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Articles and Interviews
Short guide for Tango DJ's: Part One
(by P. Müller, transl. E. Marseglia)
When we dance among friends we normally play our favourite music, but when we have to play music for an evening in public we need to play other tracks of music as well, and for that, in Argentina, there exists the professional tango DJ, the musicalizadore.
The musicalizadore does not simply change the music; he also helps us to understand it and at the same time plays a role in directing and influencing the energy and ethos on the dance floor.
I would like to propose here a short guide on how to become a competent tango musicalizadore.
Traditionally, in Buenos Aires, the scheme is the following, but there are also milongas where it is not followed exactly. Some kind of scheme is advisable though, to avoid repetition.
a) 4 quick rythmic Tangos
b) 3 Milongas (can also use Caribbean music, swing or chacarera)
c) 4 slow Tangos
d) 4 Walses
The scheme is divided into three or four units, called “tandas”, and each tanda is interspersed by a few moments of non tango music (the “cortina”), so that dancers can accompany their partners back to their tables and invite new ones (it is correct behaviour for a couple to start and finish the tanda together). In this way the musicalizadore creates a series of musical interludes with which he can control “the energy” of the dancers and the atmosphere of the dance floor.
During a tanda it is possible to use:
a) music of the same orchestra or, preferably,
b) music of the same style or period, or
c) a certain evolution of music (from slow to quick or from easy to difficult)
The musicalizadore can also influence the dancers and improve their knowledge of tango music by the following:
a) He can try to create a “wave of music”, which will not excite them too much but at the same time will not boor them. At first he can use rhythmic music which will attract as many dancers as possible to the floor (including beginners). But if the atmosphere becomes too 'excited' then there is a risk of bumping and other accidents, at which point he should introduce quieter and slower music. Also, the more advanced dancers like to dance to more complex music so he can now choose pieces which have more difficult rhythms, and which require greater subtleties of expression, etc.
b) In any case he must always remain in sympathy with all the dancers. For example, if there are a lot of beginners, he should not forget to play some music for more advanced dancing levels; and, vice versa, if the milonga is full of advanced dancers, he should not forget the beginners.
c) Many DJs also announce the orchestras, the musicians, etc. of the pieces or of the tandem they are about to play.
It is traditional to end the evening with the Cumparsita, but during carnival time it can be played more often, as it was composed in 1915 for a Carnival party at the University of Montevideao's Faculty of Architecture.
