Ears + Heart + Feet: Talking About Tango Music :: Jessica Schilling

Jessica gave this presentation at the 2019 Albuquerque Tango Festival. This is a condensed "practice" version.


From the YouTube description: Let's talk about tango music! As dancers, knowing more about tango music's history and development can help us shine -- as well as make dancing a lot more fun. This talk from tango DJ Jessica Schilling goes over some of the history of tango music, what we can learn from the different eras of tango to help inform our dancing, and what we can bring with us into the milonga. It's a condensed version of a presentation given 9 November 2019 at the Albuquerque Tango Festival.

Big thanks to Pablo Stafforini for creating the wonderful "20 Tango Endings" video included in this talk!





Sent from my iPad

One of the better pieces on musicality I've read

https://tango-high-and-low.com/2018/12/13/musicality/

Musicality Part II :: How to get your musicality to flourish

Part II in my musicality the holy grail of tango series is primarily this: Listening to Tango Dance Music - A Beginner's Guide.

Scroll down for some of my original drivel-thought on the flourishing part.

Here's Part I Musicality The Holy Grail of Tango if you missed it.



You might call this one a prequel. Going back to basics. Or rather going to the original, the root/s, the foundations. The genesis of musicality.

The music.

Wow. That's some profound shit there Alex. He says. Self-deprecatingly. (grin)



Sidenote: I found this beginner's guide on TodoTango.com, excerpted from Michael Lavocah's "Tango Stories - Musical Secrets"



So, as I pointed out in Part I (parroting what Elizabeth said in her post), it's important to listen to a lot of tango music. The good stuff, not the bad shit. It's also important to have some background into what you are listening to. The structure and the elements and all that musicological jazz.

It's also important to think (hard) about what you are listening to. Sure, yes, just "listen" sometimes, letting the music wash over you and envelope your heart and soul, only engaging your brain by maybe throwing in some astral projection (see Part I). But sometimes do engage your brain, and think about the structure and elements Michael describes. And describe it very well does he. Not sure why I just dropped into Yoda-speak. (grin)



I would add a fifth element to acknowledge/be aware of/think about whilst listening. Another element beyond beat, rhythm, melody, and lyrics.

That fifth element would be emotion. First, the emotion "of" the music. Inside it. Emanating from the instruments, emanating from the musicians through their instruments. The vibrations sent forth across the air, making contact with your ear drums. Next, doing all the primordial things that the miraculous human body and brain does, all of the energetic electro chemical type stuff swirling around your heart and your soul and your being. Eliciting some sort of emotional response, hopefully. Your internal emotional response to the emotionally infused music that was just delivered unto you. You might ask ten different people to describe the emotion(s) "of" a particular song and get ten different answers. Then you might get different responses if you ask about the internal emotions of the listener, or rather their emotional responses. The stuff that wells up inside you when you listen to a really beautiful tango. Your favorite tango. The bubbles that form on the surface of your primordial ooze and then pop, manifesting into righteousness multitudinous itty-bitty thought bubble/clouds that we think when we're emotionally vibrationally energetically stimulated. Whilst dancing. Dancing tango. To good tango music. Dancing tango to good golden-age tango music. The warm and fuzzy shit.

Is there a song that makes you cry every time you listen to it? Or nearly every time? Or even some times? For me it's this one. I don't know why. I don't have any historical or experiential connection to the song. But it gets me nearly every time. It's just so fucking beautiful. And the magnitude of the beauty that the human animal is capable of creating. And the magnitude of the utter destruction of humanity itself, not to mention the destruction of the planet, unleashed by humanity itself. That's what gets me when I listen to this one. I think. Perhaps.



But I digress.



Hell, that one, perhaps, being the fifth, might even be the elusive quinta essencia. The Fifth Element. The Quintessence. Earth, Fire, Water, Air. Tango.

I've written about that before. https://alextangofuego.blogspot.com/2009/01/deep-tango-thoughts-golden-age.html



Okay, maybe the emotion of tango music isn't actually "THE" Quintessence of Tango.

But maybe it (the emotion of tango) just touches the surface of the concept (of the quintessence of tango).

Like a single candle illuminating a large dark room.



