What's a wobble?

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Matthew
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What's a wobble?

#1 Post by Matthew » Sun Jun 27, 2004 12:16 am

I've got plenty of stomps, shuffles, and rags, but I also have a couple of wobbles, and I'm not sure what they are. One, "The Wolf Wobble," is by Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang. The other, "Mississippi Wobble," is by Jimmy Wade & His Dixielanders. Both are '20s-era pieces. Originally, I only had the first one, and I thought it was just a strange title, but I bought the second one last night, and it made me wonder. Anybody know what a wobble is?

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djstarr
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#2 Post by djstarr » Sun Jun 27, 2004 2:58 pm

maybe it's related to the turkey trot?

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SpuzBal
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#3 Post by SpuzBal » Mon Jun 28, 2004 2:56 pm

I think Duke also recorded a Washington Wobble sometime around 1930, but unfortunately, I don't know what a wobble is either.

Maybe it's related to Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble?
"In my opinion, out of the ten great guitarists in the world, Django is five of them!" - Rex Stewart

mousethief
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#4 Post by mousethief » Tue Jun 29, 2004 6:41 am

It's something weebles do.

Kalman
"The cause of reform is hurt, not helped, when an activist makes an idiotic suggestion."

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SpuzBal
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#5 Post by SpuzBal » Tue Jun 29, 2004 5:35 pm

Ha. We used to get weebles for selling magazines back in middle school. If you had an intermediate-level weeble, you could go to an ice cream party.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. This site has lyrics from "Black Bottom" with what are presumably synonymous terms (for the benifit of tap dancers) in parentheses:

"Hop Down front and then you doodle (Slide) back,
Mooch to your left and then you mooch to your right,
Hands on your hips and do the mess around,
Break a Leg (Wobble) until you're near the ground"

So maybe a wobble is music that you can do a break a leg to.
"In my opinion, out of the ten great guitarists in the world, Django is five of them!" - Rex Stewart

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Lawrence
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#6 Post by Lawrence » Thu Jul 01, 2004 12:35 pm

mousethief wrote:It's something weebles do.
Kalman
... but they don't fall down.
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lipi
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#7 Post by lipi » Sun Jan 30, 2005 11:53 pm

digging through the archive...

the break-a-leg in the black bottom is a step with six accents in an 8-count, on 2, 4, 5, 5&, 6&, 7. mark knowles' in "the tap dance dictionary" gives them as heel drops.

is that a rhythm that fits your two wobbles, matthew?

incidentally, i've never heard this step referred to as a wobble before. cute.

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Matthew
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#8 Post by Matthew » Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:19 am

That's pretty cool. I'll have to check the wobbles when I have more time. (Isn't it fun to say "wobble"?) Thanks!

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