I've sang and played musical instruments (starting with piano) throughout my 63+ years and have danced squares and contras since I was around 8.
I started playing for contras around 1974. That year, my classical violinist housemate in Burlington, Vermont gave me her spare fiddle as a birthday present.
I began calling contras in 1980 at the Guiding Star Grange Hall in Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA. A hefty percentage of Greenfield's current contra dance in-crowd either don't know I exist or perhaps wish I existed somewhere else, but I'm still usually calling and playing at the Grange Hall every other Friday and dancing there on other nights.
Since 1978, I've played music from (mostly) some towns along the Västerdalälven river in Sweden, and I've taught some of the easier turning dances I learned in that part of Dalarna.
I host a Monday night session in my own home. The repertoire often includes Irish tunes, but we play a lot of our local tunes as well as regional favorites. We often play many repetitions of tunes and we've been known to play at slower tempos in order to explore harmonies and chords. We invite tune presentations and suggestions from all in attendance.
I'd love to play in several friendly sessions a week and go to at least two dances, where, ideally, I'd play half the night, dance half the night, and go home with some money in my pocket and great satisfaction in my mind and heart.
I think of myself as a competent musician, a composer of modest output, a good teacher, and a deep lover of music.
Tunes in Kaynor's tunebook: 1
| Tunes | Far Away | August 16th 2011 |
| Tunes | High Clouds | July 19th 2010 |
| Discussions | Re: A "thesession.org" poll, please take! | April 20th 2010 |
| Tunes | Duplication | January 8th 2010 |
| Tunes | Nancy's Waltz | September 23rd 2004 |