Caló don't live here anymore!

Di Sarli, Fresedo, D'Agostino, Garcia, Malerba and De Angelis have moved out as well. Biagi, Rodriguez and Tipica Victor have decided to limit their repertoire to the purely rhythmical stuff and obviously D'Arienzo will be asking for a pay raise soon. He should do so - having to play all evening long! 

Yep. I am talking of the „Milonguero“ events and traditional Milongas. Not all of them. But a large number are obviously trying to re-enact the Cachirulo (see note below) as close as possible. Now this is a nice Milonga - I‘ve been there a couple of times. Respectful dancing in a closed embrace, nice music with a strong emphasis on the rhythmical Tangos: Tchaka-tchaka-boum most of the night - at least when was there! That‘s fine in Buenos Aires, because even the most passionate Cachirulo fans will go there only once a week. The rest of the week, they‘ll be at other Milongas with a slightly different repertoire.

But what about the habitués of a traditional Milonga in Europe: Do the have any other Milongas of that kind to visit? And what‘s with the visitors of an Encuentro: They have travelled from afar. Do they really want to dance to rhythmical music only at all Milongas of the event? Won‘t they miss something? The nice lyrical Tangos by the afore mentioned orchestras... The soft and extra-cuddly embraces to a romantic Tanda... Is this boring now? Are we now supposed to run and play with rhythmical variation all night long? 

But now earnestly:

In the last 2-3 years there has been a significant shift in DJing style at the traditional events and Milongas. Some years ago, you could always expect to hear a mixture of lyrical and rhythmical music with a more dramatic Tanda once in a while. Nowadays you can be happy, if the is one Tanda by Di Sarli or Calo per evening. The rest will be pure rhythm with a strong emphasis on the late 20s and early 30s. The 40‘s are rarely played anymore and the danceable 50‘s never - except for a late D‘Arienzo or Troilo. That cuts the repertoire of traditional and danceable Tango music in half!

Mind you: when I am speaking of a harmonic mixture of rhythm and romantic, the portion of lyrical music will still be smaller. Why is this?

When I dj, I use the TTMTTV system and alternate rhythmical and more lyrical Tango-tandas methodically. As Milongas and most Valses will be perceived as rhythmical music as well, that makes 4/6 of rhythmical tandas. Leaves maximum 1/3 of Tandas with stronger lyrical components. 

Why do I not only write „lyrical Tandas“? Many of the quasi-lyrical Tangos have strong rhythmical components as well - think of Di Sarli of the 40s, D'Agostino and the likes... I‘d classify them as rhythmical-lyrical. The percentage of pure lyrical music is therefore quite small even in a well-balanced DJ set. So, when I complain about the lack of lyrical music, I only request some more Tandas with stronger lyrical aspects. (See definition of musical style at the end of this article.)

But many of the hardcore Milonguero DJs will only play 1 or 2 more lyrical Tandas in an evening of 5 hours. This is 6,8 %. Not enough.

Now, some of you will say: Sure, that‘s Melina with her weird emphasis on the intimate embrace and her aversion against D‘Arienzo. She‘s just old and does not like to move. 

Only half true: I do like a rhythmical Tango by Biagi, Canaro, Donato or Rodriguez. I like playing with rhythmical variation in Vals and sometimes I even dance a tanda of Milonga - if there‘s an appropriate partner. But I also like to cuddle to romantic music, to interpret a more complex melody with both lyrical and rhythmical components or even to dance a Tango with more dramatic aspects. And so do many others.

And even if I had a preference on lyrical music... There are more dancers with the same bias. The last years have seen a segregation of dancers who prefer close embrace in a traditional setting from those who like a fluid embrace in a setting with less codes of conducts. We have also separated events with traditional Tango music from those who play a mixture of traditional Tangos, Electro-Tangos and Non-Tangos. We have got Festivals with live music and Festivalitos with recordings of the „old“ orchestras only. Do we need to separate the lyricalists from the rhythmicalists as well? Can we not dance at the same Milonga? 

I think that there are some indicators, that my opinion is not freakish:

• The last encuentro that I visited sported 6 Milongas. Two of the Milongas were pure rhythm and the DJs received almost no applause. The DJs who received the most applause at any event that I‘ve visited in the last years were the ones who presented a well-balanced mixture of lyrical and rhythmical music with a very small choice of dramatic Tangos.
• At the purely rhythmical Milongas, Vals and Milonga tandas are less appreciated. There will be less dancers on the floor. I guess this is because they all had their share of rhythmical music and need a break. During a well-balanced evening, all Tandas will be equally appreciated and populated.

So please, dear DJs: listen to the dancer‘s rating!

At last, let me focus on some side effects of purely rhythmical DJing at Milongas. As a dancer and teacher I can tell, that the choice of one specific musical style will influence your capacities as a dancer.

