Musicality
Recently some followers questioned the value of taking classes on musicality. To me this was rather strange, which I can only put down to having experienced bad teaching in the past. In my opinion, musicality goes way beyond recognising the stereotypical generalisations for each of the major orchestras, e.g. Pugliese is only represented by his La Yumba beat, D’Arienzo means only the ric-tic-tic marching rhythm and Fresedo means always a certain romantic silkiness. Musicality in a technical sense is more to do with how we can recognise the phrasing in the music, the syncopations, the change from rhythmic to melodic, just to name a few. Ultimately, it allows us – leaders and followers – to transform a series of steps into a moving dance.
So, is there any point for a follower to learn and understand musicality?
Tango music genealogy
A pictorial representation of Tango music genealogy, for the occasions when you want to show off to your friends!
Note (4.12.2008): The original source for this is here, http://www.tango.ch/.
Teaching of Tango
Almost any Tango teacher worth his salt – be they of the “resident” variety or the travelling maestros – would have (or should have) struggled with these questions at some point in his teaching career: What do I teach to the students? And in what order should I present what I know?
It goes without saying that considerations for a resident teacher who may (or may not) choose to take on the responsibility of helping a community to grow, i.e starting from raw beginners, will be different from the “hit-and-run” strategies of visiting masters, who may be in town for a weekend or two for a festival or intensive workshops.
Osvaldo Pugliese documentary
Osvaldo Pugliese is a name that is synonymous with Tango. Even a rank beginner will quickly learn about his name and be mesmerised by the drama he brings to the dance floor. His music (both his compositions as well that played in his unique style) is probably one of the most favourite in the milongas of Buenos Aires and all over the world.
Recently I bought a documentary featuring the maestro, which is part of a series produced by Solo Tango on some of the major figures in the history of Tango. Right from the first video I received, I was blown away by the really amazing original footages of the best orchestras of the yester-years, which are definitely worth the cost of the video. for the Pugliese video, just picture this: on stage in Teatre Colón, 10 bandoneons passionately blasting the tunes of La Yumba, the Maestro Pugliese calmly stroking the keyboards at the piano. By the way, Teatre Colón is Buenos Aires’ huge performing arts theatre and is the second largest performing arts theatre in the southern hemisphere, second only to the Sydney Opera House in Australia. In addition, there is a rare footage of on-stage presence of Piazzolla and Pugliese together in Holland.