A series of videos from Jeff Kaufman (Free Raisins) about how he plays mandolin for contra dances.
In this blog post, Jeff Kaufman describes some basics of playing guitar for contra dances.
Simple and Less Simple Contra Dance Piano
In this series of blog posts, Jeff Kaufman describes how to play piano for contra dances.
Simple Contra Dance Piano (2011)
Simple Contra Dance Piano: Interesting Left Hand (2011)
Simple Contra Dance Piano: More Left Hand (2011)
Less Simple Contra Dance Piano (2019)
Perpetual e-Motion Interview Series
Interviews with Perpetual e-Motion (Ed Howe, John Cote) on a variety of aspects of playing for contra dances including fiddling for dance, guitar rhythms for dance, fitting music and dance, acoustic playing, electronic effects, and doing your own sound.
From Dennis C Merritt
In this blog post, Jeff Kaufman explores some considerations to make when creating dance sets. Community discussion follows.
In this blog post, Jeff Kaufman provides some thoughts on how to match tunes to contra dances.
Should Square Music be ‘Square?’
This blog post discusses when (and if) tunes played for square dances should follow the 32-bar AABB format.
From the Dance Caller’s Journal
In this blog post, The Last Gaspé reflect on what it takes to be good band and how to play together effectively.
In this blog post, Jeff Kaufman explains how to call chords during the middle of a dance so that fellow bandmates know where the chord progression is going.
Free Raisins Video Interview Series
In this video, series the Free Raisins (Amy Englesberg, Audrey Knuth, and Jeff Kaufman) talk about a variety of aspects of playing for contra dances with musical examples including phrasing, balancing rhythm and melody, varying chords, droning (pedaling), complex variations, balance of an evening, and evolution of a band.
From Dennis Merritt
Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support.