2069  beats per measure, pulses, syncopation , rubato

Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2003 11:12:20 -0800
From: Philip Seyer <philipseyer@ILOVEMUSIC.COM>
Subject: beats per measure, pulses, syncopation , rubato

First, terminology. A beat is a regular accent in music. In music with 4 beats per measure, the normal tendency is to accent beats 1 and 3 -- =
or every odd beat. In tango this is demonstrated by our tendency to dance (most of the time) on the accented beats. We naturally accent =
every other beat, starting with the first.

A pulse does not have the strength of a beat -- a pulse is a lighter accent -- it is a subdivision of a beat. Music in 3/4 time often has =
three pulses per measure, but only one beat. If a VALS is written in 3/4 time, that simply means it has 3 quarter notes in each measure. =
Typically, in VALS, there will be just one beat per measure, but three pulses to every beat. Usually, in VALS, we dance on the beat, but =
sometimes also on the pulse, especially the third pulse of a beat. There are some instructional videos devoted entirely to VALS. Diego Di Falco =
and Carolina Zokalski's One Step Further video on VALS is an example. https://www.ilovemusic.com/argvid.htm

Be careful when talking about time signatures. Tango music tends to be written in 4/4 time -- but don't assume that. It might be, for example, =
4/8 as is the tune *Sir* by Anibal Troilo, which you can see at https://www.todotango.com/ -- click on the "music" link to access various =
musical scores!

For that matter, don't make the mistake of assuming that because music is written in 4/4 time that it has 4 beats per measure! The number of =
beats per measure is at the discretion of the performer (and the listener!). For more details you may want to see my online "movie" on =
Beats Per measure at ...

https://www.ilovemusic.com/rhythm_beats_per_measure.htm

In short, the top number of a time signature only tells how many notes occur in a measure and the bottom number indicates the kind of note. So =
4/4 means there will be 4 quarter notes in each measure (or notes adding up to the equivalent value); it says nothing about the number of beats =
per measure. (You may read otherwise in many music books for beginners, but this is a gross simplification on par with the tango 8 count basic.)

Different people (musician, dancers, listeners) may feel the beat differently for the same music. A good test when determining what most =
people perceive the beat to be is to tap your foot naturally and comfortably to the beat for an entire song. If you get tired, you are =
probably tapping to the pulse, not the beat.

A musical director may switch the number of beats per measure during rehearsal to check the feel and effect of a different number of beats. =
You may hear the director say, "OK, let's take it in "cut time" -- which usually means 2 beats per measure instead of 4. The tempo of the music =
may not change, just the number of perceived beats. Often after musicians learn a piece well, they will use a smaller number of beats =
per measure and the music will flow more sweetly. But sometimes, the musical intent is for a lot of sharp, clear accents; in that case, more =
beats per measure are preferred.

Some times tango music intended to be sweet, romantic, and gentle may be better performed (musically) with two beats per measure.

We may perceive 4 or 2 beats per measure in tango. When we dance with two steps per musical measure, and feel four beats, we are dancing on =
the accent beats. When we pause and fail to step on an accented beat -- like the first beat of the measure, that's a good example of =
syncopation. Just taking a series of quick steps (on the beat) is not syncopation. Splitting the beat into two steps is also not syncopation. =
A syncopation is an unexpected accent -- which can be produced in at least 3 ways -- not stepping on a normally accented beat is one way.

Canta Pajarito by Juan Jose Guichandut is a good example of tango that could be heard with either 4 or 2 beats per measure. You can hear it at =
https://www.todotango.com/

Try counting the beats as you listen to the music. If you count 4 beats per measure, you can hear that most musical accents come on 1 and 3 (the =
strong beats). But listen for the syncopations that sometimes occur when the lyrics naturally accent beat 2 at the end of a phrase -- when =
this happens the accent on 3 is completely missing -- another form of syncopation.