If you've read my blog for any length of time, you'll know that I tend to go round and round and digress all over the place and then gel it down to something in the end. That's what I love about extemporaneous writing disjointed bullshittery. Not knowing the point/conclusion/gist of what I'm writing until I get to the end, and I'm kinda sitting here pondering what I've just written. And then it comes to me. Voilà. I like that.

My point with this one, the point that I didn't realize until I got to the point of writing all the drivel above, is that for your musicality to flourish, there needs to be a direct connection between it and your emotions and the emotion(s) of the music. Think of it as a web of energetic interconnectivity/ed/ness.

IMHO.

Musicality :: The Holy Grail of Tango

The Carina Nebula



So I just ran across this, thanks to my very first original tango teacher, Heather Morrow, high up in the Rocky Mountains in Aspen, Colorado. The link that is. The link at the very bottom of this post. The referenced post is courtesy of Elizabeth Wartluft out of Portland.

Nothing profound here (in her post), but it's a good start. I'll use this post (this here post) as the initial/starting post on a series looking into "musicality". The Holy Grail of Tango.

I like to believe my musicality is pretty good. I'm not sure how it happened though. I'll venture a guess that it's from Elizabeth's #1. I seem to recall a period, early in my tango years, that I decided I would only listen to tango music. That lasted about two years, if memory serves.

I think I've taken a few "musicality" classes at festivals in years gone by. I think I remember them being pretty nebulous. Maybe even arcane. Well hell yeah arcane! Now that I look up the definition. Nebulous AND arcane!!! (hence the nebula photo)

I'm not sure (tango) musicality can be "taught". You have to want it bad. You have to listen to a ton of good tango music. GOOD TANGO MUSIC. NOT THE SHIT THAT MOST DJ'S PLAY. Separating the GOOD SHIT from the BAD SHIT, the GOOD from the BAD and the UGLY SHIT, is a damn good exercise in musicality. If your community's DJ's are playing bad shit, it's likely their musicality sucks. It's likely there's not much good musicality being manifested by the general tango populace of the community. And that, my friends, is some sad shit. Bad tango music will ruin a tango community, and ruin it's dancers.

So listen to good tango music. Watch who you perceive to be good/musical dancers. Leaders, primarily I suppose. Leaders for leaders. Followers for followers.

Listen, watch. Listen, watch. Hyper-awareness whilst listening and watching. Feel the music.

Oh. Another thing I've done and I still do. I transport myself back to the 1940's. Maybe even all the way back to the 1930's. I transport myself back to a milonga, visualize a live orchestra playing, visualize a beautiful piece of architecture, a ballroom or whatever. Visualize the room, the dancers, the music, the cigarette smoke, the smells. I'm not sure you can visualize smells, but you get my drift. (grin) Visualize yourself dancing back then. In the middle of the zeitgeist that created tango. Astral projection is prolly the better word/s.

Oh yeah, and dance. Dance and practice, but to damn good tango music.

Listen, watch, feel, whilst hyper-awareness-isizing yourself. Listen, watch, feel, astrally project, dance.

Do all that shit and the "musicality" will come. It has to steep, absorb, infuse, assimilate...all the way down deep into your DNA. It will take months and years to get it hard-wired into your brain and hard-wired into your tango.

Oh, also - for a later post - we should talk about how much more musical you can be with songs you've heard before. Dancing to a live orchestra, especially to a song you're not familiar with, can be one of the most challenging, uh..."things" to your musicality-ish-ness. Again, a later post.

Anyway that's what I think.

What do y'all think?


https://www.elizabethwartlufttango.com/blog/2010/01/31/vals-and-argentine-tango-musicality-games-and-exercises

"And the music?" "Oh, he doesn't let the music get in the way of his dancing!"

Shared on FB by Vania...

"And the music?" "Oh, he doesn't let the music get in the way of his dancing!" ~ Anonymous

[One of my photos...]

Mala Junta Musicality

Cut and Paste :: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl_MVOQmWc0 [Embedding disabled]


Ezequiel y Sabrina :: CITA 2003 ...this one made me cry the first time I saw it...the way she throws herself into his arms at the end...a four second clip of mine...cuz I didn't want to infringe by posting the entire video...you would probably have to see the whole dance to have the same effect...


