282 music for beginners
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2001 11:30:09 -0800
From: clayton beach <akumushi@ONEBOX.COM>
Subject: Re: music for beginners
I would have to disagree with the use of Calo for beginner lessons/practice.
Calo's happens to be my favorite orchestra, but I've found that his music
tends to go over the average persons head. Not all beginners like the
vocal pieces at first, and I have also noticed that they have problem
with his complex rhythms.
Calo will often accent the both the full and half beat (listen carefully
to the beginning of Que Falta Que me Haces), this phenomenon is incredibly
confusing for people that are just getting used to the music. I had
a beginner stepping perfectly to the off beat when I started him with
Calo!
Anyway, I agree with the conventional mode that says to start with Di
Sarli and work up.
When I first tried to think of music that would be good for beginners,
I thought it would be something with a strong beat. Strong beat and
good rhythm are two different things. When I think of "rhythmic" music,
I think of music that is hellish for beginners. The more rhthymic orchestra's
switch between the older, more complex and the modern tango rhythms,
and are usually faster. This is what you don't want to bombard the beginner
with. Di Sarli has a very simple, regular beat that is not lost in the
music.
Anyway, all beginners are different, and some will learn the music before
others, and some will immediately grasp the more difficult stuff.
--
Clayton Beach
akumushi@onebox.com
---- Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG> wrote:
> >Second, many new followers, as may be expected, do not know Tango
> music
> very
> >well. Their movements, even simple step backwards, vary in length
> and
> speed.
> >They seem to be so worried about knowing my lead that they can't seem
> to
> >relax and just let the music guide their rhythm. I suppose I can
> try to
> >solve this by ensuring I am not leading any inappropriate figure or
> by
> >keeping the dance simple. Any other suggestions?
>
> The selection of music in working with beginners is often overlooked,
> and
> people often dance to whatever is available or playing, particularly
> at
> practicas. The selection of music can help beginners develop a connection
> to music that is unfamiliar. Some recommend starting with Di Sarli,
> but
> the slow, dense music is often a little challenging for beginners.
> I
> recommend starting out with early Canaro and Calo before moving onto
> Di
> Sarli. In the early stages, the objective is learning to hear and
> move to
> the beat of music that is unfamiliar to many listeners. Later dancers
> learn to move more impressionistically.
>
> My recommendations for Canaro are:
> La Melodia de Nuestro Adios
> El Pescante
> Pampa
>
> Viejo Tiempo, Mala Suerte and Poema are also great if you can find
> them.
>
> My recommendations for Calo are:
> Yo Soy El Tango
> Saludos
> Sans Souci
> La Maleva
> Lejos de Buenos Aires
>
> Next Di Sarli is fine, particularly for Salon-style tango. Here the
> challenge is connecting with a slower, denser rhythm. Some good choices
> are:
> Milonguero Viejo
> El Cabure
> Organito de la Tarde
> A La Gran Muneca
>
> Next, D'Arienzo, early Troilo, and Tanturi would be great. Here the
> challenge is connecting with a faster tempo and a harder-edged rhythm.
>
> Some good choices for D'Arienzo are:
> Retintin
> Don Esteban
> El Irrestible
> Union Civica
> Penaslo Bien
> El Flete
>
> Some good choices for Troilo are:
> Cachirulo
> Milongueando en el 40
> Gaupeando
> Cordon de Oro
>
> For Troilo with Fiorentino:
> Toda Mi Vida
> Te Aconsejo Que Me Olvides
> Taberno
> El Bulin de Calle Ayachucho
> Tinta Roja
>
> Some good choices for Tanturi are:
> Ese Sos Vos
> Recuerdo Malevo
> Cuatro Compases
> La Vida Es Corta
> Asi Se Baila el Tango
> El Tango Es el Tango
>
> Next DeAngelis and Pugliese. Here the challenge is to connect with
> music
> where the beat is less constant.
>
> De Angelis provides a transition from the smooth music of Di Sarli
> to the
> dramatic music of Pugliese. Some good choices for De Angelis include:
> El Tango Club
> El Pial
> Guardia Vieja
> Pavadita
>
> For Pugliese, the cuts on De Caro por Pugliese provide a bit of an
> introduction, although they do not really have the thumping sound that
> people associate with Pugliese.
>
> From De Caro por Pugliese the following some good choices include:
> Tierra Querida
> Mala Junta
> Orgullo Criollo
> Boedo
> Tiny
>
> For the thumping "La Yumba" sound:
> La Yumba
> Chique
> Gallo Ciego
> Derecho Viejo
>
> Next moving on to tangos that feature vocalists in a lyrical style,
> such as
> Calo with Beron, Di Sarli with Rufino or Troilo with Fiorentino. Here
> the
> challenge is learning to depart from beat and dance in a more
> impressionistic manner.