The beat is quite steady during this piece. But listen carefully to the singer, toward the end you will hear him hold a note slightly longer =
than expected for a dramatic effect (another kind of syncopation), sometimes called rubato -- he holds that note longer than expected and =
comes in slightly late with the following note. He doesn't lose the beat, though. That is, on the following accented beat, he is singing =
again right on the beat.

When you are dancing a song that you know well, you might experiment with timing your steps to the syncopations you hear in the music.

For more details on syncopation you may want to see my article on syncopation in dance and music. https://www.ilovemusic.com/syncopat.htm

I hope this helps. Questions and comments are welcome.
I have a music and dance webboard at:
https://www.lovemusiclovedance.com/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi

----- Original Message -----

Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2003 15:00:11 -0500
From: John Gleeson <jgleeson@CONCENTRIC.NET>
Subject: Re: beats per measure, pulses, syncopation , rubato

Sorry, but someone here is playing fast and loose with musical terminology. I am a musician too, for many years. All of my schooling, =
and all of my written music sources, use the term "Beat" for the basic division of measures. Beats may be "pulsed" or "accented", but that does =
not change the MUSICAL FACT that 4/4 has 4 BEATS to a measure (usually accented on the 1/3 beats); 2/4 has 2 BEATS PER MEASURE; 3/4 time has 3 =
BEATS per measure (usually accented on the 1st BEAT).

Ulike Tango history, musical terminology is not open to personal interpretation.

John G.





----- Original Message -----
From: Philip Seyer
To: John Gleeson ; TANGO-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 2:12 PM
Subject: beats per measure, pulses, syncopation , rubato


First, terminology. A beat is a regular accent in music. In music with 4 beats per measure, the normal tendency is to accent beats 1 and 3 =
-- or every odd beat. In tango this is demonstrated by our tendency to dance (most of the time) on the accented beats. We naturally accent =
every other beat, starting with the first.

A pulse does not have the strength of a beat -- a pulse is a lighter accent -- it is a subdivision of a beat. Music in 3/4 time often has =
three pulses per measure, but only one beat. If a VALS is written in 3/4 time, that simply means it has 3 quarter notes in each measure. =
Typically, in VALS, there will be just one beat per measure, but three pulses to every beat. Usually, in VALS, we dance on the beat, but =
sometimes also on the pulse, especially the third pulse of a beat. There are some instructional videos devoted entirely to VALS. Diego Di Falco =
and Carolina Zokalski's One Step Further video on VALS is an example. https://www.ilovemusic.com/argvid.htm

Be careful when talking about time signatures. Tango music tends to be written in 4/4 time -- but don't assume that. It might be, for =
example, 4/8 as is the tune *Sir* by Anibal Troilo, which you can see at https://www.todotango.com/ -- click on the "music" link to access various =
musical scores!

For that matter, don't make the mistake of assuming that because music is written in 4/4 time that it has 4 beats per measure! The number of =
beats per measure is at the discretion of the performer (and the listener!). For more details you may want to see my online "movie" on =
Beats Per measure at ...

https://www.ilovemusic.com/rhythm_beats_per_measure.htm

In short, the top number of a time signature only tells how many notes occur in a measure and the bottom number indicates the kind of note. So =
4/4 means there will be 4 quarter notes in each measure (or notes adding up to the equivalent value); it says nothing about the number of beats =
per measure. (You may read otherwise in many music books for beginners, but this is a gross simplification on par with the tango 8 count basic.)

Different people (musician, dancers, listeners) may feel the beat differently for the same music. A good test when determining what most =
people perceive the beat to be is to tap your foot naturally and comfortably to the beat for an entire song. If you get tired, you are =
probably tapping to the pulse, not the beat.

A musical director may switch the number of beats per measure during rehearsal to check the feel and effect of a different number of beats. =
You may hear the director say, "OK, let's take it in "cut time" -- which usually means 2 beats per measure instead of 4. The tempo of the music =
may not change, just the number of perceived beats. Often after musicians learn a piece well, they will use a smaller number of beats =
per measure and the music will flow more sweetly. But sometimes, the musical intent is for a lot of sharp, clear accents; in that case, more =
beats per measure are preferred.

