[Tango-L] syncopation

[John Gleeson]

Trini writes:

> Tempo, as I read today in an online dictionary, involves
> the pacing of music, which is independent of rhythm,
> correct?  So double-time would be like taking a 4 minute
> song and playing it in 2 minutes?
>

Cutting the playing time (duration) of a tune in half could be achieved by doubling the tempo. For example, changing the tempo from 
60bpm (beats per minute) to 120 bpm.

Double-time as used in AT dancing means dancing on the normally un-stepped beats. Example:
    A 4/4 Tango - the "basic" step is danced on the 1 and 3 beat (an example!).
    If you dance on both the 1 and the 2 beat, for example, in the AT world that
    is called double-time.

In the musician's vocabulary (rightly or wrongly), "double-time" is often used as a synionim for "cut-time" = doubling the tempo, 
and playing in 2/2 time.

John G.