>
> For Calo/Beron some good choices are:
> Al Compas del Corazon
> Trasnochando
> Que Te Importe Que Llore
> Tristezas de le Calle Corrientes
> Lejos de Buenos Aires
> Tarareando
>
> For DiSarli/Rufino some good choices are:
> Verdemar
> Charlemos
> Patotero
> Cascabelito
> Canta, Pajarito
>
> For Troilo/Fiorentino some good choices are:
> Malena
> Pajaro Ciego
> En Esta Tarde Gris
> El Cuarteador
> Sencillo y Compadre
>
> From there it is on to Biagi and later Pugliese....
>
> With best regards,
> Steve
>
> Stephen Brown
>
> Tango Argentino de Tejas
> https://www.tejastango.com
>
> A noncommerical online resource with information about Argentine tango
> including reviews of instructional videos, guides to tango music, articles
> about learning and dancing tango, extensive links and a listing of
> tango
> events in Dallas, Texas.
>
> to
>
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 09:57:02 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: music for beginners
Clayton Beach wrote:
>>I agree with the conventional mode that says to start with Di Sarli and
work up.
When I first tried to think of music that would be good for beginners, I
thought it would be something with a strong beat.<<
My personal experience teaching is that Di Sarli is a little slow for
students to connect with. It requires too much effort for them to move
that slowly.
I know that some people are concerned about the sound quality of the early
Canaro (recorded in the 1920s and 1930s), but La Melodia de Nuestro Adios,
El Pescante, Pampa, Viejo Tiempo, Mala Suerte and Poema all have fairly
good sound quality. The older music lacks the rhythmic complexity of the
later music that can often confuse beginning dancers.
I agree Calo often accents the both the full and half beat. Why try to
avoid this development in tango music in teaching students to move the
music? On the Yo Soy El Tango, Saludos, Sans Souci, La Maleva and Lejos de
Buenos Aires, the half beat accents are more submerged, however, and one
can move in either the smooth salon style or the multi-tempo milonguero
style. Fresedo/Ray is also good for this, but not quite dense enough for
my tastes.
If one is teaching milonguero, Calo probably submerges the half beat
accents too much for beginners, and Tanturi/Castillo and D'Arienzo might
come ahead of Calo.
Probably the most important aspect for beginners in learnig to move to the
music is for the teacher to demonstrate how to move the music and to work
with the students in warm up exercises so they can learn to do so too. The
teacher's ability to work with the music is probably the most important
aspect of the choice.
With best regards,
Steve
Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2001 17:07:32 -0800
From: Bugs Bunny <bugsbunny1959@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: music for beginners
I just wish that someone would include music for beginners of a higher
fidelity, that captures the essence & soul of the original orchestra. I've
brought new people to our dances here in Portland & I've had the experience
of them getting bored with the quality of sound, not connecting with it. The
contrast is very apparent with the interlude music between the sets of
dances, which sounds gorgeous, but is not long enough to dance to. Typically
what happens is that we have what seems like 2 hours solid of the lower
fidelity music. Then, I believe all the beginners are gone by now, the
beautiful, lush, rich, soulful music will appear for a few sets & then more
lower fidelity music. I've had a couple friends quit going altogether
because of this format. Perhaps there is a way to do a soul retrieval for
the music that gets so much air time. I dunnoo...
Rick Anderson
Portland, OR
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2001 19:24:09 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: music for beginners
Rick Anderson wrote:
>>I just wish that someone would include music for beginners of a higher
fidelity, that captures the essence & soul of the original orchestra.<<
I wish such music existed. I have been looking for it. Contemporary
orchestras make much more sense to people who have been educated to
Pugliese's and Piazzolla's music. There are few relatively modern
recordings in the D'Arienzo style, but they do not quite capture the
D'Arienzo spirit.
With best regards,
Steve
Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2001 09:34:10 EST
From: Leonardo De Leon <TangoLeon@AOL.COM>
Subject: RCA VICTOR 100 AN~OS / Music for Beginners (Soul of Tango)
> From: clayton beach <akumushi@ONEBOX.COM>
> Hi list.
> I ordered a bunch of the rca victor 100 anos cd's and they came in today.
...
I've had 8 CDs in this series (D'Agostino, D'arienzo, DeCaro, DiSarli,
Piazzolla, Sexteto Tango, Troilo, Orquesta Tipica Victor), for about 3 weeks
and I have really been enjoying them, too.