Some times tango music intended to be sweet, romantic, and gentle may be better performed (musically) with two beats per measure.

We may perceive 4 or 2 beats per measure in tango. When we dance with two steps per musical measure, and feel four beats, we are dancing on =
the accent beats. When we pause and fail to step on an accented beat -- like the first beat of the measure, that's a good example of =
syncopation. Just taking a series of quick steps (on the beat) is not syncopation. Splitting the beat into two steps is also not syncopation. =
A syncopation is an unexpected accent -- which can be produced in at least 3 ways -- not stepping on a normally accented beat is one way.

Canta Pajarito by Juan Jose Guichandut is a good example of tango that could be heard with either 4 or 2 beats per measure. You can hear it at =
https://www.todotango.com/

Try counting the beats as you listen to the music. If you count 4 beats per measure, you can hear that most musical accents come on 1 and =
3 (the strong beats). But listen for the syncopations that sometimes occur when the lyrics naturally accent beat 2 at the end of a phrase -- =
when this happens the accent on 3 is completely missing -- another form of syncopation.

The beat is quite steady during this piece. But listen carefully to the singer, toward the end you will hear him hold a note slightly longer =
than expected for a dramatic effect (another kind of syncopation), sometimes called rubato -- he holds that note longer than expected and =
comes in slightly late with the following note. He doesn't lose the beat, though. That is, on the following accented beat, he is singing =
again right on the beat.

When you are dancing a song that you know well, you might experiment with timing your steps to the syncopations you hear in the music.

For more details on syncopation you may want to see my article on syncopation in dance and music. https://www.ilovemusic.com/syncopat.htm

I hope this helps. Questions and comments are welcome.
I have a music and dance webboard at:
https://www.lovemusiclovedance.com/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Gleeson" <jgleeson@CONCENTRIC.NET>
To: <TANGO-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 7:48 AM
Subject: Re: [TANGO-L] Tango vs. milonga


> Rick states:
>
> > This is a very basic (and good) question. Where are
> > all the tango instructors on the list when we need
> > them? I'll probably regret answering this- but here
> > goes anyway. Tango has one beat between the pulses.
> > You can, and should on occasion, step on both. Vals
> > has two beats between the pulses. You can step on
> > ONLY the first of the two beats between the main
> > pulse. These rules never ever vary.
>
> The real question is "where are the musicians"?
>
> The above is total garbage (what are "pulses"
> anyway?)
>
> Tango is played in 4/.4 time (with maybe a few exceptions)
> = 4 beats to the measure. The basic dance timing is 2/2 > stepping on the 1st and 3rd beat. BUT, and this is a VERY
> BIG BUT - you can step on the 2nd and 3rd beats -
> double-time steps; synchopated steps; etc.
>
> Vals is played in 3/4 time. The basic dance timing is 1/3 > stepping on the 1st beat. BUT, and this is a very BIG BUT,
> you can step on the other beats of course.
>
> To say that these rules NEVER VARY is to deny the essence
> of Tango (and any kind of dancing) !!
>
> John G.
>
>
>
>
>
> step isIt is danced usually

Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2003 13:11:30 -0800
From: Carlos Lima <amilsolrac@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: beats per measure, pulses, syncopation , rubato

Seyer says:

"... In short, the top number of a time signature only tells how many notes
occur in a measure ..."

Yours were the only postings I have opened when scanning the last few weeks
of the Tango-L archive. From a cursory reading (all I have time for) I
believe I agree with the SubstancE, of everything you say. I believe both of
us have made similar points in the past.

However, I think that your terminology deviates from that established by
centuries of music theory in the church and concert hall realms, which
deserve the right of priority, if nothing else. Fooling around with
established terminology aggravates the popular misconceptions that we are so
keen on trying to redress. (The latter because it is definitely worth doing
so.)