Ezequiel y Sabrina :: CITA 2002






One of the better pieces of musicality, if at times over the top, from Los Hermanos Macana. I remember watching this in amazement, and still do.



Okay yes, this one is stage tango...forgive me...it's for scientific/musicality purposes...

Musicality Resurrected Redux

Regurgitating an old post for a friend. Eleven [11] different couples dancing to Francisco Canaro's "Poema".

Make that 12. Here's Sebastian Arce y Mariana Montes.



From an old post...buried in the archives from just over a year ago...when I had two visitors a day...so there was zero commentary...maybe now we can get some discussion going...

Here are some examples of different musical interpretations, different musicality expressions, all danced to the song "Poema" by Francisco Canaro:

Jennifer Bratt y Ney Melo::


Geraldine Rojas y Javier Rodriguez::


Moira Castellano y Pablo Inza::


Mila y Korey::


Silvia y Tete::


Romina Tumini y Silvio Lavia::


Natacha Poberaj & Fabian Peralta::


Eugenia Parrilla y Mariano 'Chicho' Frúmboli::


Luna Palacios y Carlos Copello::


And one new one...

Homer y Cristina Ladas::


And one more...
Melina Sedo & Detlef Engel dance to Poema, a Tango by Francisco Canaro in Geneve, Switzerland. Occasion is the Milonga of Kap'Danse in April 2008.



Do you have a favorite? Comments? Observations? Epiphanies?

La Cruzada Lenta :: Deep Tango Technique

I just dragged this post out of the archives this morning - with a new title and minor edits. Forgive me if you remember it. I didn't. Sometimes I read old posts and think to myself "Did I write this?". Scary. Anyway, I think it's good and pertinent stuff.

A couple of years ago on Tango-L, there was a thread about followers automatically crossing (la cruzada) without being led.

Here was my post to the list on the subject - actually, more on the subject of the superslow cross than the un-led cross. I suppose you could term it "la cruzada lenta".

Subject: The subject that never dies

Re: Keith’s latest response to Floyd on the subject...

I would venture to say that the key to leading the cross is in the torso. I might even go so far as to say the cross is led entirely with the torso.

It doesn’t really matter (in a kinda/sorta way) what the leader is doing with his feet. I can lead the cross standing still, with my feet together, led entirely with contrabody/torso. I don't ever lead it this way while dancing, obviously. Granted, there are the “norms” of where the lead’s feet are when leading the cross - I just wanted to illustrate my point.

I just wanted to mention this because Keith's post didn’t – the importance of contrabody and what the lead's torso does in the lead to the cross.

There is no “autocross” in my experience - I don't really "get" a cross unless I lead it. Unless she is a very basic beginner in the first month or so – and has just learned the cross. Sometimes they will self-lead themselves to the cross, by accident. That generally goes away with a good lead, and as the follower begins to understand what the lead feels like.

The “auto” that I struggle with in leading a follower to the cross is what I will call the “autopop”. It's where the follower “pops” her crossing left foot into place, without any regard to lead, musicality, or timing/rhythm. Boom. BOOM! Not a good feeling.

To lead the “superslow” cross can be challenging – with the leader leading the rate of travel of her left foot – to the music - as it caresses the floor into place.

Here are the mechanics behind it as I understand it and try to lead it:

While walking, the normal travel distance of her left foot (from first placement to second placement) is between two and three feet long, unless she is being led in very small or very large steps. When being led to the cross, that “normal” travel distance is cut in half – when her left ends up beside her right in the cross - steppus interruptus you might say.

So, if the left foot is traveling half the distance in the same amount of musical time, then it has to travel at half of the normal speed to end up (in the cross) on the beat. Right? (Insert "Aha!!" moment here...)

So, it's very important for the rate of travel of the left foot to be led by the leader, not automatically executed by the follower.

That fast pop (of the left foot into crossed position) is only applicable in the superfast "walkthru" cross, where she crosses and you walk right through it. But again, this is led. With the torso.

Try leading the superslow cross when the music is appropriate. It’s also a good practica exercise for both partners - to help in eliminating/mitigating this unpleasant habit - and it shows her something new in the realm of possibility.

