Weird Viennese Waltz Music

[pygmalion]

So I was just doing my usual Sunday night thing -- listening to random music and dancing my heart out -- when I realized something. My fave Viennese waltz music is NOT your father's Viennese waltz. It's weird stuff. All 6/8 time, but NOT your typical VW.

Here's the list of Viennese waltzes I played tonight:

1. Morning has Broken -- Cat Stevens
2. All I'll ever Ask -- Najee
3. I'm So Proud -- The Impressions
4. Jesus Is Love -- The Commodores

I find a lot of romantic music out there in 6/8 that's great for good old Viennese Waltz. Do you have any faves? 8) :D

[Genesius Redux]

1. Morning has Broken -- Cat Stevens

Now it's my turn to say, "Just say no!!!!!" I had to sing that song over and over again in music camp when I was 16, and the thought of it makes me want to puke. On the other hand, I met my first real girlfriend there--and, as I told you, Jenn, she played the flute!

[Chris Stratton]

Viennese Waltz is a very nice musical form.

In slow waltz, the melody is constrained to a degree to fit the 1-2-3 of the waltz.

But in Viennese Waltz, the 123(456) tends to be just a texture, with the melody free to arch over it in larger groupings.

Of course there is also a lot of 6/8 and related music that doesn't feel like Viennese Waltz - some of it is other old European dance forms.

[Genesius Redux]

Of course there is also a lot of 6/8 and related music that doesn't feel like Viennese Waltz - some of it is other old European dance forms.

That's interesting--not many people appreciate the distinction between 6/8 and a fast 3/4, but the phrasing is quite different--my ear often hears the rhythms of Spain in the 6/8. Often the driving beat in the 6/8 is on the 1 and the 4 which take a very heavy emphasis, rather than on the 2 which is more usual to even a fast 3/4.

[etchuck]

Pyg/Jenn:
I wish I could have met someone as convoluted as you to play "Morning has broken" at a dance. I am contemplating "Damn Cold Night" by Avril Lavigne as a VW.

Edit: My other suggestion "Piano Man" by Billy Joel.

[Ashley]

"Hear You Me" by Jimmy Eat World is quite unusual. :)

At the Indiana Challenge competition, there was also a very lovely Viennese Waltz from one of the Harry Potter soundtracks!

[voilsb]

There's also a lot of 6/8 music that's got a swung 4/4 compound meter; a lot of blues and R&B 6/8 does this. Although you *could* waltz to it, it feels wholly inappropriate to do so. Louis Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World" is but one example of a song with such a compound meter.

[delamusica]

I am contemplating "Damn Cold Night" by Avril Lavigne as a VW.


Excellent choice. :) Makes a great one - not too fast, but definitely best suited to viennese.

[pygmalion]

There's also a lot of 6/8 music that's got a swung 4/4 compound meter; a lot of blues and R&B 6/8 does this. Although you *could* waltz to it, it feels wholly inappropriate to do so. Louis Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World" is but one example of a song with such a compound meter.

Yeah. Especially back in the late fifties through mid sixties, there were tons of songs in 6/8 that felt more like slow drag (the jazz/blues dance) songs than Viennese waltz.

[spatten]

How about Until by Sting from the Kate and Leopold soundtrack.

[pygmalion]

Hmm. I'll check it out. I'm always on the lookout for cool "dancing around the livingroom" music. :wink: 8)

[xwaltz]

Pyg/Jenn:
I wish I could have met someone as convoluted as you to play "Morning has broken" at a dance. I am contemplating "Damn Cold Night" by Avril Lavigne as a VW.

Edit: My other suggestion "Piano Man" by Billy Joel.

Yes, Avril Lavigne's "I'm With You" (that's the actual title of the song with lyrics "Damn Cold Night") is an awesome Viennese Waltz. It's not weird at all! :) There are some dance communities where this is standard waltz music. We only dance to pop/rock/alternative/folk/etc. music for our waltzes, and have a growing list of dozens of favorite songs. It's perfect music for spinning around in circles with a partner, and perfect for getting social/ballroom dance popular with more people. (This may be slightly different style of Viennese than is taught in standard ballroom.) I would say these places tend to consider themselves "social dance" vs. "ballroom dance."

Piano Man is also a very nice brisk waltz.

Some of my favorites, I'll share with you... enjoy!

Check out:
Time, by Chantal Kreviazuk
Only Hope, by Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember soundtrack)

and there are lots of Enya waltzes

[SDsalsaguy]

Just wanted to say welcome to the family of active DF posters xwaltz... and hope you enjoy! :D

[pygmalion]

Hi xwaltz! Welcome. :D

[Sagitta]

Welcome to df xwaltz!! Glad to have you with us. :)

[etchuck]

Pyg/Jenn:
I wish I could have met someone as convoluted as you to play "Morning has broken" at a dance. I am contemplating "Damn Cold Night" by Avril Lavigne as a VW.

Edit: My other suggestion "Piano Man" by Billy Joel.

Yes, Avril Lavigne's "I'm With You" (that's the actual title of the song with lyrics "Damn Cold Night") is an awesome Viennese Waltz. It's not weird at all! :) There are some dance communities where this is standard waltz music. We only dance to pop/rock/alternative/folk/etc. music for our waltzes, and have a growing list of dozens of favorite songs. It's perfect music for spinning around in circles with a partner, and perfect for getting social/ballroom dance popular with more people. (This may be slightly different style of Viennese than is taught in standard ballroom.) I would say these places tend to consider themselves "social dance" vs. "ballroom dance."