In the theory that I know and cherish, and refinements aside, a 2/ and a 6/
(binary) time signatures have two beats per measure; a 3/ and a 9/ (ternary)
have three; a 4/ and a 12/ (quaternary) have four. This will be so for every
musician: it is not subject to interpretation, since a beat (tiempo in
Spanish, temps in French, etc) is simply a conventional part of the measure.
The popular use is something else. Similarly, beats can be subdivided in
various ways. Since time immemorial this process is called division, and the
parts called divisions or sub-divisions, not pulses. (Maybe there are other
old names, do not know any.)

You are quite right, and I wish ... historians ... of the tango knew this,
when you assert that rhythmic realization is NOT NOT NOT determined by the
time signature, and is subject even to personal interpretation. I certainly
hear ALL classical tango as half-measure UnarY (with concurrent full-measure
binary and quaternary flavours), the Viennese waltz as unary, slow waltzes as
ternary, etc. The rhythm realization lies with the musicians and with the
listener's musical feeling. But I do not like you saying that this comes to a
matter of how many beats per measure. It is, simplifying, how many MajoR
(regular) AccentS. A beat is rarely the same as a strong accent, though it
may be so in popular parlance. Rhythm is often said to be about a regular
alternation of strong and week BeatS. Downbeats, upbeats. Shall we toss all
of this out?

Pulse is not really a term of the classical theory, and it comes in handy to
talk about the intuitive aspects. For me, and others, the SSSS timing in
tango (or milonga) is it's PulsE. Each pulse occupies two 4/ beats or one 2/
beat, a distinction of no overwhelming consequence to a dancer. The SSSS
timing in vals is its pulse; each pulse occupies three 3/ beats. Please do
not change this!

Let me end with La yumba. Formally, one yumba is one measure. Since in
O.Pugliese's world 4/ (by whatever, entirely irrelevant) is the "normal" time
signature, a yumba is FouR beats. Obviously, O.Pugliese's conceives of his
tango time in some important way as binary, else his title would have had
four syllables. So the 4/ is really 2/ in disguise (so-called alla breve). A
yumba is TwO SSSSS pulses. And then he makes the "ba" most of the time quite
as prominent as the the "yum", so in some sense the yumba is two measures of
OnE beat each ... a trick which I believe subsumes much of the character of
classical tango. Meanwhile the alternation yum-ba-yum-ba is not entirely
gone: it exists in many rhythmic, melodic and textural ways. Wait, the
quaternary framework is not gone either, not a mere notational quirk after
all ... though it does not make itself felt so coarsely as to disturb the
yumba-ness of it all.

I believe the character of the classical tango has a lot to do with the
peaceful coexistence (superimposition, in the music!) of multiple rhythmic
planes. Said character is somewhat elusive to the intellect, but immediate to
the feeling. I have spent a lot of time trying to translate it into musical
nuts and bolts. Not simple. When I was 10 years old, or thereabout, I could
tell a tango in the first three seconds. (It might be two now ... I think.)

Cheers,

Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2003 15:40:27 -0800
From: Philip Seyer <philipseyer@ILOVEMUSIC.COM>
Subject: Re: beats per measure, pulses, syncopation , rubato

"Fooling around with established terminology aggravates the popular
misconceptions that we are so keen on trying to redress. (The latter because
it is definitely worth doing
so."

My terminology doesn't deviate from that used by serious musicologists, such
as Willi Apel, who wrote the Harvard Dictionary of Music and musicologist
Newman Powell, who did his doctoral study at Stanford University.

The beat is what the conductor indicates with his baton. It is the regular
pulsation that we tap our foot to. Watch a conductor or music director
indicating the tempo of a vals when it is performed up to tempo. He will be
indicating one beat per measure -- either that or he will be very tired and
at the end and the music will sound very choppy.