Try it. You might like it.

File this one under "quality and character of motion through time and space".

Happy Dancing!

P.S. I repeat "when the music is appropriate". That is the hard part.

On the importance of the DJ :: In conclusion...

This was a comment that I left on the original (Part 1) post. It was so long, my afterthought is that it should have been a separate post...so here it is...

Thanks everyone for some great commentary!

Here are my final thoughts - especially based on Steve's latest post - and it goes to the more esoteric/abstract end of the subject.

Thought 1 ::
As observed by Steve, poor music selections/mixes can have a negative influence floorcraft and navigation.

Thought 2 ::
Poor music selections/mixes can have a negative influence on musicality, connection and emotion - and ultimately the overall dance/milonga "experience".

Thought 3 ::
Poor music selections/mixes can have a negative influence on the inexperienced or uninitiated tango dancer's music/al "taste", "knowledge", and "understanding" of said tango music.

Thought 4 ::
Based on the aforementioned three "thoughts", "pervasive" poor music selections/mixes can have a negative influence on the tango community as a whole, in the areas of connection, emotion, musicality, and floorcraft/navigation.

Conclusion ::
Ergo, in my view, the importance of the DJ is very high indeed, even if we may not consciously be aware of this factor in deciding to attend a milonga or not. It is only after we arrive at a milonga, and in general for the more experienced dancers, and to a higher degree for those who have been to Buenos Aires (per Steve's observation), that we are able to determine that the DJ may be sub-par, or at least playing sub-par music. A fact which may be imperceptible to less experienced dancers.

It's kinda like really good architecture/design/urban planning. Some buildings/rooms/spaces/neighborhoods/cities just "feel" good. They feel good and cool and right the moment you walk into them. It's an energy thing. You don't know why. You can't determine why or what it is about the place that makes it that way, even if you try.

And so it is with the tango DJ. If they are astute and doing a good job, the only thing anyone notices is lots of good connections/emotions, good dances and a great night at the milonga - they forget the DJ is even there.

Anyway, this is what I was thinking - and everyone knows I think too much.

Sorry for the long comment, it should have been a post, which I suppose I will do now...again, thanks for all the commentary, and all the reading if you made it this far!!!...

On Tango-L :: The subject that never dies

A thread about followers automatically crossing without being led...

Here is my post to the list this morning....

Subject: The subject that never dies

Re: Keith’s latest response to Floyd on the subject...

I would venture to say that the key to leading the cross is in the torso. I might even go so far as to say the cross is led entirely with the torso.

I doesn’t really matter (in a kinda/sorta way) what the leader is doing with his feet. I can lead the cross standing still, with my feet together, led entirely with contrabody/torso. I don't ever lead it this way while dancing, obviously. Granted, there are the “norms” of where the lead’s feet are when leading the cross - I just wanted to illustrate my point.

I just wanted to mention this because Keith's post didn’t – the importance of contrabody and the torso in the lead to the cross.

There is no “autocross” in my experience - I don't really "get" a cross unless I lead it. Unless she is a very basic beginner in the first month or so – and has just learned the cross. Sometimes they will self-lead themselves to the cross, by accident. That generally goes away with a good lead, and as the follower begins to understand what the lead feels like.

The “auto” that I struggle with in the cross is what I will call the “autopop”. It's where the follower “pops” her crossing left foot into place, without any regard to lead, musicality, or timing/rhythm.

To lead the “superslow” cross can be challenging – with the leader leading the rate of travel of her left foot – to the music - as it caresses the floor into place.

Here are the mechanics behind it as I understand it:

While walking, the normal travel distance of her left foot (from first placement to second placement) is between two and three feet, unless she is being led in very small or very large steps. When being led to the cross, that “normal” travel distance is cut in half – when her left ends up beside her right in the cross. So, if the left foot is traveling half the distance in the same amount of musical time, then it has to travel at half of the normal speed to end up (in the cross) on the beat.

So, it's very important for the rate of travel of the left foot to be led by the leader, not automatically done by the follower.

That fast pop (of the left foot into crossed position) is only applicable in the superfast cross, where she crosses and you walk right through it. But again, this is led. With the torso.

