History and Musicality of Argentine Tango

1. History and Musicality of Argentine Tango A sad thought that can be danced Bob Barnes, Mandragora Tango Orchestra http://www.mandragoratango.com

2. Agenda • A Quick gloss of Tango History • Telling Tango from Vals from Milonga • Micro-Tango: Tango Beats • Middle-Tango: Texture and Counterpoint • Macro-Tango: Phrasing and Structure

3. Talking about music is like dancing about architecture Laurie Anderson

4. A Brief History of Tango

5. What Is Tango • Classical music you can dance to • A sad thought that can be danced • A vertical expression of a horizontal desire • Couple’s dancing where contact isn’t broken and hips are not shaken • The only Latin music without drums

6. Argentine Melting Pot • Much like the US, but Spanish speaking • Founded by Spanish in 1500s • Country of immigrants. • Most Argentines have Italian names • Most Argentines claim to have one cousin in New York and one in Italy (it’s a joke!) • Slavery was not a huge economic factor, so much less African influence.

7. The Origins of Tango • Cuban “Habanera” • Italian Opera & Neapolitan Songs • Eastern European Polka • Spanish Guitar

8. Buenos Aires had twice as many men as women in the 1890s Bars and Brothels were social spots for working class men Taxi dancing for a Tanda Men would dance with each other while waiting for women Needless to say, tango was looked down upon by polite society Tangos first appeared in Brothels

9. La Guardia Vieja (Old Guard) • Quartets of Flute, Guitar, Bando & Violin • Pianos and basses added much later • A-B-A-Trio form, just like a march or ragtime • Firpo, Maglio, Berdi, OrquestaTipica Victor • Here is “Sabado Ingles” (English Saturday) • Juan “Pacho” Maglio, 1917

10. Tango goes to Paris • Right after WW1, Tango takes Europe by Storm • Huge fad that remains to this day • All of a sudden, Tango becomes “respectable” in Buenos Aires • Finnish Tango starts at this time but diverges over the 20th Century

11. Canaro en Paris Francisco Canaro took his band to Paris and became superstars. When the Scarpino brothers heard about this, they wrote “Canaro en Paris” to celebrate

12. Warning: In 1917, Pope Benedict XV Condemned the Tango, calling it immoral and lascivious. Your mileage may vary.

13. Garlos Gardel • Born 1887 • Either in France or Uruguay • Do not mention France to an Uruguyan. The French don’t really care, though. • One of the first Latin mega-recording stars • First Latin matinee idol • Killed in a plane crash in Medellln, Columbia in 1935 • They say he sounds better every day

14. Gardel’s grave is always tended and he usually has a lit cigarette in his hand • Here is “Mi Buenos Aires querido”

15. Epoca de Oro (Golden Age) • 1930-1950 (Roughly) • When someone says they dance “Argentine Tango”, this is what they mean • OrquestaTipica: 4 Bandos, 4 Violins, Bass, Piano and a Singer. • 3-4 minutes. • Singer starts half way though. • Chan-chan at the end • Bahia Blanca by Carlos DiSarli • Garua by AnibalTroilo

16. Transitional Period • After WW2, Argentina was very rich from selling food (mostly beef) to Europe • Political instability • Juan and Eva (Evita) Peron • Tango became more complex and more for listening • OsvaldoPugliese: La Yumba

17. Astor Piazzolla and the New Tango • Born in Mar del Plata in 1921 • Moved to New York when he was 5 • Spoke better English than Spanish! • NY Errand Boy for Gardel • Cameo in “Rubias de Nueva York”

18. Astor Piazzolla, cont. • Moved to Paris to study classical composition • Moved back to Buenos Aires and started playing tango his way • Merged Tango, Classical and Jazz. • Dancers and traditionalists hated it • Now a national hero • Most played classical composer of second half of 20th. century • “Muerte del Angel”

19. Near Death Experience of Tango • Went out of fashion • Urban vs. Rural tension w/ Juntas • Rock and Folklorico • In BsAs, there are many more places to dance Salsa than Tango • Tango became a listening genre • Dramatic singers and big orchestras • “Tango for Export”

20. Rebirth of Tango • End of military Juntas in 1982 • Luis Bravo’s “Forever Tango” in 1985 popularized it in Europe and N. America • Popularity of Piazzolla • Collapse of Argentine economy • Tourism • Danced all over the planet. Extremely popular in France, Finland, Germany, Turkey, and Japan • About 300 tango dancers in Mpls. • Check out mntango.com to learn more

