1614  tANGO cd s * BUILDING A TANDA

Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 16:14:37 -0300
From: Alberto Gesualdi <clambat2001@YAHOO.COM.AR>
Subject: tANGO cd s * BUILDING A TANDA

I keep thinking on the comments about tango CD4s, and the difficulties I found when trying to build a tanda, for our tango school .

Our teacher use different CD4s during the lesson, but when the lesson is finished , I am allowed to play 15/20 minutes of dance free tango music with a tanda of my own.

I have to put apart my preferences, because one thing is what I like to dance for myself and my partner , and other thing is to try to transmit to a group of people from different levels of learning and approach to tango, what kind of music they may find at a milonga in Buenos Aires.

A tanda of 15/20 minutes, has from 5 to 8 tracks, depending the orchestra . For the first "tanda test" , I break what I have just say, and I brought a tanda of 4 tangos, 2 milongas and 1 valsecito from my beloved Angelito Vargas with D Agostino . I think it would be aceptable to say that you may find a tanda from "Los Angeles" at the milongas , so it was not a cheat :)

The following friday , it was a tanda of Di Sarli , yes, the "Rca Victor 100 anios" one , is the best Di Sarli I have heard ( maybe the recording of Albertoi Di Paulo "Homenaje a Di Sarli " is as good as this one).
The value of this CD is that you can play it as it is recorded, you don t have to skip tracks.

Now I am preparing a tanda of valsecitos, and is a nightmare.
The first three valsecitos are from Canaro slow ones .But with De Angelis ..... you have to listen one by one , there is such a mix inside the CD4s of De Angelis . I do not remember by the name of the theme if it is a tango or a valsecito , in some cases . And the bloody CD4s has no references , it says only the theme . Not even the length . Some CD4s has this references, other not . Is a matter of patience,and to have a reference guide .

But, speaking of De Angelis. The man record more than 40 Cd4s . Some of them on their own. Some were released by FM Tango. So you have to listen to them. The early De Angelis from the 304s is lovely. The last De Angelis from the 604s ........ Some milongueros made the gesture of a wooden horse of a children4s carrousel when you show a De Angelis CD . "Musica de calesita" they say .

But it is not fair . He has nice valsecitos , like Soqar y nada mas , at the CD " From Argentina to the World" . And that CD includes "Pavadita" one of his best themes , it is custome at the milongas in Buenos Aires to end a tanda of valsecitos of De Angelis with Pavadita.


So to build a tanda , is quite a job. I admire people like Stephen Brown, that took the time and sweat to write about the styles, and the 8 great orchestras , they are quite a good reference .

I am not a DJ, just a pupil at a tango school. My teacher has promised that he will give me my certificate of graduation of the school, the day I learn to handle the 5 deck CD player without interrupting the tanda :):) I keep trying from 1999......

But lately I found peace with this 5 deck CD , I take my tanda in a cassette , and while the tanda is playing , I take out the CD of the tango lesson and help Ruben to pack them out , to deliver the salon to the owners on time .

Warm regards

Alberto Gesualdi
Buenos Aires




Usuario: yahoo; contraseqa: yahoo
Desde Buenos Aires: 4004-1010
Mas ciudades: clic aqum.

Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 15:34:27 -0500
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: tANGO cd s * BUILDING A TANDA

Alberto Gesualdi wrote:

>I am not a DJ, just a pupil at a tango school. My teacher has
>promised that he will give me my certificate of graduation of
>the school, the day I learn to handle the 5 deck CD player
>without interrupting the tanda :):) I keep trying from 1999......

>But lately I found peace with this 5 deck CD , I take my tanda
>in a cassette , and while the tanda is playing , I take out the
>CD of the tango lesson and help Ruben to pack them out, to deliver
>the salon to the owners on time.

