[Tango-L] Acanyegado

[Barnes, Bob]

Hi-

To a Tango musician, "Canyengue" is the moral equivalent of swing.  The
most common example would be that 4 written eighth notes would be played
as "eighth quarter sixteenth sixteenth"  (i.e. lengthen the second note
and quicken the third and fourth.  As an example, listen to the vocal
line to "Por una cabeza".  It's written as even eighth notes, but tango
musicians will usually add "canyengue" to give it that tango lilt, just
as swing musicians make a distinction between playing "straight eights"
or "swinging it".

I would read "Acanyengado" as "With a canyengue feel" and would take it
to mean that eight notes are not meant to be even.

-Bob Barnes
http://www.mandragoratango.com