Try leading the superslow cross when the music is appropriate. It’s also a good exercise for both parties. But especially in eliminating/mitigating this unpleasant habit - and it shows her something new in the realm of possibility.

And what I edited/deleted before pressing "Send"...

"But especially in breaking the followers of this unpleasant habit.

Breaking them like a cowboy saddle breaks a young filly.

How's that for throwing gas on the fire?

I'm joking! I'm joking!"

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Everyone is so touchy...

My musicality

Afternoon milongas are nice - everyone is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed - rested, fresh, energetic.

I noticed today that my musicality has taken on another layer - leading to the vocals. Subtle, but cool - as in "feels" cool. I've never noticed it before in my dance.

And, on top of that, I was doing it with a crushed spirit. More on that topic another time.

Tango :: Musicality :: What it "looks" like...to get to what it "feels like"...

We/I seem to always be "talking" about musicality in tango. Let's see what it "looks" like. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a YouTube video must be worth at least ten thousand...

Keep in mind these are professional couples/instructors...and this is "demo" tango, not really what you will see/do on the social dance floor. The point is musicality can be expressed in many ways - small and almost imperceptible on the social dance floor - and contradicting myself here - musicality ultimately is not about what it looks like, but what it feels like.

Chico Frumboli y Eugenia Parrilla :: Rodolfo Biagi's "El Recodo" [short clip]


Murat y Michelle Erdemsel :: Anibal Troilo's "En Esta Tarde Gris"


Los Hermanos Macana :: Francisco Canaro's "Relíquias Porteñas"
Musicality and Humor combined...


Detlef Engel y Melina Sedo :: Canaro's "Milonga Sentimental"


Ney Melo y Jennifer Bratt :: Carlos DiSarli's "Nido Gaucho"


IMPORTANT NOTE!!!
One of the weaknesses of YouTube is that sometimes the audio and video are "de"-synchronized when uploaded and the audio and video do not track properly together. This video is an example of this. I have the original CITA DVD version of this dance, and their musicality is perfect - dead on with the music. It appears to me in this YouTube version that the audio is lagging as much as one or two seconds behind the video.
Ezequiel Farfaro y Milena Plebs :: Alfredo Zitarrosa's Pa'l que se va"

Deep Tango Thoughts :: Musicality :: Repost for Doug Fox

This is a repost from a while back. I thought if it because of a question Doug Fox asked Johanna in a comment - about him being new to tango and wanting to know more about the concepts Musicality and Musical Expression.

Below (in italics) is the original post from Tango-L - which came from Tom Stermitz (creator/organizer of the Denver Tango Festivals). Tom explains "musicality" very well. For Doug and other readers new to tango, musicality is the holy grail of tango. Somewhat nebulous, difficult to convey verbally, difficult (for many) to achieve. Constantly improved musicality is what many of us strive for.

To me (from a leader's perspective) musicality is about listening to the music as you dance (and listening to tango music a lot outside of dancing), and it "making sense" to apply/invoke certain vocabulary at certain times. There are times during a song when all it "makes sense" to do is walk. There are times when the rhythm makes sense to do ochos. Times when it makes sense to do an ocho cortado - nailing her cross "to the music", "to the beat". Sticking the ending in milonga is an expression of musicality. The bigger you "stick it", the better the feeling to both you and your follower. There are times when traspie makes sense. If you do it out of the music, out of the rhythm, it feels bad, awkward.

As a beginner, this comes with time. It can't be rushed, it can barely be taught. It is an osmosis that happens over the months. The music begins to make more sense rhythmically. It comes from listening to music and tapping to the beat. It comes from listening to each instrument (or section) in the orchestra - listening to the percussive rhythms of the bandoneons - listening to the melody of the violins - the beat of the bass. It comes from watching advanced dancers with great musicality. You begin to hear opportunities to do certain things - ochos, ocho cortado, walking, the molinete. Then you begin to try to execute those things - tentatively at first - they may not feel right, but eventually it begins to feel better - more "on". Then you begin to hear the traspie in the music - you can't do anything about it - but you hear it. Then you begin to be able to hit the traspie - and it feels good - to both of you.

