Rhythms – what is similar, what is different
© 2006 Gert-Jan & Susie Rotscheid
Most of our round dance music is written to either 4/4 timing of 3/4 timing. But what differentiates this into different rhythms? After considering this topic for a long time, and listening to different rhythms also for a long time, I have discovered that to create the different rhythms we use, the music usually has a different “up-beat” and/or a different accented beat or is syncopated.
(In this article we will refer to particular pieces of music to demonstrate what we say. Please note that this article is from 2006, so some of the music might not be current or available anymore. If you need other examples of a rhythm, please email me.)
SLOW TWO-STEP or FOXTROT
Slow Two-Step
For the Round Dance Slow Two-Step, we use music in two different time signatures: 4/4 timing and 6/8 timing.
In Slow Two-Step (in 4/4 timing) there is more of an accent on the 2nd step (3rd beat in 4/4 time) which gives your body the “up” feeling (just like the “a” in Samba).
If you isten to:
– Rachel’s Song
You can hear the background pickup and accent the 2nd step (3rd beat).
Slow Two Step can also be written to the musical timing of 6/8. Then we have 6 beats to a measure instead of 4, yet we still have to divide this up into a SQQ rhythm. What happens then is a rhythm that has the steps divided like this: the S uses beats 1,2, 3; the first Q uses beats 4, 5; the last Q uses beat 6. That makes the tempo of the dance slightly different, and the characteristic also. If you want to write a dance using music that is 6/8 timing, you need to be take care that it is danceable – some pieces of music are just too quick, even if the music is slowed down. It is the ratio that is too quick.
Two examples of Slow Two Step music in 6/8 timing are:
– It Takes Two
– Girl Crush
Foxtrot
In foxtrot all the beats are accented almost the same, with the first beat being just a bit stronger and the third beat also a bit stronger. This does not mean that there is never any syncopation. But if there is syncopation it is usually quite in the background, enough that it can either be ignored, or used by a choreographer to accent their dance.
With no extra accent your body keeps down and moving forward in an even tempo. There are of course quicks and slows in foxtrot, but your body will keep moving and not stop at the end of a beat. Since the third beat is also a bit stronger, this step (which is your first “quick” step) will be a longer step than the last step.
Some muiscal examples are:
– All I Do
– Picardy Foxtrot
SLOW TWO-STEP or RUMBA / BOLERO
Rumba
While STS music is “romantic”, Rumba is more sensuous; in a way maybe even more playful, some “give & take” and story-like. Rumba will usually have more Latin flavor. In STS you are romanticizing together, while in Rumba the girl is often playing “hard to get”. But how do we get that feel in the music? Rumba music has the “extra accent” on the 4th beat, so the “hold” of the slow. This gives you the opportunity to hold the count even longer. You can even syncopate the dance a little yourself (your interpretation of the music) – you can “play a little” with the music. (In reality this should be felt on the 1 beat for international, but the 4th beat can be used – most people find it difficult to do “nothing” on the 1st beat. Of course in reality you are doing the most important part – the hip accent).
A example is:
– Amigos Para Siempre
Bolero
Like Rumba, Bolero (also called Bolero Rumba) has a more Latin flavor than STS. The first step is slow (so the 2nd beat of music has no accent). The 1st quick has the extra accent, but this does come a little late giving you time to rise and draw out the slow. Since the quicks are quicker you don’t come up any further than you do at the end of the first slow.
One example is:
– La Gloria
SAMBA or CHA CHA CHA
Samba
Samba accents the “up” beat, that is the “a” – 1a2, 3a4. This gives your body the up and down feeling that is typical of Samba. While you can dance a cha cha to this music, you will get dancers doing a “jumpy” or “bouncy” cha. Some examples of samba music are:
– Eso Beso
– Quand Tu Chantes
Cha Cha Cha
In Cha Cha beats 1 & 2 are more equal, with an accent again on beat 4. Often, but not always, a piece of cha-cha music will end with a definite “cha-cha-cha”.
Listen to this cha cha cha music:
– Everybody Likes to Cha Cha Cha
– I Just Wanna Dance With You
– Todo, Todo, Todo
WEST COAST SWING or JIVE
West Coast Swing
WCS for us is more lazy, blues type of music. This makes you want to stay low in the floor. There is not a heavy accent on the other notes, but you can often draw out the 2nd slow thus accenting the “movingness” of the first quick. More modern West Coast Swing uses lighter music, and the dance is often then quicker.
Some examples are:
– Honky Tonk Moon
– Walkin’ After Midnight
– Easy Money (this is a little quicker music)
Jive
In jive the first two beats are more even, with an accent again on the 1st beat of each triple. The first beat of the second triple can fall on the first beat of the next measure, which is the normal “1” beat (which is always accented), and that is why it is easier to fall out of sequence with jive.
TANGO
Tango is a rhythm that is all it’s own, and is usually not confused with anything else. Tango (like foxtrot) has all even accents – not all even beats. But that is why you feel like staying low and you have more lateral movement instead of up and down movement.
Some examples of tango music are:
– Just A Tango
– Stier Tango – this is a tango that has a lot of syncompation in the music, and the choreographer has used that to compliment the dance
WALTZ: VIENNESE or AMERICAN or ENGLISH (also called Slow or International Waltz)
Viennese Waltz
The tempo of the Viennese Waltz is faster – official tempo is 56 bars (measures) per minute (168 beats). Dance hold is also slightly less compact – M’s left arm slightly lower and wider – but we’re not talking about dance holds, etc. now, only music. There is a heavy 1st beat accent so that you can hold it slightly longer making the dance slightly syncopated.
Some musical examples are:
– Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee
– Wonderful Copenhagen
American Waltz
Tempo is slower than Viennese (Mexicali Rose, a good example, is 36 bars per minute) The accent is on 1, but in American Waltz there is a definite up beat on 2 & 3. This does not lend itself to the same figures as we use in English or slow waltz. You can feel this in the dance De Lorelei, which is really an American waltz.
English (or slow or international) Waltz
English waltz tempo is 31 bars or 93 beats per minute. While you “feel” beat 1 – or at least can usually find it – all the beats are even; there is no extra accent. This creates a more even, flowing dance, and gives you the time (and better timing) to slowly rise (coming to it’s fullest near the very end of beat 2, really when you’re feet are together at the very start of beat 3), and then start to lower again as you go further into beat 3 (in American waltz because of the upbeat you will usually reach the highest point of the rise earlier). If you “accent” any beat, it is often beat 2 by drawing it out a bit.
Some examples are:
– London By Night (exactly 31 bars)
– Rainbow Connection (also exactly 31 bars)
Sometimes it is difficult to explain or understand the difference in the different types of waltzes. As an experiment you can try:
- Play “Yvonne’s Waltz” or “Mexicali Rose” (“Yvonne’s Waltz” at 45 rp it is 28 bars, so slow) and try dancing the figures from Rainbow Connection
- Play “London By Night” and also try dancing the figures from Rainbow Connection
Which feels faster? In reality, Yvonne’s Waltz is slower than London By Night, but because of the strong up beat accent on beat 2 & 3 in Yvonne’s Waltz, which is an American waltz, it makes you take shorter steps, which makes the music seem faster.
SO WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Each dance has a particular character. A waltz has a lilting rhythm that brings to mind rise and fall and rotation. Foxtrot has a linear feel with an undercurrent of ebb and flow. Tango is a driving dance with strong rhythms, tension and release, rapid contrasts. Quickstep is about joy and freedom. We have so many rhythms that we can use; let’s use them to create the best dance possible.