Arrangement of Music for Milongas

[Clive]

On the assumption that the preference is to organise the music into tandas, what does anyone think is the ideal duration of a tanda, and what is the optimum number of dances it should contain?

Given the length of many 'modern' tango recordings, how best should they be incorporated into the tanda format (other than sparingly!)?

[Zoopsia59]

[I think we've had several threads on this that have pretty good answers. Maybe someone who is better at the "search" features than I am can post links to those past discussions?

[Clive]

I did try a quick search, but I'm not very familiar with this forum's functionality. If anyone would care to direct me to a previous thread, that would be great.

[dchester]

I did try a quick search, but I'm not very familiar with this forum's functionality. If anyone would care to direct me to a previous thread, that would be great.
Here are a couple search results I just got (not sure how long this forum caches the results, though).

Searched Titles Only for: "tandas"
http://www.dance-forums.com/search.php?searchid=2958431

Searched Titles Only for: "DJing"
http://www.dance-forums.com/search.php?searchid=2958434

[Clive]

Both those links are dead ends, but never mind, I spent some more time with the 'Advanced Search' and found a couple of threads that were interesting, but actually, not anything that addressed my question. Predictably they were of the 'suggest your dream tanda' or 'how long should a contina be?' variety, whereas my question was about the ideal duration of a tanda. Many Golden Age songs would are typically around three minutes, so 3-4 songs yields 12 minutes or so. Five tandas an hour is a good pace, methinks, but perhaps others would disagree.

My secondary question was regarding using typical contemporary tracks (Gotan etc.) which are regualrly 7-8 minutes long, or more. How best do DJs incorporate them (if I went to more milongas, I'd know, but 'round here, they are few and far between).

I don't want anyone to rewrite history, but any thoughts would be read (by me, anyway) with interest.

[AndaBien]

...My secondary question was regarding using typical contemporary tracks (Gotan etc.) which are regualrly 7-8 minutes long, or more. How best do DJs incorporate them ...

As a dance DJ in general (waltz, swing, foxtrot, etc.) I think the best length for any single tune is anywhere between 2-1/2 and 3-1/2 minutes. Less than than is too short, because the dancers barely get into the tune when it's over. Greater than that is too long, because the particular pleasure of that tune or partner is overdone. Something like too much chocolate.

I'm aware that salsa tunes are ordinarily much longer than that, but I think they are too long, IMO.

Also, if you stick to shorter tunes, you'll play more tunes. I think this could encourage dancers to mix with other partners more.

[Mladenac]

Both those links are dead ends, but never mind, I spent some more time with the 'Advanced Search' and found a couple of threads that were interesting, but actually, not anything that addressed my question. Predictably they were of the 'suggest your dream tanda' or 'how long should a contina be?' variety, whereas my question was about the ideal duration of a tanda. Many Golden Age songs would are typically around three minutes, so 3-4 songs yields 12 minutes or so. Five tandas an hour is a good pace, methinks, but perhaps others would disagree.

My secondary question was regarding using typical contemporary tracks (Gotan etc.) which are regualrly 7-8 minutes long, or more. How best do DJs incorporate them (if I went to more milongas, I'd know, but 'round here, they are few and far between).

I don't want anyone to rewrite history, but any thoughts would be read (by me, anyway) with interest.

4 songs in tanda is standard (tango, milonga,vals)
when playing neo tango (tango fusion and alternative tango) 2-3 songs per tanda are the norm.
And it is usually short b4 the end of the evening.

[AndaBien]

4 songs in tanda is standard (tango, milonga,vals) ...

I prefer three tune tandas. I think it encourages dancers to dance with more partners, including some partners they may not normally dance with. I think this is good for promoting greater mixing in a group.

[mshedgehog]

For traditional music, assuming the DJ is playing tandas, the only lengths I have encountered are either 3 or 4. Most (by by no means all) DJs who play 4 usually reduce it to 3 for milongas and valses, perhaps because for both of those the dance tends to be more energetic and you get hot and tired quicker. The rhythms are also more predictable so you do not need as much tuning in time.

Most traditional music is the right length for a 3 or a 4, neotango pieces can be often twice the length so I think people play fewer of them so it comes out about the same length as a normal tanda (if integrating them into an otherwise traditional evening) or arrange them using some completely different concept if not.

