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About Mixed-Age Dance band

The MAD band plays on Sunday afternoons for community dances, which encourage musical partication by children and parents. The band is open to players at all skill levels and of any age, and an optional rehearsal directly precedes the dance.

MAD band has its own set of tunes (available for download here). Downloads:

Organizers include Louise McClure and Louise Senior:

Sept. 2008

Dear Mixed-Age Dance (MAD) Band Participants,

Welcome back to another year filled with lots of wonderful tunes and friends!

Community dances will generally be on the first Sundays of the month; 
however, MAD Band will not play for all of them. Some callers will 
ask for specific tunes that are not on  our master list. These will be posted 
as soon as I know them, so you can print them out and learn them ahead of time.

As of Sept. 17, here are the dates (rehearsals are 1:30 –2:45, dances are 
3:00 – 5:00. All  are at the Suzanne Patterson Center in Princeton, behind 
Borough Hall /Police Station: take the first driveway on the north side of 
Rt. 206, just south (towards Lawrenceville) of the Rt. 206/Nassau St. juncture):

Sunday	Oct. 5		NO MAD Band
Sunday	Nov. 2
Sunday	Feb. 1
Sunday	March 1
Sunday	April 5
Sunday	May 3		still tentative


Musicians of all stripes (and ages, instruments, ability levels, etc.) are 
welcomed. If there’s a tune you don’t play, you may sit in and try to fake 
it or go out and dance for that one.  Some people like to play just a few 
tunes and dance the rest of the time. The whole point is to have fun.

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.

To let me know you’ll be coming, or if you have any questions, please 
e-mail me at tedmcclure AT att.net.

Sincerely,
Louise McClure


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