• If you dance to rhythmical music only, you will most likely dance „fast“ most of the time: You will use more normal and double speed to play with rhythmical variation. You will less often slow down to half speed or even make pauses. Slow movements and pauses require a better BALANCE. It‘s like driving a bike slowly. In our classes, we encounter many dancers who are physically not able to slow down. And if they only dance to rhythmical music in Milongas, they will never get the chance to practice this skill.
• When dancing rhythmically, you will most likely concentrate on very simple moves to interpret the rhythmical variation within the music. That‘s totally fine and we do the same. But lyrical and slower music allows for a more complex repertoire that creates a unique level of suspense in the dance. Some dancers almost never change into crossed system because the speed of their movements makes it impossible for them to cope with the higher COMPLEXITY. Sure, an experienced dancers will also have the ability to dance more complex moves to a rhythmical music, but most beginners won‘t dare. And they will never try, if the music will not allow for it.
• Last of all, the range of MUSICAL VARIATION in lyrical or rhythmic-lyrical music is immense: a complex lyrical melody will suggest pauses, half speed, normal speed, double speed, different quick-quick-slow patterns, syncopations... Sometimes, a deceleration is followed by a syncopation. What a challenging contrast! And the use of different step dynamics in lyrical-rhythmical or even dramatic music can be such a pleasure! Dancing only to pure rhythmical music will limit your musical interpretation to one kind of step dynamic and only certain rhythmical variations. I have danced with many men who will even stick to their usual normal-speed and quick-quick-slow patterns in the most challenging Tango of Di Sarli with Podesta. They are not used to this kind of music anymore. That is so sad!

So, I think we all agree, that danceable traditional Tango music is very rich. We can chose from a great variety of Tangos from the late 20‘s to the 50‘s ranging from rhythmical, over lyrical to more dramatic music.

And I wanna have it all!

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Appendix A: A mini-definition of musical styles

In my Tango world, there are three pure forms of Tango-music: lyrical, rhythmical and dramatic music. In addition to that, there are three kinds of mixed forms: lyrical-rhythmical, dramatic-rhythmical and dramatic-lyrical music. Let me give you our definitions of the styles that I mention in the text.
(This categorization is - as any categorization - a  simplification of reality and the examples are up for discussion as well. A Tango that I perceive as rhythmical, might be perceived as lyrical-rhythmical by someone else. But: different forms of music offer different options for our dance. It makes therefore sense to define some objective factors that influence our movement apart from "el sentimiento".)

Rhythmical music:

Music with an audible basic count (1234) played mostly by the contrabass, the left hand of the piano or a bandoneon. The melody is played in staccato more then legato and emphasises the faster rhythmical variations, e.g. 123 or 134 or syncopations.

Because of more strong or important notes in one measure (13, 123, 134, 1+34, +13 or sometimes even 1234 as in many D‘Arienzo Tangos) the music is perceived as faster - there are more notes that encourage us to make a step.

Examples: Most late 20‘s Tangos, most D‘Arienzo‘s, many Biagi‘s, Rodriguez, Donato, Lomuto, Canaro, Tanturi, lots of Troilo...

Lyrical music:

Music in which the basic count is not always audible because the melody is dominant and legato. The violins will play a stronger role or a singer will have a bigger part. Because of the fact, that there are less strong notes per measure (1 or maybe 13) the music will be perceived a slower.

Examples: most late instrumental Di Sarli, some De Angelis

Lyrical-rhythmical music:

There are two kinds of lyrical-rhythmical music and many, many Tangos can be placed into this category. The first kind is music, in which a legato melody is accompanied by a strong and driving basic count, like many Tangos by Fresedo or Calo. The second kind are Tangos in which rhythmical and lyrical phases interchange like many pieces by Biagi (with Alberto Amor), Demare, Di Sarli with Podesta or Rufino and some Tangos by Rodriguez or OTV.

Dramatic music:
A large part of the Tango is dominated by a dynamic melody with a very strong bass beat. There is an extra strong accent on the 1, as if all instruments of the orchestra played it together at maximum volume. Dramatic contrasts  are used (high/low, loud/soft) and also the speed may change. All in all, this music feels more aggressive or powerful. Because of it's expressive character, this style of music is mostly used for Tango-performances. In a Milonga, it should be played rarely and with consideration as it encourages dancers to do bigger and more energetic moves.
Examples: Most Pugliese, very late Biagi, late Troilo, late De Angelis, very late D'Arrienzo, Varela

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Appendix B: A short note on the Cachirulo Milonga in BA

I know that they do not play ONLY rhythmical Tangos in Cachirulo and I surely don't want to criticize this highly respected Milonga. But it seems to be the most prominent example for a more rhythmical musical choice and referred to all the time by many "Milonguero" DJ's and organizers as their model.
As I am told right now, even Cachirulo might have changed it's repertoire to a more balanced style in recent times. So please, tell that to the DJ's, who try to play exactly as they think, the Cachirulo habitués would prefer. ;-)

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