What aspects of the music are you conscious of?

[cornutt]

Branching off a discussion from the "difficulty of learning the other role" thread...

Wrt. to the music, I haven't noticed that much of a difference, but perhaps that's because I spend a lot of time practicing on my own as a follow. I am used to interpreting the music.

We were having a discussion about this at the studio last night. A fellow lead stated that leads mainly listen to the music for timing, and don't pay as much attention to melody or other aspects as follows do. I rebelled mentally against this, but after thinking about it for a while, I realized that at least in relation to social dancing, he has a point -- on a crowded social floor, the demands of floorcraft, plus the need to keep your arms in, limit what the lead can accomplish in terms of styling. I thought about this some near the end of the night when the floor wasn't so crowded, and made an effort to listen to all of the music and not just the timing.

Conversely, one of the follows stated that she pays little attention to the music; her interpretation is based on how the dance is led. I'm not sure this is true either; the person who made the statement is not a very experienced follow, so it may be true at that point in the development curve, but not for more experienced follows. I also wonder if she isn't subconsciously listening to the music more than she realizes.

 

[dlliba10]

Timing is of course a major concern for a lead, but I'd like to think I wouldn't limit myself to that.

I listen for the general tenor of the music: is it a happy song? sad song? How is that being portrayed? Bright, airy melody line on the 3rd and 4th strings of a violin? A dark, broody atmosphere created by lots of bass and a minor key?

How does that general tenor get translated into and, then, out of my body? Do I smile? Do I frown? If the melody is more legato, do I elongate and sustain my movements? If the percussion is more staccato and powerful, do I get the right kind of impact and impulse in my movements?

Wrt the specific question in the title of this thread: Percussion. Instrumentation more generally. Phrasing of the melodic line or even the rhythmic lines. Vocals / lyrics, if any. The atmosphere that the music creates.

The range of music that you can get for any one dance is so varied and so expansive that it would be a shame to limit yourself to one thing regardless of the song, such as timing or your lead's interpretation of the music.

 

[RiseNFall]

It is over my head at this point, but my instructor once described to me how he listens to and uses the music. I'm not going to get the details correct, but I think there might have been a foxtrot on. The underlying beat/rhythm determined what his feet do, he picked out one of the instruments that he might use for the sway, and the voice for the arm, etc. styling--so how long he held or continued a styling might be determined by what the singer did. While I almost certainly don't have the details correct, the upshot is that he's using different layers of the music for different layers of the dance.

 

[5678dance]

As someone who's always considered myself a musical person, I'm shocked to admit that when I'm on a comp floor, I do not hear the music at all (ok maybe only the beat, so I stay on time) (i'm a follower). I danced a cha at a comp once to "blurred lines" and didn't even realize that that had been the song until I saw videos. Musicality and interpreting the music is something I would LOVE to work on, but I guess my mind is still too caught up with "shoulder down, smile, express emotion, keep your knee bent" to focus on anything else. In practice, though, I can sing the entire song while dancing, and can really get into the music. My mind just gets really blurry during competition

The only time I actually heard the music for the entire dance was when my smooth partner and I danced to the game of thrones intro music

 

[slhull.13]

For me, it really depends on the specific dance as to whether or not I hear the music. I usually tune it out and listen for the beat in Rumba, Mambo, Bolero, Waltz, and Tango (unless, of course, a song I am very familiar with and happen to love is played)

Conversely, I am almost always aware of the music for Chacha, Swing, Foxtrot and Viennese Waltz. It is probably because these particular dances (for me) are so heavily reliant on interpretation and expression that I NEED to listen carefully to react appropriately.

My partner, on the other hand (who is indeed VERY musical) says that he almost NEVER hears the song, and only pays attention to the beat.

 

[FancyFeet]

I find that when I lead, I pay attention to the beat and the accents within that. I hear the rest, but it can tend to fade into the background. I am not yet at the point where I can play with the timing (as inpired by the song) as a lead, but it will come.

As a follower (not when dancing on my own) I listen more to the emotion conveyed by the music. I need to hear the beat, yes, but it's the stylistic elements that I work harder to address.