Subdivisions of the beat *are* called pulses, light accents, or pulsations
as it were -- called that by myself, and by Apel and Powell for starters.
This classical terminology may have been adopted to help explain that fast
waltz has 3 pulses per measure, but only one beat. It's a clear example that
the top number is a time signature doesn't shown the number of beats per
measure.

I agree that it is not good to "fool around" with established terminology.
That's why I don't like it when dance teachers, who don't really understand
musical terminology, start giving music lessons and redefining words like
"syncopation." They leave words like tempo, meter, rhythm, alone and don't
fool with them. I wonder why they need to fool with the term "syncopation."

As far as the meaning of "pulse" goes, I see Carlos has learned a different
definition than that taught by the musicologists such as Powell and Apel,
and myself.

I'm glad to know of Carlos's views, so I can include them in the next
edition of my books and tutorials on this subject.

>From Carlos, I understand that he regards a pulse as 2 measures (when each

measure has 4 beats). To me that is a phrase, not a pulse.

Carlos: "In the theory that I know and cherish, and refinements aside, a 2/
and a 6/
(binary) time signatures have two beats per measure; a 3/ and a 9/ (ternary)
have three; a 4/ and a 12/ (quaternary) have four. "

This is often true, but it is better not to say how many beats per measure
there are in various time signatures, because we just don't know how many
beats there will be per measure.

If you keep in mind the principle that the time signature says NOTHING about
the number of beats per measure, you will not fall into this beats per
measure trap. A time signature of 6/8 time could have 6 beats per measure
or 2 beats per measure, or some other number of beats per measure.
Conductors have specific beat patterns and often used them to indicate SIX
beats for 6/8 or 6/4 time. But they may also use a TWO beat conducting
pattern or even (rarely) a THREE beat pattern. The switch to 3 beats per
measure, incidentally, in 6/8 or 6/4 time produces a very interesting
rhythmical effect sometimes referred to as a hemiolia.

The time signature *only* tells you how many notes of a certain duration (or
their equivalent) will appear in every measure.

Phil Seyer
Senior Author, What Makes Music Work
John Wiley and Sons, 1985
Revised Edition, Seyer Associates, 1997
https://www.ilovemusic.com


----- Original Message -----

Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 1:11 PM
Subject: Re: [TANGO-L] beats per measure, pulses, syncopation , rubato

> Seyer says:
>
> "... In short, the top number of a time signature only tells how many

notes

> occur in a measure ..."
>
> Yours were the only postings I have opened when scanning the last few

weeks

> of the Tango-L archive. From a cursory reading (all I have time for) I
> believe I agree with the SubstancE, of everything you say. I believe both

of

> us have made similar points in the past.
>
> However, I think that your terminology deviates from that established by
> centuries of music theory in the church and concert hall realms, which
> deserve the right of priority, if nothing else. Fooling around with
> established terminology aggravates the popular misconceptions that we are

so

> keen on trying to redress. (The latter because it is definitely worth

doing

> so.)
>

Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 00:19:14 -0800
From: Philip Seyer <philipseyer@ILOVEMUSIC.COM>
Subject: Re: beats per measure, pulses, syncopation , rubato

John Gleeson wrote:

"Sorry, but someone here is playing fast and loose with musical
terminology."

I can understand that you might feel that way, when someone comes along and
says something counter to what you've been taught and counter to what seems
to fit with a lot of the music you have performed over the years.

But no, I am serious. I am helping to clarify a common misconception -- one
that is spread by many teachers and elementary music theory books written by
people who have not really looked carefully at the musical literature.

Did you check my beats per minute tutorial at
https://www.ilovemusic.com/rhythm_beats_per_measure.htm ?

Did you check what the Virgina Tech Multimedia dictionary says about the
number of beats for waltz (notated in 3/4 time). It's not three. Here's
what they say:

"Today the waltz is performed in a slow triple meter or in a fast triple
meter (with typically one beat per measure) known as the Viennese waltz. "

We typically don't notate one beat per measure in the time signature, we
just often perform it that way.

