Ideal Tempos for Different Song Types

Greetings from the bandstand!

Could I get your expert opinions on the ideal tempos (and/or tempo ranges) for these different types of songs? This will help us please our dancers the most. !

Waltz
Cha Cha
Swing
Tango
Samba

Thanks!

Welcome to the Forums TromboneAl-- very nice to have you with us!

you can wait for the knowlegeable members to reply or you can do a simple search for the information you're looking for... here's how

In the upper right hand corner click on search

under key words enter "bpm" or something of the like

Select to have it display posts (instead of topics)

you can also select how many characters of each post you'd like to see (I would probably change it to 800 or so)

then click the search button at the bottom to begin your search and see what people in each forum have to say about tempo


Again it's very nice to have you with us and I hope that you find what you're looking for on the forums.

Welcome TromboneAl!

For a listing of strict music tempi, check out the USABDA rulebook section 3.5, which lists tempo by song type. Here's the link:

http://usabda.org/dancesport_competitors/rules-policies-bylaws/dancesport_rulebook/index.cfm

And here are the tempi

USABDA Rulebook Section 3.5 said:

Dances MPM

International Waltz 30

International Tango 33

International Viennese Waltz 60

International Slow Foxtrot 30

International Quickstep 50

International Samba 50

International Cha Cha 30

International Rumba 27

International Paso Doble 62

International Jive 44

American Waltz 28-30

American Tango 30-32

American Foxtrot 30-32

American Viennese Waltz 54

American Cha Cha 30

American Rumba 32-36

American East Coast Swing 34-36

American Bolero 24-26

American Mambo 47-51

American Peabody 60-62

American Merengue 29-32

American Paso Doble 58-60

American Samba 52

American West Coast Swing 28-32

American Polka 60-62

American Hustle 28-30

Click to expand...

For lots of lists of songs by dance type, try this link.
http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~ballroom/music/dances.html

Or, for song ideas, take a look at dancevision.com. You may or may not want to buy the music, because a lot of it is instrumental remakes of popular songs, but there are a lot of good ideas of songs you may want to try.

Good luck.

Jenn

Thanks, just what I needed!

Let me join the others in welcoming you to the forums TromoboneAL!! Do you just play in the band or do you dance as well?

Welcome to the Forums TromboneAl!

I think it is great that, as a musician, you are taking into account how much this can matter to ballroom dancers. Even more important than the exactly correct tempi, however, is sticking to it. Too many bands forget that the same musical sliding which may be great to listen to can create serious havoc in a dancer's enjoyment of the same song.

So a big thank you to you from all of us dancers!

TromboneAl said:

Swing

Click to expand...

200-250 bpm is nice and slow for starters

Do you just play in the band or do you dance as well?

Click to expand...

I dance too, but nothing fancy.

30 MPM (90 BPM) seems awfully slow for a waltz. I would have expected 138 BPM (46 MPM) for a waltz such as "I'll Take Romance" or "Someday My Prince Will Come." How do I choose among the different Waltzes?

The crowd we're playing for next is a USABDA dance that happens every month or so. Very informal.

The tempo you are thinking of is for a Viennese Waltz. There is also a slow Waltz tempo.