I would be happy to see Alberto receive his certificate of graduation. :-)

Tom Stermitz provided the idea for one of my techniques in putting
together tandas. I use a computer and burn one tanda on each CD. That
way, I can use just about any CD player, including 3 and 5 CD changers,
and play tandas all the way through without interuption. When I have more
sophisticated equipment to use, I do some remixing of the music to better
fit the mood.

I once used cassettes with one tanda per cassette, but prefer the
flexibility of CDs and not having having to rewind.

Another technique that I used in assembling a collection of music for
deejaying is that I asked a number of tango music enthusiats who are
dancers and djs (including Alberto Gesauldi, Keith Elshaw, Al Garvey, Dan
Boccia, Robert Hauk, Tom Stermitz, Florencia Taccetti, Graciela Gonzalez
and others) to contribute to a list of classic tangos. I also looked
through many of Mario's and Susana Miller's dj CDs. The result was, which
is online <https://www.tejastango.com/classic_tangos.html>, was very nice list of tango music to use as a starting point to put
together tandas, which are also online <https://www.tejastango.com/tandas.html>.

>Now I am preparing a tanda of valsecitos, and is a nightmare.

Unlike many other people, I try to avoid mixing orchestras or even
different eras of the same orchestra in constructing tandas of vals or
milonga music, as well as tango music. For most orchestras, that means
tandas really cannot be anly longer than 3-5 valses or milongas. Longer
tandas of tango music are much easier to assemble.

With best regards,
Steve

Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/

Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 23:01:15 +0200
From: "Kohlhaas, Bernhard" <bernhard.kohlhaas@SAP.COM>
Subject: Re: tANGO cd s * BUILDING A TANDA

> From: Stephen Brown [mailto:Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG]
> Alberto Gesualdi wrote:

>> Now I am preparing a tanda of valsecitos, and is a nightmare.

> Unlike many other people, I try to avoid mixing orchestras or even
> different eras of the same orchestra in constructing tandas of vals or
> milonga music, as well as tango music. For most orchestras, that means
> tandas really cannot be anly longer than 3-5 valses or milongas. Longer
> tandas of tango music are much easier to assemble.

Of course then the question is, why would really want to compile a longer tanda.
Most of the tandas published on the web consist of 4 songs, sometimes only 3,
especially in the milonga section, that means generally about 8-10 minutes.
And I think that is a good length. Tandas that are too short make the music appear chaotic
in a milonga, tandas that are too long make it boring.

And while I might really enjoy an 8 song tanda of my favorite orchestra, somebody else
might just find that orchestra not too inspiring at that moment and is desperatly waiting for a new
tanda with fresh music to come up. I had that experience once arriving at a milonga at
around 9:30pm and shortly after a 7 or 8 song tanda or dramatic Pugliese pieces started.
I was desperately waiting for some different music.

(On a side note a tanda with more than 5 milongas might have a place in a fitness studio,
but hardly in a milonga).

While I never found vals tandas that difficult to compile, I found milonga tandas
much more challenging. I have some "pure" Canaro, D'Arienzo and Di Sarli tandas for milongas,
but the rest are all a mix of orchestras.

Bernhard

Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 15:43:08 -0800
From: Tango Club at Yale <yaletangoclub@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Building a tanda

Hi all,
I am interested in finding out from the DJs among you the things you consider when building a tanda. Besides the obvious stuff like same orchestra, same few years, often the same singer, ... For example, I try to put the song with the most interesting/dramatic intro first in the tanda. Interesting intros would include a cute single-instrument opening riff, or a strong incoming bass line. Also, although I consider none of my tandas to have fillers, invariably one or two songs are stronger, those I put first and last, to get the people to jump in, and to get the last oomph out at the end of the tanda. Also I am interested in how long you think a cortina should be. I've been using 30-35s, longer is painful I think.
I DJ for my student club.
Also, while I'm at it, are there any kinds of selections that are good for getting a cold crowd to warm up at the beginning of the evening? My crowd is usually rearing to go as soon as they have their shoes on and whatever nice stuff I play seems just fine with them. Often there's a class first and they're already warmed up. But soon I'm playing a big city crowd, these might want to sit around and look discerning at first, and I don't want them to think, I want them to dance.

