gym not only was not air conditioned but it did not have a piano. I was devastated! All that preparation and I wouldn’t be able to play. Fortunately, a Friend had brought a washtub bass—a home-made instrument consisting of an overturned washtub, a broom handle and a length of clothesline—which we took turns playing. So that year I once again became a bass player.
For the past three years I have asked the Gathering Committee to be sure we have a piano. The piano at Amherst was pretty bad; the one at Blacksburg was excellent. On the other hand, the dancing facilities at Amherst were fine; but Owens Hall at Blacksburg had carpeting on the floor—a no-no for dancing— and the building was full of mold, and the noise from the rock dancing next door made both playing and dancing very difficult.
This year, at Pacific Lutheran College, it all came together. The room we used was air-conditioned, had a proper floor for dancing, one of the best pianos—a Mason & Hamlin grand—which I have ever played anywhere, a good sound system, several fiddle players (fiddlers have been in short supply in recent years), and an absolutely awesome caller, Beverly Young. One of the requirements of playing music for dancing is to watch both the music and the dancers at the same time. From what I saw, there was no question in my mind that the dancers appreciated the facilities as much as I did.
I look forward to several more years of playing in the FGC Gathering contradance band. It is truly a precious gift.
Richard A. (Dick) Bellin is a Member of Friends Meeting of Washington DC. This year marked his 18th Gathering. His first Gathering was at Oberlin. Dick is Registrar and Website Coordinator for Friends Conference on Religion and Psychology.
Western Gathering
- Expanding Circles by Aimee Bucholz
- Listen and Obey the Spirit by Rubye Howard Braye
- Touching others … others touching us by John Helding
- Water Has Memory by Raelyn Joyce
- Living Water Cards
- Sailing to Gathering by Linda Hill and John Scull
- More Reflections from the Western Gathering
