Essay On Tango

The most known music tradition in Uruguay is the tango. Tango is very prominent in many South American countries and it is unknown of the origin of tango; the origin is from either Argentina or Uruguay. Tango was influenced by African and European immigrants, many African slaves brought this music with them to Uruguay. Tango was once the music for the poor immigrants in the slums; it was considered “dirty” and inappropriate for the upper-class citizens. Originally, women were not allowed to dance to tango, so men would dance with other men to practice. Starting in the 1920’s was when society changed and tango became socially acceptable instead of dirty. Today, when people think of tango, beautiful women, elegant dancers, and swift moving dancers come to mind. Tango started in the destitute area’s but quickly became …show more content…
Syncopation is the notes between the beats and is a main part of tango. The main syncopation of tango is called habanera. “One type of habanera is where the syncopation falls after the dotted 1/8th note (the very first note), on the 1/16th, the last of the group of four 1/16th notes on beat one. This gives a sense of drive, of moving forward. Habanera 2, “syncopa”. Here there’s an additional syncopation, playing on the second 1/16, in addition to the fourth like the habanera.” Most tango music has 2 or 3 sections; the sections are composed of 16 bars. These bars keep dividing and eventually get to 2 bar phrases. Question and answer phrasing or sometimes called call and response is bourgeois in tango music, different instruments will go back and forth with each other. Questions are typically more compassionate and sensitive. Following the question comes the answer which is discreet and tends to be hesitant. Minor key is the way most tangos start out; this makes the song sound serious. Question and answer in music help provide a steady flow in the