IMPROVING RECOGNITION OF THE 1
As children we learnt that, when writing, sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a full-stop. These are the rules that allow us to understand the meaning of what the author has written when we read it. Even when we talk, our intonation expresses when sentences begin and end.
Exactly the same thing happens in music and dance. Most of the steps used in swing dancing are designed to fit into the same sentence structure. If what the music is saying doesn't match what dance is telling us, this causes discrepancies. It is true that these misalignments must not always be understood as being negative because they can even improve the expressiveness of dance. Some dancers are even able to create them voluntarily and they constitute a stratagem in dance. But if the mismatch is involuntary, or unconscious, this can hinder communication between the two partners and compromise connection between dancers and music.
The recognition of musical phrases is not always easy. Some songs hinder it either because the recording is very old or because the differentiation between various instruments is not very clear. We know that practice makes dancers perceive these nuances more easily. For those who have difficulty with the identification process, we will provide ideas and tools that we think can help improve this recognition.
Is it necessary to spontaneously (without concentrating) recognize the 1?
If we observe a dance floor we quickly realize that many of the couples dancing do not match the 1 of their steps with the 1 marked by the music but it seems they are having a good time and nothing seems to hinder their dance. So, is it really necessary to follow the 1?
The dance floor seems to prove it unnecessary. But, as we said in the case of identifying and following the beat, we think it would be much better for all dancers to automatically recognise the 1. The reasons leading us to this conclusion are:
- Music is based on a structure and language that allows musicians to understand each other. If we want our dance to be the result of the interaction between a leader, a follower and the music (or the musicians), if we want to dance expressing what the music and our partner inspires in us, we need to understand this language. Dancers wishing to achieve this level of interaction should know how to recognize the 1.
- If the leader does not follow the 1 the follower will have to follow the 1 marked by their partner, not the 1 of the music. In other words, the leader prevents the follower from effectively following the music. If we identify the 1 marked by the music and follow it, we do not have to look at our partner to know where we are in each phrase or to know what we can expect them to do. If the follower must follow the leader's 1 (and this does not match the 1 of the music), the follower "will not be able to take their eyes off" the leader in case they get a jerk out of time.
- If we want to follow the 1 but we have not automated this process, we will have to dedicate part of our attention and resources to perceiving it. This prevents us from focusing on the music, the steps, the connection, our partner, trying not to bump into the other couples ...
- When musicians improvise they know that the beginning or end of their contribution is the 1. If we also want to improvise, we must know exactly when we can do so.
- If both members of the couple easily identify the 1, it will be much easier to understand each other on the dance floor.
- Recognising the 1simplifies musicality, taking into account that the different musical structures and the succession of musical tensions all start from identification of the 1. This is also applicable to more specific aspects of musicality. For example, in those pieces that have accents or marked musical motifs these are usually repeated at the same time of the musical structure (for example, at the second beat of the first three eights of each phrase). If we can not identify where the 1 is, we can not make use of this feature and we cannot easily anticipate the music and adapt our dance to it.
- In order to participate in Jack & Jill or any other kind of competition it is not only essential to understand our partner, but also to know when go onto or leave the dance floor.
In fact, if you watch videos of Jack & Jill's competitions, you will see that most contestants dance matching their steps with the 1 of the music. You can look, if you like it, at some examples: J&J Lone Star, ILHC Invitational J&J 2011.
It is true that the level of rapport required by these competitions is not the same as in social dancing (non-competitive). It is also true that we can find videos of Jack & Jills where the dancers do not clearly follow the 1. We should also bear in mind that we do not always take eight-count steps and, therefore, sooner or later, even if we are trying to start each step on the 1, this will not be possible. Even so, the videos show us that tracking the structure of the song is an aspect that is extremely useful for dancers.
Did we convince you? Do you want to improve your recognition of the 1? If so, this is the process we suggest you follow:
- 1st step: ensure that you know how to perceive and follow the beat without any difficulty (refer to the page identifying and following the beat to see whether you need to work on this aspect before moving on to the next steps).
- 2nd step: understand what the 1 is.
- 3rd step: learn about strategies that make it easier to recognise the 1.
- 4th step: practice to make it automatic and spontaneous (unconscious).