Ballads

[serg_juv]

Are ballads and "slow" music synonymous? Are there some basic steps to dance this slow, romantic songs, or just moving around slowly?

Thanks

[pygmalion]

At least in American music, most love ballads are slow music of some sort -- rumba, bolero, NC2S are possible dances. Not necessarily slow like the slow dance you referred to in another thread. Lots of ballads are rumbas, which are a comparatively faster tempo.

I'm not sure how this plays out in other cultures -- for example, African highlife music, with which I'm very familiar, is uptempo for everything, from love songs to funeral dirges! :shock:

[Swing Kitten]

isn't part of the definition of a ballad as a song that tells a story? I'll check.

[pygmalion]

Definitions from dictionary.com:


1. A. A narrative poem, often of folk origin and intended to be sung, consisting of simple stanzas and usually having a refrain.
B. The music for such a poem.
2. A popular song especially of a romantic or sentimental nature.

[Swing Kitten]

So I guess this is where connotations come into play. I tend to think of ballands as slow songs but they don't have to be.