[Tango-L] Recognizing Tango Music

[Myk Dowling]

On 10/06/10 12:41, Trini y Sean (PATangoS) wrote:
> I'm not questioning that there's a change in the pattern in the phrases.  However, the wording of your original post implies that the rhythmic pattern does not necessarily have to adhere to a pattern that we would recognize as tango.  That is my interpretation, anyway.  I have, for example, heard a bit of La Cumparsita done with a rock rhythm.  Your post implies that such a version of La Cumparsita would be considered a tango.  I would call it rock music.  What, then, does the book say about what is definitively tango?
>    
Ah, but Trini, the difference is that La Cumparsita has been forced to 
comply to a rock rhythm, rather than having the free rhythmic structure 
of a tango. As soon as you bind it to a specific rhythm, you break the 
tango.
> Also, concerning the accompaniment of the example I gave of a waltz, Salgan would also need some information about which measures are tonic and which are dominant.  Add a bass line and 2 chords would be simple.
>
> His comments remind me of what often happens in movies, in which dance scenes are shot and different music was used for the final edit.  That is what happened for a couple of major dance scenes in the movie "Fame" because the final songs were not yet written.  It also brought to mind ballroom competitive dancing where the dancers have rehearsed a choreography even though they're not aware of what music will be played at the actual competition.  That doesn't strike me as possible during the tango World Championships.
>    
Yes, in both of those cases, the music is fitting a specific rhythm, 
such as foxtrot or rhumba. If you're dancing to such a rhythm, the 
melody is unimportant other than for emphasis. A dance routine written 
for a foxtrot can be easily moved to another foxtrot, with minimal changes.

The trouble is that tango is largely being defined here by what it is 
not, rather than what it is.