616  music lesson and ear training exercise for dancers

Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2002 00:13:16 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango@FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: music lesson and ear training exercise for dancers

I have always felt a PULSING of four beats in tango music. It was only
recently when I saw sheet music for several tangos, that I realized it
really IS written in 2/4 time. DOS POR CUATRO.

The majority of tangos are written with a time signature of 2/4 which means
that there are two beats to every measure and a quarter note gets one beat.

I have the sheet music for some tangos with the 2/4 time signature:
Gricel (Mariano Mores)
Los Mareados (J.C. Cobian)
Toda Mi Vida (Anibal Troilo)
Fueye (Charlo)
Cada Dia Te Extrano Mas (Armando Pontier)
Cosas Olvidadas (Antonio Rodio)
El Dia Que Me Quieres (Carlos Gardel)

And then there are those which are written with a time signature of 4/8
which tells the musician that there are four beats to a measure with an
eighth note receiving one beat.
Bailemos (Cholo Mamone)

The time signature of 4/8 is not common, at least in the piano and
orchestral music I have played as a musician. I've played music in 2/4,
3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 9/8 time and some odd ones in 5/4 or 7/8 time. I'm sure that
Horacio Salgan could explain to us why tangos were written in 2/4 or 4/8
rather than 4/4. There's no problem with vals--they are all written in 3/4
time.

Here is a ear training exercise. Listen to Toda Mi Vida on the El Bandoneon
CD-1 of Anibal Troilo. You should feel a pulsing of four beats. It begins
with the bandoneons playing the rhythm in sixteenth notes. Each measure has
a silent beat (rest) after which there are seven 16th notes. Listen to this
track several times with your eyes closed. Try to identify when the violins
take the melody, and when Troilo plays a solo of the melody which Fiorentino
sings in the second part.

Listen to Fiorentino sing "siem...pre... siem...pre". He takes liberty with
the music--he doesn't sing it exactly as it is written. He adds his musical
interpretation and stretches the notes. During these particular two
measures, the melody is written as two quarter notes (siem...pre) against
the 16th notes of the bandoneon rhythm and four 8th notes of the piano and
bass. If you can identify each, you have a good ear for the music.

A quick breakdown of Toda Mi Vida to help you know what to listen for:
Part One -- bandoneons, then piano solo, violins; bandoneons take the
melody, then the violins.
Part Two -- Fiorentino sings and the bandoneons keep on pulsing.
Part Three -- Troilo plays solo with the melody; later the piano and violins
do the same.

Perhaps tango music wouldn't "swing" if it were written in 4/4 timing. I
like the fact that it does swing for me. It's the feeling I'm referring to.

I'm interested in doing a survey of those on Tango-L. If you have musicial
training, please send me a email. What instrument(s) do you play, how many
years have you studied, where do you live, and has it helped you in your
dancing? I would like to know how many of the 1,074 people on this list
have musical training and will post the results.

Pichi de Buenos Aires
jantango@feedback.net.ar

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 11:22:08 -0700
From: Huck Kennedy <huck@ENSMTP1.EAS.ASU.EDU>
Subject: Re: music lesson and ear training exercise for dancers

Pichi writes:

> There's no problem with vals--they are all written in 3/4 time.

Someone once told me many if not most examples of vals cruzado
were written in 6/8. I've no idea if the person was correct, does
anyone know?

Huck