For me, where my musicality is right now - I don't lead ganchos or boleos because I have not figured out how to incorporate them into my dance "with musicality". I hear the opportunities - but then it's too late. I will get there. I do have a milonguero "belly" boleo. And a back boleo to the cross. But that's about it. Others are awkward and forced, out of synch with the musical opportunities.

Be patient, focus, pay attention, practice at home and it will come to you.

Someone once said (Stermitz I think) that "you don't want to dance 'on top of the music', you want dance 'inside the music'...."


There is a new thread on Tango-L on the subject of "musicality". As usual, Tom Stermitz, the organizer of Denver Tango Festivals, is the voice of experience and reason. Here is what he had to say on the subject (in response to Igor Polk's post):

Message: 5

Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:07:08 -0700

From: Tom Stermitz

Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Musicality. What is it?

To: Tango-L

Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes


I have a simple description. Admittedly, you can find more complicated explanations:


Musicality is when Movement Energy Corresponds to Musical Energy.


Energy is still a fuzzy, undefined concept, but it includes various

aspects of movement such as speed, force, size, suspension,

acceleration, lift, grounded-ness.



So musicality is about adjusting your physical movements to go with

the music in a pleasing (again undefined) manner.



To teach it, you have to provide examples of musicality in the

exercises. The goal is to offer enough varied examples, that people

can ultimately learn it how it feels in the kinesthetic sense.


So, for example, I teach brand new beginners to walk with musicality

by matching their short elements to the musical phrase. Tango is built

on four plus four equals eight walking beats. Initiate movement

(compression and accelerate or surge) on the one or five, and come

together stationary on the four or eight (suspend, momentum = zero).

I'm very deterministic, and really insist on beginning at one and

ending at four.


Wooden? Yes at first, but at least they are wooden WITH the music

instead of walking woodenly and aimlessly around the room.


The value here is that when movement energy corresponds to musical

energy for these 4+4=8 steps, then they "FEEL" right, the leaders are

more confident, the followers learn about their musicality (i.e. how

they respond through the connection), and that all adds up to bringing

people closer to kinesthetic awareness (i.e. achieving musicality

through intuitive learning).




On Nov 30, 2007, at 3:24 PM, Igor Polk wrote:

> Following Steve's thoughts,

> I have deepen more into that, and to my surprise have found that I can not

> really define what people understand under the term "Musicality".

> I can not say what it is. I know that dancing supposed to be with music.

> And I believe I myself dance musically too ) But on a logical side, or

> rather sociological side I am confused.

>

> If it is so common, can one define what "musicality" is?

> What most people understand under "musicality"?

> So if one say: "This is a musicality lesson" what people expect?

> Those who come and those who do not?

>

> Another question is how to develop it.

>

> Igor Polk

My first thought upon reading this, perhaps obvious, is that "musicality" can be expressed differently, elegantly, eloquently by different people. Indeed, the same couple, dancing to the same song, should, in theory, express different musicality when dancing to that same song on different nights. That is, going with the theory that Tango is an improvised dance.

Some people obviously have "nailed" their musicality - especially on the "demo" and "performance" videos we all watch on YouTube. Some of this, I am sure, comes from practice, practice, practice. I am also sure that much of it comes from listening to tango music over and over - in effect, memorizing a song. There may be a certain spot where the rhythm and melody make it good to do traspie ochos - and a leader may do these in this spot every time he dances to a song.

Speaking for myself, I know I have difficulty being "musical" to a song I have never heard before. I had this problem in the early months of my tango - I didn't know what was coming next. This problem was solved by listening to tango music almost exclusively for over two years now.

I don't really reach any conclusions here - no real "deep tango thoughts" - except that musicality in and of itself is a fairly deep subject. My only conclusion is that good musicality is "a good thing" and that we should all strive to be better with our musical interpretations of a song, and the music in general.

Oh, this just popped into my head - "musicality" does not mean pumping (leader) or flapping (follower) your arms to the music. I hate that - it's not tango. Don't do it. Cuz I said so. (Alex)

End of original post...

And here's more from Igor Polk's blog...on musicality...http://www.virtuar.com/tango/articles/2005/musicality.htm

Tango:: Musicality Nailed - SEE ALL THREE POSTS! TWO MORE BELOW!