My personal preference is for tandas of 4; this gives me enough time not only to get used to a partner and/or music who/which is new to me, but for us to really get into it and discover some of each other's possibilities. It is enough for a fully satisfying dance, so it gets rid of the temptation to hog a good partner and gives me a better evening overall. But some people (as above) feel that 3s are better for that; and 4s can be quite long so you need to be relaxed about missing one. On the other hand, because they're longer you can start in the middle if someone has come in half way through, and still tune in and have a decent dance. Or if you accidentally missed the first song and it's an orchestra you really really like. There's a bit more margin for error.

But between 3s and 4s, I do not much mind, I have a preference but as long as it makes sense and follows some consistent pattern so I know where I am, I do not much mind. People do whichever according to their judgement of the dancers and the context and what they think is right.

[spectator]

pablo R in shoreditch often plays tandas with up to 7. but i think it's because he's forgotten to set the next one up and has left his playlist set to "artist" or forgotten to change the cd.

[Zoopsia59]

I prefer three tune tandas. I think it encourages dancers to dance with more partners, including some partners they may not normally dance with. I think this is good for promoting greater mixing in a group.

I also prefer 3 tunes for regular tango music. One song to get acclimated to the new partner, and two to enjoy (hopefully enjoy).

Four songs gets long when the partner is not someone I really love dancing with. (and I think it makes my potential partners pickier too) Typically at least half my evening will be with people who I do NOT really love dancing with. At least one or two tandas will be with people I'd rather not dance with at all, but can't refuse without awkwardness or unpleasantness. Hopefully at least 3 tandas will be with some of my favorite leaders. The rest of the night is with leaders I like ok, but won't go home sad if I miss that night.

Even though my list of leaders that I really like is getting longer because I am purposefully trying to find reasons to enjoy more leaders even if they aren't the cream of the crop as dancers (and the overall quality of leaders here is improving steadily too) the above stats mean that I will spend a greater part of my evening dancing with folks who I might enjoy but don't get all that excited about. So longer tandas would not be as nice.

I'll add that the leaders that are my favorites are favorites of quite a few other follows as well, and they are also people who try hard to dance with many followers over the course of the evening. So yeah, if I'm dancing with a favorite leader, I'd LOVE for the tanda to last a good 20 minutes (or all night!) but I also realize that there are other equally skilled followers sitting out because of the gender ratio and that next week I might be the one who didn't get to dance with a favorite partner if the tandas are long (meaning fewer of them).

Around here, the general pattern is to play more traditional music early on and segue to alternative as the night goes on. So, often as the individual pieces are getting longer, the crowd is also thinning and it's the die-hards left on the floor. This may explain why it never seems to be an issue that the tandas got longer at the end. There are fewer people left, and most of them are dancing, not sitting out.

Usually also, the people who stay later are also the ones who are more experienced. Beginners don't hang out for 5 hours. People who have sat for several tandas in a row by 11:00-12:00 end up leaving. Most people have a sense of when the best part of their evening has past and they pack it in.

[bordertangoman]

i too prefer tandas of three songs; at the end of the third song I automatically walk away; long neo tracks can be shortened by editing...if this is felt to be a problem, which I dont, but i check the length of a track before deciding to use it.

[Clive]

I automatically walk away


What, you don't escort her back to her seat? ;)

[ant]

On the assumption that the preference is to organise the music into tandas, what does anyone think is the ideal duration of a tanda, and what is the optimum number of dances it should contain?

I assume you mean tandas with cortinas because I generally find that people will otherwise dance three tracks and move on. I generally find that tandas are in 3's but sometimes 4's. Personally I think the shorter they are the better because if you are not enjoying the dance you can move on and if you are enjoying the dance you can stay with that person. If the you are both pretty neutral it gives you the best opportunity to dance with more people.

Given the length of many 'modern' tango recordings, how best should they be incorporated into the tanda format (other than sparingly?!)

At milongas that I attend where they play mainly traditional tracks with some neo or alternative tracks, I have experienced various combinations:
- play a tanda of neo and a tanda of alternative tracks
- play a tanda of neo and disperse the alternative tracks as singles
- disperse the neo and alternative tracks
How the single tracks work with the cortinas I have not made a mental note of.