Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Reading Cue Sheets

Steps and Abbreviations

Traditional 1 Letter 2 Letter 3 letter
       
Brush

B

BR

 
Double Toe

D

DT

 
Drag

G

DR

 
Heel

H

HL

 
Rock

R

RK

 
Slide

E

SL

 
Step

S

ST

 
Toe

T

TO

 
       

Supplemental

       
Click

C

CK

CLK

Lift  

LF

LFT

Hop

P

HP

HOP

Kick

K

KK

 
Pivot  

PV

PVT

Pull  

PL

PUL

Replace  

RP

RPL

Shuffle

F

SH

 
Slur  

SR

SLR

Stamp    

STA

Stomp    

STO

Swivel  

SW

SWL

Touch    

TCH


Buck Dance 1 Letter 2 Letter 3 Letter
       
Ball   BA  
Bounce   BO  
Break   BK BRK
Dig   DG DIG
Flange   FL FLG
Heel Step   HS HLS
Skuff   SK SKF
Slip   SP SLP
Snap   SN  
Toe Touch   TT TCH
       
Foot Designators (written under movement)
L - Left Foot R - Right Foot
       
       
Timing Designators (written beneath the foot)
       
e marks a 1/4 count designators
& marks a 1/2 count (the upbeat)
a marks a 3/4 count
1 - 8 numbers a full count (the base beat)
       
Separation designators    
       
- separates one basic movement from next
* used to separate full beats of music
/ indicates that movements on each side of the "/" are done simultaneously

Directional designators
   
(written in small letters in parentheses following basic movements)
b back (leg is moving toward the rear)
bs next to weight bearing foot
f directly in front of the normal "in place" position for that foot
ib in back
if in front
in toward the weight bearing leg
ins inside [beside the instep of weight bearing foot normally use "bs"]
o leg is swinging away from body
o&b out and back (as a brush starting from the "xif" position
oba out, back & around makes a horizontal semi-circle from "f" to "b"
ots out to side (foot is extended directly to the side) knee almost straight side (usually a step to the side)
s step (usually a step to the side)
up implies raising the foot by bending the knee up to the front of the body
wt takes weight
x uncross (following "xif" or "xib")
xba across in back and around (foot makes a vertical circle behind body) Often cued as a "windmill"
xib across in back
xif across in front





Examples


Recently a new style of horizontal format has been developed by Jeff Driggs which places all movements done by the left foot above a horizontal line, and all movements done by the right foot, below a horizontal line. The beat counts appear below that.

L DS   SL   R   SH SH R   KICK  

R   KICK   DS   S SH SH   S   SL
  &1 & 2 &3 & 4 &5 &6 & 7 & 8


In preparing a cue sheet, the horizontal notation of cues is the most widely used style with steps on one line, foot designators below, and timing designators below that.

DS KICK SL DS RS SH/SH SH/SH RS KICK SL

L R L R LR L & R L & R LR L R
&1 & 2 &3 &4 & 5 & 6 &7 & 8