24. Tango Musicality

25. Telling Tango from Vals from Milonga • Vals is easy: Can you say Oom-pah-pah to the beat (i.e. count 1-2-3, 1-2-3…) • Milonga: Can you say “Pan y Vino” (“Bread and wine”)? Is the beat a bit fast to walk? You can say “Bread and Chocolate” in English. • Tango: Walking tempo. Count 1-2-3-4. Not a vals or milonga. • (except with drums, electronic instruments or live music)

26. Micro-Tango:Beat

27. Micro-Tango:Beat

28. A bar (compas) is 4 equal steps 1 2 3 4 4 quarter notes in a bar is called 4/4 time.

29. “Nothing Swings like 4/4 Time”

30. A band will put different weights on different beats. This is “En 4” 1 3 2 4

31. If you have 4 beats and play them with the same weight, 3 of them will be wrong 1 2 3 4

32. This is “En 2”. Note how there is just the slightest hint of 2 & 4 1 3 2 4

33. This is the opposite of Rock and Swing! 2 4 1 3 A heavy 2 & 4 is called a “Backbeat” and does not exist in tango. Hips should not sway with the music. Example: “Hit the Road, Jack”

34. 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 Tangos mix up “En Dos” and “En Quattro” 1 1 2 2

35. To subdivide a beat, musicians say “and”: 1 2 3 4 & & & &

36. A Sincopa (syncopation) is when the accent shifts by ½ beat. Notice that there is no 2nd or 4th beat. 1 3 & & This can be used to go from parallel to cross system!

37. 1 2 3 4 A Sincopa can be used to move between beats 1 1 1 2 3 3 & & & &

38. 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 C H A N 3 C H A N 3 3 4 4 4 A series of bars will end with a “Chan-chan” We will spend a lot of time learning to stop on these beats

39. 1 3 2 4 An “arrastre” (drag) is sometimes used to accent the first beat of a bar (but not in every bar!)It can sound like a growl 1 & 1 3 2 4 Here is an example of a break in the music. This pause is like storing up potential energy that the arrastre can be used to dissipate

40. Middle-Tango: Phrasing

41. Phrasing • Basic building blocks of musical form • Traditionally, a phrase is how much a person can sing on one breath. • Usually 4 bars • Phrases can leave you in the air (Antecedent) • Phrases can ground you (Consequent) • In Tango a “Chan-chan” ends each Consequent phrase

42. Antecedent (Lifting) and Consequent (Grounding) Phrases Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound! Antecedent That saved a wretch like me Antecedent I once was lost, but now I’m found Antecedent Stop Was blind, but now I see Consequent

43. Benjamin Zander on Phrasing From his 2010 TED talk, “The Transcormative Power of Classical Music”

44. Windows are the spaces between phrases. • Some windows pause time. At the end of an antecedant. A good place for a showy figure or a dramatic pause • Some windows mark time: the end of a consequent phrase. A good place to collect your feet and relax for a split second. • Windows are a place where a solo instrument can fill in or the orchestra can leave a space for the dancer’s imagination • As an exercise, listen for windows in every tango you hear. Shout out if you hear one!

45. Macro-Tango:Structure

46. Antecedent Antecedent Antecedent Consequent Tango Form • Several phrases together make a section • A section has a “Chan-chan” at the end. • Each section will have a different affect • Sections are usually called “A” and “B” and “Trio” • If one section is major (happy) the next one will be minor (sad) • You should dance each section distinctly.

47. Rhythmic vs. Lyrical Murat Erdemsel’s big thing: bouba vs. kiki

48. Rhythmic vs. Lyrical Tango is always somewhere on this continuum. Easy to hear, but takes a long time to learn to dance to it. Lois will talk a lot about this in her part later.

49. More Structure • In BsAs, no one dances at the start of a song. • Folks stand around and flirt (darpriopos) for 30 seconds or so • The band can play an intro (top) that is out of rhythm • The coda (tail) usually restates a main theme. • Many instrumental Tangos end with a bandoneonvariacion • Vocal tangos often have the singer drop out and come back in. The return of the singing is your 40-second warning!

50. Applying Structure to Dance • Psychological theory that states that people best remember the first few items and the last few items in a list. (Primacy and Recency) • Allevare: the first move in a tango. Make it count! Make it with authority and gravitas! • Buena Pinatura: paint a “good picture” with your last move. Followers dig it when the leader ends on the last beat • Most likely to forget stuff in the middle. Save your crappy moves for here.