Dance music vs. other types of music: your expectations?

Does what you expect or demand from dance music* differ from what you expect or demand from other types of music? As a salsa dancer, I don't view salsa's sticking to convention as an entirely negative thing. The clave itself is a limitation, but I haven't found myself getting tired of it. Is it really such a bad thing if a form of dance music works on subtle variations of the same formula? I like the basic rhythms of salsa, I like the tension often builds up to some sort of climax, I like the call and response between the singer/sonero and the coro. Every genre has certain conventions: the question is, what do the musicians do with those conventions? Take a song like Grupo Niche's "Cielo de Tambores." Nothing too ground-breaking there, yet when it finally gets about 2/3 pf the way through and the timbales come in more strongly and the chorus does some strange things harmonically (that I don't know how to describe, not knowing music theory), it really puts me in a different space.

As a listener, I enjoy some fairly adventurous music that isn't necessarily limited by metrical regularity, or much in the way of formula in general (e.g., Sun Ra; free improv. guitarist Hans Reichel--at times anyway; Arab music in the tarab tradition, which allows for a lot of improvisation, though it still is very rule-bound).

Different music for different purposes.

This question is partly inspired by some of the discussion on the salsa and hip-hop thread. Please feel free to discuss dance music other than salsa.


*Meaning any made music to be danced to, not in the narrow genre sense in which it is used to describe techno/house and related styles, with hip-hop sometimes thrown in.

I'm willing to experiment in dancing, and in fact I often do, but it is a question of what I have come to the dance for. If I have come to a dance as it is informally advertised as a ballroom dance social, and get mostly hustle/swing tunes I'm not a happy camper as I want them to also play cha-cha, rhumba, samba, tango... I enjoy swing, but I want my ballroom fix and not swing/hustle!! So, you can put in those "other" songs there, even, if for instance, it's not a true classic salsa song, as that's part of the music evolution process. AND I'm willing to try those "other" songs out out, BUT make sure that most of the songs stick to the theme of the dance.

But do you expect something different from music meant to be danced to than from music that is primarily meant to be listened to (with or without some fidgeting)? In evaluating the music, do you accept that dance music operates within narrower constraints than some other types of music might?

The music I like to dance to alway has two things. One, a distinct beat that's easily heard. And two, minimal fluctations in tempo. By that, I don't mean the songs that start out bolero with an abrupt change to salsa, for example. I'm talking about the songs where the singer takes liberties all over the place, and stretches or compresses the tempo to suit his/her mood. Those songs, I find hard to dance to.

I also like to dance to music with a distinct beat. I favor R&B, Rap, Soul music for WCS as compared to real swing music - Sinatra, Goodman, Stray Cats, etc.

I dance better to a Michael Jackson (just an example) song better than I could to a C&W or Benny Goodman. The bass is what I dance to, and if it's a 'walking' bass run, the better it is for me to dance.

However, I don't sit to just listen to very much of either of those types of music . . . I am a purely a "blues" man. I play and listen to the blues constantly, and if I'm not, it's classical music, jazz, or new age jazz. I also attend ballets and the opera.

It's music that makes my feet move . . . and I think I could WCS to most any song. A DJ played "Bolero" once at a dance, and yep, I started WCS dancing to it. Actually, all I was doing was going along with "his joke."

If I'm just listening then play with the tempo all you want. If I'm dancing then I want the tempo left alone! I think this is one of the biggest mistakes several bands make, they fail to realize that what counts as good music for listening to doesn't always work when they're playing for dancers.

Random/frequent changing of tempo is not something I like at all while dancing. However, though my mind fogs over the details, I know that there are other songs in different genre where the tempo increases. That isn't as disruptive! And I do have one situation where a song of increasing tempo worked great. At a beginner salsa rudea class that I was taking a while back there was this one latin song that started out achingly slow, and by the end of the song was at a great tempo. It worked well as the slow tempo got us newbies synchronized and warmed up and then we could easily pick up the pace!!

A lot of this is completely subjective to ones assumpions about the dance. The original foxtrot was a swingin' dance and was danced to all manner of tempo and the songs often had some fluctation... it was expected and desired... after all it was jazz, sweet jazz more often than not, but jazz none the less... These days most ballroom dancers will have a litter of kittens if the announced foxtrot is more of a quick step tempo or varies its tempo.

When I go out partner dancign it is more often than not lindy hop. I get annoyed when less complex music is played at swing dances... Rock and roll, rock a billy, neo-swing. I want Jazz or at least music that is still close to the jazz idiom. Simplistic music sucks the swing right out of the dance... however those people who do other swing dances can dance just as well to complicated swing songs that have a steady and probnounced beat to follow.

I comes down to having a knowledgable dj. They have to know the dances they are playing for, and the crowds attending.

I'm perfectly willing to listen to lots of songs that are never intended to be danced to, or songs which can be danced to but don't have the elements of music I like for the dances I do.

When I'm out dancing I like music that is well within the tradition of the dance I'm expecting to do. When I go to a westie dance I like to have a large percentage of blues and swingin' music (music that swings not big band music per se) with a few novelty songs, pop songs that don't swing, songs for NC 2-Step, or country 2-step, or hustle. I don't care for any of those dances much... but it is a personal preference (I won't go in here, but if you are interested I'll happily go on and on about it ) but I do understand that they are part of the WCS world of dances much as Balboa and Charleston are in the Lindy Hop world, so I don't begrudge it.

Actually, my objection to fluctuating tempos is more because many of the leads I dance with can't feel them. I don't mind listening to, or dancing to, songs whose tempos fluctuate. That can be a cool styling opportunity. It's just not easy to follow, when you can feel it and the lead can't.

pygmalion said:

Actually, my objection to fluctuating tempos is more because many of the leads I dance with can't feel them. I don't mind listening to, or dancing to, songs whose tempos fluctuate. That can be a cool styling opportunity. It's just not easy to follow, when you can feel it and the lead can't.

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It is tough to feel fluctating tempos correctly, especially as a mere beginner!! I feel that something has changed but cannot respond to it correctly. Probably not a good reason to hate it, BUT that's it partly!! Right now I can feel without a problem and respond correctly to only ECS and merengue. Maybe in a year ot two I'll feel differently. Maybe not! I'll check back then!!

The music I tend to enjoy playing and dancing to ... just feel good. Decent bass for a steady rhythm. Good instrument quality. Excellent vocals. And a couple of cheesy ones here and there. I like some cross-over international ethnic stuff (Salsa Celtica for example), and I try to mix new and old stuff (though I don't like playing too much "old stuff" because the sound quality isn't always so good).

I stay away from changes in tempo as much as I can, except at the very end. Or the Havla Nagila. Or Bei Mir Bist Du Schon.