[Tango-L] syncopation

[TangoDC.com]

Hi Trini,

Answering your question about [ / / / _ ] dancing in a rhythm like [ / _ 
/ _ ] is really quite tricky, because I think it depends entirely on how 
one is dancing. Let's take one situation alone, and alter the notation 
somewhat to show dynamics (i.e., emphasis as well as stepping)...

Situation.
The 4/4 music is already syncopated. It's got a "surprise" stress, 
perhaps a fortissimo, like this pattern:
   a _ a _ | a A a _
You hear this in Biagi all the time, especially in measures at the end 
of, say, a four- or eight-measure melodic unit. (More typically, his 
band goes [ a A a A ] in the final measure of such units.) Now, I feel 
several ways about dancing to this... If I syncopate my step according 
to the (A) and give it the proper emphasis, I'm pretty much 
syncopating... If, however, I step [a a a _ ] to music that goes [ a A a 
_ ], I'd say I'm merely moving in a momentary cut-rhythm, or using 
double time. Double-time means stepping on an offbeat as well as an 
on-beat, as I pointed out before: that's why it seems to be about speed. 
Syncopation is stepping _against_ the normal tempic pattern, by moving 
"Instead" rather than "As well."

This example, with its two variations, is still, however, dancing to the 
beat. The beat is syncopated, so a dancer matching it is dancing 
syncopated. That's one option, but not always a strong one, I think.

More interesting to me is when the dancer syncopates Against the music 
itself, even against syncopated music, which is what happens when you 
dance, with purpose, to the base pattern of [ a _ a _ ] in, e.g., Biagi, 
when he's all [ a A a A ] or even [ a A _ A ].

People who aren't listening, but start off dancing to the beat, do this 
every night. A more creative example would involve [syncopated dancing] 
syncopated Against [syncopated music]. This is often what happens if you 
dance to melodies, and punctuate small harmonic events which the music 
does not, while resisting the beat. It takes a fine ear. Example from 
Pugliese's "La yumba":
   Music vampeth:
      a _ a _ | a _ a _ | a A a A | a A A _ | _ A a A (etc.-- this is a 
rubato passage, towards the end, but the same rhythmic fabric appears in 
other places)
   Dancers move to:
      a _ a _ | a A _ A | A _ _ a | A _ _ a | A _ a _ (etc.)

Notice that the dancers here take the unit (a A) straight from the 
music, and drop it into different places. I think it's necessary to do 
this sort of thing if your musicality is going to get this complex, but 
still be "dancing to the music." The signature gestures in the music 
ought to be preserved in the dance (albeit in different moments), if 
these departures are used, to maintain aesthetic integrity of the whole. 
Others may disagree, but I think it's a good guideline. It feels good.

Entirely unexplored here (or elsewhere, as far as I can tell) is the 
question of the two dancers in the partnership syncopating against each 
other, on top of all this. I've been thinking about this particular idea 
for months, but haven't had a chance to explore it very deeply at all. I 
posted something several weeks ago which referred to a leader dancing to 
the bass in Di Sarli's "Corazon" while the follower (led) dances to the 
violin solo. I.e., the dancers are no longer stepping in synch at all. 
This happens in certain turns already, but not to the degree I'm 
thinking of. The only good example I've seen of it so far was in Nick & 
Tara's dance to "Ella es asi" at the DC Marathon this year. The opening 
of their dance plays with this type of syncopation, or counterpoint 
stepping, quite a lot. Curious parties may want to check out the video 
posted at unmomento.net as opposed to the one at the Tango Video 
Project: the former shows their legs better, even if the angle's not so 
dramatic.

Jake Spatz
Washington, DC


Trini y Sean (PATangoS) wrote:
> So this clarifies where exactly the two worlds get
> confused, even if dancers correctly use the term syncopa
> (which is happening more and more, I think).  I don't think
> I had differentiated enough what musicians used.
>
> So what is the musical term, if any, to describe the
> strong-strong-strong-weak of a 4 count measure (when the
> regular rhythm is strong-weak-strong-weak), such as the
> cadence that happens at the end of a phrase?
>
> And to include something Igor mentioned, is there no
> syncopation then in vals, since strong-weak-weak is a
> normal rhythm?  Is there a term for when the stress on 3-1
> as at the end of the bigger phrases (such as A' or B')?
>
> Found this definition of syncopation that sums it up
> nicely:
> A style used in order to vary position of the stress on
> notes so as to avoid regular rhythm. Syncopation is
> achieved by accenting a weak instead of a strong beat, by
> putting rests on strong beats, by holding on over strong
> beats, and by introducing a sudden change of time
> signature. This style of composition was exploited to
> fullest capabilities by jazz musicians, often in
> improvisation.
> www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/4688/glossary.htm
>
> Thanks,
> Trini de Pittsburgh
>
> --- John Gleeson <johngleeson at nc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>   
>> 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.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>     
>
>
>
> PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society 
> Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance. 
> http://www.pitt.edu/~mcph/PATangoWeb.htm
>
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