Many beginners come to us with questions about musicality. Argentine Tango music is beautiful, however very complex with many different layers and instruments. Sometimes sensitive and emotional, sometimes mournful and longing, it could be passionate and sensual, sometimes sad or happy, sometimes light or dark. Some songs are strong and staccato or even aggressive whilst others are more lyrical and light. And sometimes they contain a bit of a mix of everything of all these moods and feelings.

Emigrating to the other side of the world (Buenos Aires, Argentina) for many was as you can imagine a big life changing struggle. So, this is reflected in the music in the late 18th and early 19th century. With a very big mix and melting pot of poor immigrants from the edges of the cities where they often were living from day to day with not much to live from in tiny houses and close quarters with each other and often on their own or with few family members and fewer friends. A big melting pot or fusion of culture were living together and had to find comfort and existence together in a tough life. Music and dance mixed from culture and countries all over the world and including the few native Americans that survived the many diseases that the Europeans brought over.

This mix of African rhythms, Native American movements and music, as well as big Portuguese, Italian and Spanish influences as well as those from Eastern Europe but to name a few of many others.

Musical instruments changed from portable instruments brought around by travelling payadores and gauchos to later the big orchestras with many professional musicians and their bandleaders and composers. And for most beginners, the absence of a clear drum bass or percussion is a challenge that is to be dealt with. As ability to hear the base pulse or underlying beat to a song is a basic skill that each dancer needs to master so they know when to step to the beat of the music.

Below I have put some resources together that helped me personally in my tango learning journey. There are books that helped me, lectures and musicality classes. I will give you names of people that helped me however I am sure that there are many more equally able to show you the path to tango music enlightenment. Once you start searching I am sure you will find just like I did, teachers that suit your way of learning and your interests. One thing for sure, you will only learn if you listen to tango music regularly and try to understand and feel the music and try to learn how to express this beautiful music with your body and put heart and soul into your steps.

Recommended Books:

“Tango Stories Musical Secrets” by Michael Lavocah is for me the most useful book for beginner dancers. I listened to the recommended music lists for free on Spotify and the magical tango music started to make sense to me and the beat demystified!!

Another useful book for me to get an overview of all the different orchestras that were out there is: “Getting to Know: Twenty Tango Orchestras” by David Thomas

Recommended people for lectures and classes:

• Michael Lavocah is in his own words: “Michael Lavocah brings tango music to life. A leading expert on the music of tango’s Golden Age, he is also a natural raconteur.” He is lecturing and teaching all over the world, rarely in London however easily found online he has done many podcasts and wrote several very useful books about musicality for dancers.

• Los Ocampo (Monica Romero and Omar Ocampo) are a married couple that have been dancing, performing and teaching tango for longer than I am alive. They are adjudicators for the annual World Championships in Buenos Aires. They come to London regularly for classes.

• Hernan Brusa is a world renowned tango DJ and travels regularly to teach in London.

• Leandro Palou and Maria Tsiatsiani are the artists I would recommend that are based in London, they taught me what I know about and can dance in milonga rhythms. They made me go from quivering anxious, hide away when a milonga tanda started to looking forward to dance milonga and be a confident and playful dancer in milonga tandas!