Piano Man is also a very nice brisk waltz.

Some of my favorites, I'll share with you... enjoy!

Check out:
Time, by Chantal Kreviazuk
Only Hope, by Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember soundtrack)

and there are lots of Enya waltzes

Thanks for the suggestions and welcome!

It is still a bit fast for cross-step waltz in my opinion, but I haven't really tried it to know. Maybe this Friday when our group is holding another dance.

So I bought another album for one of our dances. Included is "What's New *****cat" by Tom Jones, listed as VW.

[xwaltz]

thanks for all the welcomes. :)

< btw, those songs were for viennese or rotary waltz. :) but i'm surprised to hear someone here knows cross step waltz. where did you learn cross step?

[Sagitta]

I believe that cross-step waltz is popular at Stanford, California. Another df member, dnquark, learnt it there.

[xwaltz]

< indeed, that's the dance community i'm part of. :) i'm always curious how people learned cross step waltz, and if it's danced in other parts of the country yet, because it's the most awesome dance!

[tsb]

i've been to a few waltz weeks in the summer, but richard came down here back in '99 to do a waltz weekend where i first learned it. the CSW is basically a continuity step involving crossovers like the figure i refer to as a "fred & ginger". the main quirks are that it's danced in more of a swing closed position than a traditional ballroom closed position and that it starts on the leader's right & follower's left foot on the down beat.

as for weird VW, try Misterioso or St. Margaret's Tears by Incendio.

and of course, Lifehouse's "You & Me"

[fascination]

my dtr is an avril lavingne fan and there are tons of her songs that would work for VW besides the one previously mentioned...if you like her stuff....

one that I am looking at right now...though it migh be kind of slow...not sure, is "gira con me questa notte"by josh groban...if you have heard it what do you think? and, what does "gira" mean?

[etchuck]

Yeah, I like "Damn Cold Night" by Avril. I don't quite like the Groban one because it seems too soft and the tempo changes too much. But that's just me.

Seeking new VW music for Viennese Ball on Friday, December 2, Durham NC...

[Medira]

Songs I recently found/realized were VW

INXS - Never Tear Us Apart
Anna Nalick - Breathe (2am)
Amanda Stott - Homeless Heart
Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Put a Spell on You

[cornutt]

There's also a lot of 6/8 music that's got a swung 4/4 compound meter; a lot of blues and R&B 6/8 does this. Although you *could* waltz to it, it feels wholly inappropriate to do so. Louis Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World" is but one example of a song with such a compound meter.

And at a rather faster tempo, a lot of rockabilly and swing from the '50s has that "inside" 6/8 within a 4/4. If you've got the Dancevision tapes, go check out the music that Ron and Karla used for the bronze WCS.

[cornutt]

And another one: New Order's "Elegy". (John Hughes used a piece of it in one of his Molly Ringwald movies; I think it was "Sixteen Candles" but I don't remember for sure. It starts out with a chime sound picking out the 6/8 melody, a guitar comes in, and then they start layering synths on top of it.)

[Medira]

Ooh! I forgot Styx's "Show Me the Way"

[cornutt]

I just got reminded of another one that fits the meter, but definitely not the mood (although I actually think it could make an interesting exhibition piece):

Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

(I didn't know it until a few minutes ago, but last Thursday was the 30th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking.)

[jon]

< indeed, that's the dance community i'm part of. :) i'm always curious how people learned cross step waltz, and if it's danced in other parts of the country yet, because it's the most awesome dance!

Contra dancers do something superficially similar to cross-step waltz, though I haven't been to enough Stanford events to be clear on whether they're quite the same dance. They also get exposure to a ton of wonderful old English folk waltzes falling between ballroom slow & Viennese tempos.

[Ithink]

I love "You and Me" by Lifehouse!! "Breathe" by Anna Nalick is a good one too.

Another good one is by a spanish band called La Oreja De Van Gogh, the song is called "Historia De Un Sueno" - I practice to this VW all the time! Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" is nice too.

[musicchica86]

my dtr is an avril lavingne fan and there are tons of her songs that would work for VW besides the one previously mentioned...if you like her stuff....

one that I am looking at right now...though it migh be kind of slow...not sure, is "gira con me questa notte"by josh groban...if you have heard it what do you think? and, what does "gira" mean?

Not so sure about that particular Josh Groban song, but "Si Volvieras A Mi" from his Closer album makes a nice VW.

If you're into the country thing, there's also "Skin" and "Feels Like Today" by Rascal Flatts.

[dnquark]

Wow, I need to find myself some contra experts. Cross-step waltz music is *hard* to come by; I'd love to get a hold of those English waltzes. BTW, the Josh Groban song suggested above is borderline cross-step tempo (129 BPM). I think I'll still slow it down to 126-127 for cross-step. Just in time for a xstep class that I'm teaching tomorrow... not that I expect much of anyone to show up.

Contra dancers do something superficially similar to cross-step waltz, though I haven't been to enough Stanford events to be clear on whether they're quite the same dance. They also get exposure to a ton of wonderful old English folk waltzes falling between ballroom slow & Viennese tempos.

[gracie]

My favorite (right now) Seduces Me by Celine Dion. Very sultry- lends itself to unusual VW choreography. Try IT! Gracie

[etchuck]

I bought the new Harry Potter soundtrack. Granted, I don't always buy music because it's danceable, but I really like the Potter waltz in it (and it's NOT the Harry Potter theme motif, aka., Hedwig's theme). Also, try Nevill's waltz (a slower waltz).