[Tango-L] recognizing tango

[Charles Roques]

Following the thread for the last couple of days, I would offer that tango does indeed have a very steady and consistent rhythm, like all or most music, and no more or less variable than any other.  Dancing to the melody of it, or any other music, seems to be more of an advanced stage that one reaches as they become more skilled at either dancing or hearing the music.  I think the real issue of interpreting the beat/rhythm of tango is getting accustomed to the lack of a percussion instrument like a drum supplying the steady beat like in other music whereas in tango the orchestra developed a unique percussive style of playing the beat instead.  In D'Arienzo's "9 de Julio," for example there are phrases that although they have melody because of their tonal variation, the entire orchestra is playing them like a drum beat.  As a beginner, I often danced to the beat (and still do) but later as my dancing improved, and my listening, I began to hear the rhythm of the melody and dance to it.   I also think that is why newer tangos with drums and electronic percussion sound often redundant (to me) because the drums seem too obvious on top of the percussive tango style of playing.


..so yes, even "Mary had a Little Lamb" would probably sound like a tango because of the way they play it.  
Cheers,
Charles