> The D'Agostino De Caro cds blew me away, the fidelity they acheived with
> tangos from the 20's is amazing. If you haven't connected with the older
> tango, the D'Agostino cd is a good place to start.
I've had some D'Agostino-Vargas music in my tango collection for at least a
year now and it's not been something I've come back to often (and I have used
it rarely for the milongas I DJ). However, this RCA 100 An~os D'Agostino CD
is superb and I've listened to it often and I think it's finally made me
appreciate what a great vocalist Angel Vargas is and that the orquesta is
indeed excellent for dancing. The DeCaro CD has the quality I've been looking
for in this orquesta. I can say the same about the Orquesta Tipica Victor CD,
which also has a few very good vocal tracks.
> Two cd's you should be wary of are the instrumental troilo and sexteto
> tango. They are not very dance oriented.
> The Troilo is later stuff, arranged by piazzolla, and it almost seems
> like it should say Piazzolla on the front rather than troilo.
> There are some phenominal tracks on it, and it's probably my favorite
> out of the collection, but it is more for late night, small crowd dancing
> and private enjoyment.
> The sexteto tango is absolutely twisted. Those guys are perhaps even
> more progressive than piazzolla, in that under the insanity lie the tangos
> of the golden age.
This is interesting. The Troilo and Sexteto Tango are my favorite CDs in the
collection. Admittedly, they are challenging for dancing, but it is the
variable and sometimes unclear rhythm and drama in the music that brings out
creativity in dancing. (Sometimes the insistent constant beat can be
distracting.) Nevertheless, these orquestas still convey a tango feeling
(i.e., it feels appropriate to dance tango to them) whereas I find this rare
for Piazzolla. ... By the way, as I understand it, Sexeto Tango was made up
of former members of one of the later Pugliese orquestas. Perhaps it would be
more accurate to say they were more progressive than Pugliese - they clearly
are not a branch of the Piazzolla school.
> From: Bugs Bunny <bugsbunny1959@HOTMAIL.COM>
> Subject: music for beginners
> I just wish that someone would include music for beginners of a higher
> fidelity, that captures the essence & soul of the original orchestra. I've
> brought new people to our dances here in Portland & I've had the experience
> of them getting bored with the quality of sound, not connecting with it.
The
> contrast is very apparent with the interlude music between the sets of
> dances, which sounds gorgeous, but is not long enough to dance to.
Typically
> what happens is that we have what seems like 2 hours solid of the lower
> fidelity music. Then, I believe all the beginners are gone by now, the
> beautiful, lush, rich, soulful music will appear for a few sets & then more
> lower fidelity music. I've had a couple friends quit going altogether
> because of this format. Perhaps there is a way to do a soul retrieval for
> the music that gets so much air time. I dunnoo...
>
> Rick Anderson
> Portland, OR
I've seen a lot of beginners prefer contemporary tango music that may sound
pretty but lacks the soul of Golden Age tango. A lot of it is undanceable
nuevo tango, or instrumental interpretations of Gardel canciones, and some of
it doesn't even have the bandoneon, the soul of tango. When I started dancing
tango I was as guilty as the rest. I had seen 'Forever Tango' and bought this
other tango show CDs and did basic tango steps to them. Then I joined tango-l
and became a tango academician and insisted on Golden Age tango with a clear
rhythm for dancing. When I graduated to programming milonga music, I insisted
on music from Golden Age orquestas (rarely a contemporary orquesta - mainly
Color Tango). I know that some of the beginners (and even some of the more
advanced dancers) don't like a diet of Canaro, D'Arienzo, DiSarli, Calo,
Troilo, DeAngelis, Biagi, etc. (later Pugliese is acceptable) - something
about the scratchy sound, maybe the vocals they don't understand. Too bad -
they're missing the soul of tango. It's extremely powerful music and nothing
contemporary I've found so far compares to it. However, there are some Golden
Age CDs or post-Golden Age recordings that are generally true to Golden Age
style that have good fidelty. The D'arienzo, DiSarli & D'Agostino-Vargas CDs
from the RCA 100 An~os series are good examples. Most later Pugliese has good
sound quality (my favorite - 'From Argentina to the World'). Canaro /
Quinteto Pirincho 'Tangos del Tiempo Viejo' [EMI 'Reliquias' series],
recorded in the 1950s, has good sound with a 'Guardia Vieja' style. I also
like DeAngelis' 'Instrumentales Inolvidables' [also EMI 'Reliquias' series],
which has good sound quality and a clear rhythm for most of the CD (although
some of it is a little fast for my taste).
Leonardo