Getting the brain going here...another thought is that it (a leader's interpretation of musicality) is also dependent on the dancing level of the follower. Some followers I dance with can't get my traspie ochos - even more can't get the superfast traspie ochos (in milonga) that I do - so I have to dial it all in and be more musical in less complex ways.

And lastly, without making another, separate post - no discussion of musicality can be had without mention of Murat & Michelle Erdemsel. Here is a video of them "nailing" "musicality"...in my humble opinion...


I need some tango bad after all of this...I need it bad...

Per Debbi's comment...here are Murat & Michelle again...dancing to "Re Fa Si" con Orquestra Ben Bogart y los Gatos Azules...

Deep Tango Thoughts - Musicality

There is a new thread on Tango-L on the subject of "musicality". As usual, Tom Stermitz, the organizer of Denver Tango Festivals, is the voice of experience and reason. Here is what he had to say on the subject (in response to Igor Polk's post):

Message: 5

Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:07:08 -0700

From: Tom Stermitz

Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Musicality. What is it?

To: Tango-L

Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes


I have a simple description. Admittedly, you can find more complicated explanations:


Musicality is when Movement Energy Corresponds to Musical Energy.


Energy is still a fuzzy, undefined concept, but it includes various

aspects of movement such as speed, force, size, suspension,

acceleration, lift, grounded-ness.



So musicality is about adjusting your physical movements to go with

the music in a pleasing (again undefined) manner.



To teach it, you have to provide examples of musicality in the

exercises. The goal is to offer enough varied examples, that people

can ultimately learn it how it feels in the kinesthetic sense.


So, for example, I teach brand new beginners to walk with musicality

by matching their short elements to the musical phrase. Tango is built

on four plus four equals eight walking beats. Initiate movement

(compression and accelerate or surge) on the one or five, and come

together stationary on the four or eight (suspend, momentum = zero).

I'm very deterministic, and really insist on beginning at one and

ending at four.


Wooden? Yes at first, but at least they are wooden WITH the music

instead of walking woodenly and aimlessly around the room.


The value here is that when movement energy corresponds to musical

energy for these 4+4=8 steps, then they "FEEL" right, the leaders are

more confident, the followers learn about their musicality (i.e. how

they respond through the connection), and that all adds up to bringing

people closer to kinesthetic awareness (i.e. achieving musicality

through intuitive learning).




On Nov 30, 2007, at 3:24 PM, Igor Polk wrote:

> Following Steve's thoughts,

> I have deepen more into that, and to my surprise have found that I can not

> really define what people understand under the term "Musicality".

> I can not say what it is. I know that dancing supposed to be with music.

> And I believe I myself dance musically too ) But on a logical side, or

> rather sociological side I am confused.

>

> If it is so common, can one define what "musicality" is?

> What most people understand under "musicality"?

> So if one say: "This is a musicality lesson" what people expect?

> Those who come and those who do not?

>

> Another question is how to develop it.

>

> Igor Polk

My first thought upon reading this, perhaps obvious, is that "musicality" can be expressed differently, elegantly, eloquently by different people. Indeed, the same couple, dancing to the same song, should, in theory, express different musicality when dancing to that same song on different nights. That is, going with the theory that Tango is an improvised dance.

Some people obviously have "nailed" their musicality - especially on the "demo" and "performance" videos we all watch on YouTube. Some of this, I am sure, comes from practice, practice, practice. I am also sure that much of it comes from listening to tango music over and over - in effect, memorizing a song. There may be a certain spot where the rhythm and melody make it good to do traspie ochos - and a leader may do these in this spot every time he dances to a song.

Speaking for myself, I know I have difficulty being "musical" to a song I have never heard before. I had this problem in the early months of my tango - I didn't know what was coming next. This problem was solved by listening to tango music almost exclusively for over two years now.

I don't really reach any conclusions here - no real "deep tango thoughts" - except that musicality in and of itself is a fairly deep subject. My only conclusion is that good musicality is "a good thing" and that we should all strive to be better with our musical interpretations of a song, and the music in general.

Oh, this just popped into my head - "musicality" does not mean pumping (leader) or flapping (follower) your arms to the music. I hate that - it's not tango. Don't do it. Cuz I said so.