Thanks for your input!
Tine Herreman
yaletangoclub@yahoo.com


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Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 11:16:44 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Building a tanda

Adapted from my webpage: Playing Music for Milongas: The DJ's Role
https://www.tejastango.com/milongas_djsrole.html

Strategies vary for composing a tanda, but all the songs on a tanda should
have a similar feel. This is most easily achieved by relying on the music
of a single orchestra in a given era and by avoiding mixing vocal and
instrumental music. Few of us who play music at milongas have an
extensive enough knowledge of tango music history, but through careful
listening, the DJ can assemble an excellent tanda by ear, picking music
from a given orchestra that has a similar rhythmic feel, sound, and style
of orchestration.

I create tandas of four tangos--usually from the same orchestra. I find
that four songs is just about right for each tanda. A few individuals
have suggested that the ideal tanda would consist of four songs that sound
exactly the same. My own experience suggests each song in a tanda should
have its own compelling personality, while it contributes to the
continuity of the tanda. Using my ear and this philosophy, I have
successfully constructed many tandas including a few that mix orchestras
and some that mix vocals and instrumentals.

The first song of a tanda has to be so strong it pulls people out of their
chairs and onto the dance floor. It has to make people want to dance this
set regardless of how their feet hurt, or how tired they may
be. The energy of the music takes them. The last song of the tanda
should be strong and compelling so that everyone who is dancing feels
happy about having stayed out on the floor for the entire tanda.

The middle songs do not have to be as strong as the first or last songs of
a tanda, but here are more than enough good tangos available that none
needs to be filler. The ideal middle songs should sustain the energy of
the first song, provide continuity to the last song, and have enough
personality of their own to provide a feeling of variety. In a rhythmic
tanda, the second or third song might be slightly more romantic or more
impressionistic. In a lyrical, romantic tanda, the second or third song
might be a little more rhythmic.

If I start a tanda with Pugliese's "La Yumba," I will end with the equally
strong "Gallo Ciego." Good candidates for the second and third spots are
"La Rayuela" and "La Tupungatina." Another pair of
candidates for the second and third spots are "Raza Criolla" and "Pelele."
The overall effect is like a hammock, which I find better contributes to
the evening's intensity.

For some examples of tandas, see my Annotated List of Tandas:
https://www.tejastango.com/tandas.html


When playing music early in the evening, I try to keep the whole evening
in mind. I typically start the evening by playing music with simple
rhythms and working through to the more complex music later in the evening
seems to help take the dancers deeper into the music. A diverse selection
of music also contributes to the feeling of a more full evening of
dancing. I start that right from the beginning.

If the milonga has light attendance during the first hour or so, sometimes
it can become a bit difficult for the dj and dancers to get into a groove.
When this happens, I often try to keep it steady, playing good music with
strong rhythms, good fidelity and sufficient variety. With so much good
tango music, I never hold back on the good stuff, but I typically avoid
playing the late-night selections, such as later Pugliese, early in the
evening. I also try to determine whether many of the dancers are
relatively raw beginners who might be pushed off the floor if I played
milonga, vals or something that is rhythmically complex. If I recognize
the dancers as knowing the music reasonably well, I will ask what they
would like to hear a that moment. If there are more women than men, I
will dance a lot to help get the milonga going (assuming it is possible to
dj and dance), and if there are more men than women I dance very little.

As a milonga that has been slow to fill up gets going, I often find it
necessary to kick up the energy, and I reach for a very high-energy tanda,
which invariably proves to be D'Arienzo.

It might be tempting to try to use the highest-energy tandas from the
beginning to compensate for light attendance, but I find variety is more
important in keeping the dancing going.

With best regards,

Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/