[Tango-L] Recognizing Tango Music

[Myk Dowling]

On 10/06/10 10:47, Tango22 wrote:
> Listen to any classic instrumental Tango.  It is played in parts
> (typically a Rondo of A-B-A-C-A) .  Each part has a particular melody,
> typically, but not always, of 4 melodic phrases, hat distinguishes it
> from the other parts.  So each phrase has a length of 8 simple-time
> steps.  The rhythm of the each melodic phrase will normally be
> constant, but it may change in the next phrase.  If a phrase starts
> with a certain type of motion, fast or slow, it will stay the same for
> the rest of that phrase.  this is how your brain "predicts" how to
> dance any phrase.   Often, the phrases interact in a question-answer
> system.  (Paraphrased from Tango - Let's dance to the Music, J
> Amemabar; please note the descriptions are adapted for dancers.  It is
> not musical notation).
>    
That is describing the structure of the piece, not the rhythm. And even 
this description is pretty vague. When you remove the qualified 
statements, it basically comes down to this:

"A tango is made up of parts, which are made up of phrases. Each part 
has a particular melody."

And that's true of almost every form of music ever written. Every other 
statement in that paragraph is qualified ("normally", "often", 
"typically") in some way.

I'm not criticising Joaquin; he is making a truly heroic effort to 
define something that is very nebulous.

Myk,
in Canberra