49-3,p18

T. I. Cheek

Dear Professor Cheek,

I'd like to add some music to my act. What kind would be best; Big Band, Jazz, Rock? Any guidance about songs and presentation?

Signed, Musically Challenged

Dear Challenged,

I threw this problem to the research staff and got more fights and arguments (again). It seems that EVERYBODY has their own favorite music. And, several people HATED other people's choice in music. By far, the most maligned song was "In the Mood" (old dance number by Glenn Miller), which happens to be my favorite. After breaking up the fights and banning ALL boom boxes in the office, I did find several areas of agreement on juggling music.

Suitability: The type of music should match your act, costume, and character. A "clownish" routine calls for circus atmosphere (calliope, etc.). A "gentleman juggler" act in a tux fits classical or light jazz. Rock music works with most street acts.

Rhythm & Tempo: The music will dictate how you juggle. Some songs that sound great may have a tempo too fast or slow for the juggling. Adjustments are possible. A team act could stand further apart to slow down a passing pattern, or use different props.

Practice: Recorded music is unforgiving. You have to follow the tempo and

the changes already there. The music won't stop and wait if (when) you screw up. To do a smooth juggling routine to a piece of canned music, you better have the juggling and the music down so perfect you can do them in your sleep (careful juggling torches in bed!). And have a plan (like a drop line) for what to do when you have one of those RARE drops.

Professor,

I know what kind of music I want to use for my juggling act. My problem is that most songs are too long. I'd love to be able to get short, fast-moving (30-90 seconds) songs for a quick, fast-moving torch pass finallie. Any ideas?

Signed, Musically Impaired

Dear Impaired,

It's "finale" and yes, I've got a couple of suggestions. You can do what I did the first time I used music. Pick an opening theme from a TV show (Dallas was great; avoid Perry Mason - too slow). They're the perfect length, strong rhythm, and

build to a nice finish. Put a blank tape in the kid's Tommy the Turtle recorder. Get

everybody to shut-up before the show starts. It ain't great but it works. Be sure to send royalty payments each time you use the tape.

One of the T.I.C. researchers had a slightly more technical idea. She said, "Almost any song can be custom tailored for your use by a few simple edits. Some musically minded computer aficionado (translation: techno geek) will almost certainly have a good .wav file editor or some other digital editing system (like Pro tools or SoundForge). They can import your song into the computer, do the necessary edits - shorten the intro, lose the second verse and take out half the repeating choruses on the intro, for example. It's wonderful when it's done well. And routines seem so much more crisp when they're tailored to the music."

All of that made no sense to me (I still distrust computers after that girl's gym class disaster in high school (and no, I never did get into the locker room), but I asked other computer geeks and got similar answers. Three out of four geeks said it's best to work from a 20 but even that old Dallas tape I made could be computer massaged.

So, all you folks that ever wanted to try music: find a song the suits you, your act, and the juggling. Then go for it!