Q: Are there many types of tango music? How come sometimes I hear some waltz-like music at the practica and some tangos are so fast?
A: A typical music play list for a tango dancing event like a practica or a milonga consists of 3 types of tango music: Tango, Milonga and Vals.
Tango - in 2/4 (count 1-2, 1-2…) or 4/4 (count 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4…) time; usually in walking speed; melancholy, grief, pride.
Milonga - in 2/4 time; faster than tango; rhythmic, lively, playful.
Vals - in 3/4 (count 1-2-3, 1-2-3…) time but sounds like 3/8; faster than waltz; romantic, grief, feels to forget.
Tango is played the most during the event with intervals of Milonga and Vals. The music is usually organized in “tandas”, which is a set of 3 to 6 songs, in similar style or type, and sometimes by the same orchestra or band. There may be “cortinas” (means curtain) of non-tango music in between each tanda to separate the sessions. The norm of arranging the music is usually in the following way: Tango -> (Cortina) -> Mionga -> (Cortina) -> Tango -> (Cortina) -> Vals -> (Cortina) -> Tango…
Q: I hear many names when people talking about tango music like Pugliese, D’Arienzo, Troilo… who are they? Are they composers?
A: They are the leaders of the tango orchestras or bands. Some of them are also tango composers, arrangers (the person who writes the scores for different parts in the orchestra) and players. In tango world, the orchestra leaders are always the most well known among dancers. Why? Because then they know how to choose the music they like to dance with. Besides classifying tango music by its form e.g. Tango, Milonga and Vals, another way of classifying the music is by the orchestras. Each orchestra has its own musical style and preferences, and the music it plays can definitely influence your mood of dancing. The melody of the song is important of course, but when you dance, the one who plays it becomes crucial.
Listen to the example “El Choclo” played by Juan D’Arienzo’s orchestra and Carlos Di Sarli’s orchestra, then you will know how the same song can sound different.
- El Choclo by D'Arienzo
- El Choclo by Di Sarli
Q: How many instruments in a tango orchestra or band? What are they?
A: The number of instruments varied, depended on how the orchestra leader wanted to arrange his/her orchestra or band and the occasion of performance. The choice of instruments was not restricted as well, but normally we can find bandoneon, violin, double base or cello and piano in a tango orchestra. Other instruments like clarinet, drum, trumpet could also be included in the orchestra. Since late 1930s, it was common to include singers in the orchestra as well. Generally speaking, in a tango orchestra there were 3 to 5 bandoneons, 3 to 5 violins, 1 base and 1 piano, sometimes with singers and sometimes did not.
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| Orquesta Lucio Demare |
Orquesta Osvaldo Pugliese |
Q: What is a bandoneon? How does it sound?
A: An instrument originated from Germany. It was invented by the Germans in the mid 19th century. The keyboards are on the two sides of the instrument and in between them is the bellow; different sound effects can be created by pushing and pulling the bellow. The accordion is the close relative of the bandoneon.
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Listen to the second part of Astor Piazzolla’s “Bandonéon” to hear the sound of bandoneon
Check out the link below for more information about the instrument:
The history of bandoneon -
www.todotango.com/english/biblioteca/cronicas/el_bandoneon.asp
Detail information of bandoneon -
laue.ethz.ch/cm/band/bandoneon.html |
Q: What is the history of tango music? Is it divided by different periods just like classical music?
A: Tango was born approximately in the late 19th century. It was the outcome of a combination of different musical sources and influences, including the Polka and Mazurka from Europe, which are brought to Argentina by the immigrants, Milonga from the rural area of Argentina, Candombe from the black people in the country, and also Habanera from Cuba. Like the classical music, tango music history can also be divided into different periods:
Before 1920 – Guardia Vieja (the old guard). We can hardly here the music from this period of time because there is only very few recordings left and the music from this period of time is not as popular as the music from the later periods.
1920-1950 – Golden Age. Most of the music we hear at the Milonga or Practica is from this period of time. This is a period when tango dancing was very popular in the country and there were many dance halls and bands playing for dancing. Juan D’Arienzo, Anibal Troilo, Carlos Di Sarli are some of the big names in this period.
After 1950 – After the 1950, tango dancing became less popular and many orchestras just stopped playing, while some continued playing on the radio. The traditional way of playing tango music established by the tango orchestras at the golden age continued after 1950. However, a new type of tango was also born – Avant-garde, the new tango, tango for listening. The most famous Avant-Garde musician is Astor Piazzolla.
| References: |
| Collier, S., Cooper, A., Azzi, M. and Martin, R. (1995). Tango: The Dance, the Song, the History. London: Thames and Hudson. |
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Johns, K. (2001). CD booklets of “Best of Tango Argentino – Milonga” and “Best of Tango Argentino – Valsecitos”. Hamburg: Danza y Movimiento. |
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| Music Sources: |
| Juan D’Arienzo y su Orquesta Típica “Sus primeros éxitos vol.2” (Tango Argentino) |
| Todo Carlos Di Sarli de FM Tango Para Usted “Instrumental – Volumen 1” (FM Tango) |
| Astor Piazzolla Piazzollissimo vol.1 “1974-1975” (Just A Memory) |
Copyright © 2003 Royce Chau. All rights reserved. |
