A
lot of dance learners can count for their dances, but they only count
their counts regardless how the music goes. For example, they may
count a '2, 3, 41' for a rumba, but counting the '2' at the beat one.
Another example is that they tend to count faster and faster as their
mood get higher, and could not hear the beat in the music. For many
dance learners, the reason for these is that they do not know when
the music starts.
The
Beat
Normal
people focus their attention on the melody or lyrics, or even
particular instruments,, musicians also mind the tempo, and various
accents in the music. These are all good for choreography, since
choreographer usually wants to fit steps and actions into a song of
their choice, in order to create special impact. From a dancer's
viewpoint, the beat is the most reliable cue because it has a high
probablity of recurring in a predictable manner. To the trained ears
like the competition dancers', recognizing the tempo and the first
beat once the music starts is like an instinct. To the social
dancers, missing the first few bars could not be a problem as the
beat is very predictable, let the bodies sway for a few more bars and
finally they can get the beat after a couple of attempts.
To
the beginners, the first challenge is to separate the rhythm in the
music (melody) from the beat (the underlying beat). Once you've
identified the beat, you'll know the tempo, or how much time elaapses
between the beats. Once a tempo is established, it is highly likely
for popular dance songs to repeat at that same speed throughout a
particular musical selection, except a retard or a fade out in the
end. For men, it is a must to get the beat in order to lead; for
ladies, it is also essential to understand the music as it helps when
to anticipate a move.
Time
Signature
Social
dance music is structured based on the smallest unit of time, the
beat. Social dance music can be roughly categorized into three basic
time signature, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4. A two-beat song is likely that either
polka or merengue music is being played. However, due to the fast
tempos for both of these dances, it is easier to usse the option of
counting in multiples of four to make it equivalent to 4/4 time. It
also takes two bars or four beats before your standing foot is free
again in the polka. A three-beat slmost signify waltz. If a four-beat
is played, it coule be appropriate for any one of a variety of other
social dance styles as most social dance music is 4/4. So in short,
if you can count to four, it's easy to start your dancing at the
right timing.
For
the mathematical you, you know music has an order and consistency but
never random. You need only be able to recognize and identify which
cues in the music provide order and consistency and thus provide
dancers with the most reliable information. The answer is the
underlying beat, which is most often referred to as the beat.
Locate
the Beat
To
locate this underlying beat, you can listen for the heavier sounds in
the music, such as the bass player's or the drummer's sounds, rather
than the lighter sounds (melody). Because the duration of the notes
within the melody may vary, it becomes an unreliable cue for dancers.
Typically, the bass drum keeps all the musicians together at a
certain consistent tempo, and this bass drum usually gives us the
dancers the beats.
A
dancer should identify the first beat in the bar (downbeat) so that
footwork can be coordinated to the start of the music. Untrained ears
would like to wait until after the introduction of a song is over and
be ready to move on the first beat heard. However, it's hard to tell
when the introduction ends for a newly heard song, although in
general introduction lasts four to eight bars. Beginners might fit
counting of three or four to see which best fits.
My
practice is to count as soon as the music starts, and I'll know
whether it's a three beats or four beats once I heard the next
downbeat. I have about 1.5 bars' time to decide which style best fit,
since the second half of the the second bar would be a count in
advance, i.e. I count it 4&1 if I recognize it a Cha Cha Cha, or
41 if I recognize it a rumba.
Phrases
We
have beat as the smallest unit, two / three / four beats group
together to form a measure which we called bar, however, in setting
routines, we usually group multiple measures, e.g. a 4 / 4 timing can
be 1234, 2234, 3234, 4234, 5234, 6234, 7234, 8234 or 12345678,
22345678, 32345678, 42345678 while a 3 / 4 timing can be 123, 223,
323, 423, 523, 623, 723, 823 or 123456, 223456, 323456, 423456.
Tempo
As
mentioned above, once you locate the beat, you know how much time you
have between beats, then you have an idea about how many beats in a
minute (beat per minute) or how many bars in a minute (bar per
minute). This in turn, gives you an idea of how fast you should move.
Professional dancers are able to count as bar per minute and beat
per minute, as well as state the tempo of a particular dance style as
bar per minute and beat per minute. However, social dance music uses
only three different speeds (tempo): slow, moderate and fast and
mostly identify the tempo as beat per minute. Tempo varies between
songs, but it is very likely to be consistent within a particular
song. We have also developed typical tempos for the most popular
rhythm dancing and smooth dancing.
Social
Dance
|
Tempo
(beat per minute, bpm)
|
Waltz
|
90-105
|
Foxtrot
|
120
|
Swing
|
120-170
|
Polka
|
96-130
|
Cha
Cha Cha
|
120
|
Merengue
|
125-140
|
Rumba
|
120
|
Tango
|
130
|
Salsa
|
150
|
Accent
Particular
styling cues that are characteristic of certain types of music are
introduced through the melody and its overlying rhythms. For example,
a Latin flavor may be added with certain instruments, such as maracas
or bongos, which often subdivide selected beats within a song that
are characteristic of cha-cha, rumba, merengue, salsa, mambo.
An
accent occurs whenever a particular beat within a measure is made
stronger, louder, or heavier or otherwise stands out differently from
the underlying beats. Dancers may choose to accent their movements on
selected beats, which can be subjective and reflective of personal
styling and thus not reliable music cues. Accents are superimposed on
the underlying beats whether by a dancer's styling or characteristics
of selected genres of music. Thus accents are more subjectivee and
may be altered by different musicians' interpretations of a
particular song, making this information less reliable for dancers.
However,
certain accents that are consistently used within a measure can alert
you to what type of dance music is being played. e.g. Waltz music's
count 1 is slightly different, in both swing and foxtrot music, both
counts 2 and 4 are stronger because the upbeats are accented in each
measure.
It
is advantageous to know the music structure if you want to be a good
dancer. It takes time to practice to get the first beat. And it takes
time to match the rhythm of your feet to the rhythm of the song. Keen
dancers usually have experienced ears, if not musically trained, it
is not because keen dancers are talented, it only means that they
love dancing and want to improve and they really do their homework on
musicality. I know a number of 'dancers' who do not care about the
quality of dance as long as they are having fun, however, it is up to
you to decide to be the one who think yourself can dance, or to be
the one whom every one thinks you can dance.