Music in 4/4 time is often played with four beats per measure, yes. But the
time signature doesn't say that. It just says there are 4 quarter notes in
each measure (or notes of equivalent durational value). Music in 4/4 time
is often played with 2 beats per measure, sometimes with 8. A lot depends on
tempo and the interpretation of the musicians.
Early music didn't have time signatures at all. When they were introduced
they were used to clarify the duration of each measure in terms of notes
allowed to fit within a measure, not to indicate beats per measure.
Attempts to force the meaning of the top number showing beats per measure
just don't hold up if you look at at wide variety of music and how it is
performed and conducted. VALS is a good example. Conductors don't conduct
beat fast waltz with a 3 beat pattern, but with a simple up and down beat or
they may use a 2/4 pattern. In each case, one beat = a dotted half note.
Sometimes you will se a notation like: dotted half` (meaning 60 beats per
minute), yet the time signature says 3/4. The crucial test. Tap your foot to
it. It if feels awkward, you're not tapping to the beat. Who wants to tap
their foot 180 times a minute?

It appears the some well-meaning teachers who wrote instructional piano
instruction books for beginners came up with this notion about the meaning
of the top number in a time signature. Serious musicologists know this is
simply not the case. OK, I won't beat this topic into the ground any
longer. I rest my case. :)

Phil Seyer
Senior Author
What Makes Music Work
John Wiley & Sons/ Forest Hill Music
www.ilovemusic.com

Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 13:12:36 -0800
From: Carlos Lima <amilsolrac@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: beats per measure, pulses, syncopation , rubato

I do not want to drag on a discussion that in this forum may be mostly
extraneous to most participants' interests, so just some last points as I bid
good-by to the subject.

I found that another writer (John Gleeson) pretty much expressed the same
objections in a very short and cogent summary, actually before my posting. I
believe we are right. I am not surprised by professional musicologists'
finding non-standard uses for music theory terms. (I will omit the sharper
reasons, and will just say that this is the age for doing your own thing ...
more so than the 60's, curiously). I suggest they not be copied in this
particular quirk.

Losing the traditional meaning of beat is a real loss, because I do not see
anything but awkward alternatives. The problem is that a beat is really
(technically) a notational, concept. Even though related to the traditions of
articulation in Western "serious" music (then borrowed by jazz and whatnot),
it is not, strictly, a term about articulation or accent. The dissociation of
the metric and articulatory aspects, which is the very thing that Seyer has
been talking about so eloquently, can in the end be much better discussed if
we have clear and convincing terms for both aspects. In classical music
theory, a beat is metric. Pulse has been used informally to help with the
other side of things. It is not at all surprising to hear different uses by
different people, since it is not a standard music theory term. I find my
usage very useful, and I even use it instead of beat when I am trying (in any
capacity) to help someone new to tango work through their slows and quicks
and traspiis, and pauses and (!) mirabilis, SyncopationS!

By the way, I am willing to bet that this popular re-definition of the
musical beat does not occur in cultures with olive oil based cuisines. There
is little temptation to re-define "time" as accent. There should not be any
among Eng speaking musicians, since they surely know about Weak beats. But
the darnedest things do happen.

About DDunn's "surprise", etc. Surely, the interest of syncopations, like
many other "decorations" in music lies in part with "breaking the monotony"
by contradicting simple-minded expectations. That is the process of invention
and innovation in music in a nutshell. But "syncopation" is not just a
synonym for surprise. It is a very specific kind of "surprise". It is a
metric anticipation. The simple-minded expectation may be that you go 1, 2,
3, 4, etc, at some level of division (say, slows) accenting every count; but
then you go 3-& (skip 4) 5. That! is a syncopation. I love to "do" them via
two-step chassis with a sudden 1/8th turn pivot with the leg closing (move
said by OZotto to be vintage Petrsleo). Oh, yes, and with the right partner.

