I'll take 3-D's 2 accordions and drums over piano and fiddle with less able musicians. We're just not used to good accordion playing in America, as there are so few masterful accordionists of the calibre of, say, Laurie Andres. The quality of dance music improves when musicians play and practice together regularly in a band. Fortunately, more American dance musicians who play for ECD have been recently forming bands, joining the ranks of the venerable Bare Necessities or Hold the Mustard. Dancers should notice an improvement in the quality of the music as these new bands gain the kind of wide experience the bands in England have.
English bands take their responsibilities very seriously.
Every band I worked with wanted my program of dances well in advance, and then asked me for copies of any music they did not have. In some cases, they transposed tunes to easier keys so that their performance would sound better. In every case, they assembled a folder of music for my event, so that there would be no fumbling around with music between dances. English bands are familiar with a much broader repertoire than most American contra or ECD musicans. One evening at Halsway Manor ended with an exuberant Israeli circle dance following my last programmed longways.