 

[middy]

I look for the beat first, and have some kind of intuitive sense of the phrasing - I notice when we're dancing off-phrase, at least during certain dances, and it drives me nuts. I also try to get a sense of the general mood of the song, for example, whether it's a sad pensive waltz or a happy one, but often I don't really remember what actual song it was.

 

[debmc]

In the studio whatever song is playing is usually not what we are dancing to, so I tend to block music out in the studio. At the comp, I'm very aware of what is playing and if it is a song I like, I do dance better!

 

[Steve Pastor]

Here is an example, just posted, of how the music is used in Argentine Tango.

http://www.dance-forums.com/threads/ricardo-vidort-2004-rome-tango-milonga.44647/#post-1029760

I can pretty much guess if my partners are hearing the music (although I may be wrong).

 

[Dancing Irishman]

I try to be conscious of the beat, what parts of the characteristic rhythm are emphasized by the song, the mood, and the trend in the music (ie is it building up or mellowing out in energy).

I don't think I emphasized the word "try" sufficiently.

 

[Fallaway]

I feel like in this video Artur and Gabrielle demonstrate an incredible interpretation of the music. For me this song is a much smoother or softer cha cha than we usually hear for International style competition, and their resulting dancing looks so smooth to me. Some other couples danced just as intensely as any of their other cha cha dances without considering the overall feel of the song, but I feel like these 2 really matched the music beautifully. They won't let me post a link yet, so add a . before com and this should work: youtubecom/watch?v=sKwnSI7cU2c

 

[flightco]

I look for the beat first, and have some kind of intuitive sense of the phrasing - I notice when we're dancing off-phrase, at least during certain dances, and it drives me nuts. I also try to get a sense of the general mood of the song, for example, whether it's a sad pensive waltz or a happy one, but often I don't really remember what actual song it was.

I have heard your comment before about dancing off phrase and I am very curious about it. I am not very musical so feel free (anyone) to correct me when I am wrong (I am getting good at finding the one and for me, that is a real victory). Since a new phrase only happens on average once every 8 measures how does one dance on phrase if you miss the first measure (perhaps while you are counting yourself in - could it be that experienced dancers don't do this? Do experienced dancers just start on the first "1" of a phrase and the rest of us start where we can?) When a song begins, it seems like most intros are 4 measures but some are 8, unless I start on the very first beat, that is a long time to wait to dance on phrase. Do you start on, say, the 1 of the 3rd measure and change something when the phrase changes. I know a lot of WCS dancers are very in tune to the phrasing and will use a combination of 6 beat and 8 beat steps to hit the 1 on the new phrase.

To me it is still quite boggling, but at the same time I find it very interesting.

 

[middy]

I'm not a music theory expert, but I *think* often the phrases can be subdivided into sets of two or four measures, so you don't have to wait quite that long? Or at least you can choreograph your routines to hit those pairs of measures. So, generally routines have foxtrots and tangos fit 8-counts.

 

[flightco]

I'm not a music theory expert, but I *think* often the phrases can be subdivided into sets of two or four measures, so you don't have to wait quite that long? Or at least you can choreograph your routines to hit those pairs of measures. So, generally routines have foxtrots and tangos fit 8-counts.

So you are saying (I think) just start on the one, but do so from the dancers aspect not the musicians (2 measures are 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8), don't start on the 5. That is the part I am getting comfortable with, it is the change in phrases (every 8, 12 or 16 measures) and the change in the song that accompanies it. I can usually hear these phrase changes (it is how I make sure I started on the one and not the five) but I really haven't learned what to do with them once I find them (even if I did start on the 5 and find out I am wrong, how do i correct it?). For the sake of clarity, I call the 2 measures (1-8) a sentence or mini phrase but again, I am not sure I am correct in that.

 

[RiseNFall]

Just to make it more difficult, sometimes a piece of music that generally has phrases of, say, two measures will have some one measure phrases. I can sometimes hear it after it is pointed out to me, but I can't analyze it on my own or explain it.

How you would fix it is the same way the WCS dancers play with it: have an arsenal of steps of different counts and ways of shortening or lengthening steps by a count of 4. Once again, I'm happy that I follow, though my teacher is trying to improve my musicality.