A regular traspii of the QQS kind, or the like, is not a syncopation; and it
is not very "surprising", either.

One final technical point that I danced around in my previous posting. Say,
we have a 6/ time signature. Is that a 2-beat, or a 6-beat, thing? You could
interpret it both ways, and it is done. But, if you know what it is for, you
know it is BinarY in nature. To define a regular pulse we do not even need
quaternary---as witnessed to by the fact that a lot of the classical tango
was released in 2/4 piano scores, because it does not frigging matter,
anyway. We do not really need non-prime numerators. The 6/, 9/, 12/ are there
to permit convenient ternary Sub-divisioN. So for me, and for the good
theorists I learnt from, they are 2, 3, and 4-beat time signatures.

By the way, if someone does not know what I am talking about, such person
CannoT be an adequate tango music historian. Just an opinion, please do not
beat me up.

Cheers,

Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 20:28:42 -0700
From: Philip Seyer <philipseyer@ILOVEMUSIC.COM>
Subject: Beats Per Measure

Earlier someone thought I was playing "fast and loose" with music theory
when I said emphatically that 3/4 times does *not* mean there are three
beats per measure. To document the facts in my post, I cited my own book,
What Makes Music Work and statements by Dr. Newman Powell, Valparaiso
University and Willi Apel, Harvard. I recently found my Harvard Dictionary
of music (by Willi Apel) and thought it might help if shared a quotation
from it:

"Beat -- the temporal unit of a composition, as is indicated by the (real or
imaginary) up-and-down movements of a conductor's hand. In modern practice,
the duration of such a beat varies from M.M. 50 to M.M. 140, with M.M. 80
being a middle speed. In moderate tempo. the 4/4 measure includes four
beats, beat one and beat threee being strong, the others weak, while the 3/4
measure has three beats, only first of which is strong. In quick tempo,
there will be only two or even only one beat per measure..." -- Willi Apel,
Harvard Dictionary of Music.

(NOTE: M.M 50 means 50 beats per measure.)

Notice that it is the tempo of the music that determines the number of beats
per measure -- *not the time signature.* It is only in moderate tempo that
a measure of 3/4 will have three beats. In fast tempo, as in vals, there
will be only one beat per measure. Tango dancers sense this because they
will usually take just one step per measure (not three, like most ballroom
dancers.

To determine what a beat is imagine that a conductor is moving the baton up
and down. Also tap your foot to the beat. It should be comfortable to tap
your foot through an whole song. If your foot gets tired or you sprain your
ankle, chances are you are tapping what I call pulses, or subdivisions of
the beat rather than beats. (NOTE: others use the word "pulse" in tango in a
different sense.)

Trying counting the number of beats you feel in 5 seconds. Then multiply by
12 to get the number of beats per minute. If the number you get is above
140, you are probably counting pulses (subdivisions of the beat) rather than
actual beats. (NOTE Apel's statement above that the number of beats ranges
from 50 to 140.)

What's the point of this discussion? How does it relate to dancing? The idea
is to distinguish between pulses and beats. In vals, there are three
pulses, but only one beat per measure. If you get in your mind that there
are three beats, you may try to thump out the pulses as though they were
beats and this can lead to clumsy dancing instead of smooth dancing where
the first pulse is accented. In the same way, a musican who is incorrectly
taught there are *always* three beats per measure in 3/4 time may not sense
the overall swing of the music and the light nature of the pulses; he or she
may thump out the music and not play the music as gracefully as was intended
by the composer. I not saying the we should not dance on the pulse; I
understand some advance steps in vals require this. I'm just pointing out
that when we take quick steps in vals, we are dancing on the subdivision of
the beat. The beat naturally happens on the first of the three pulses. If we
accent any other pulse we are syncopating.
Phil Seyer
https://www.lovemusiclovedance.com