Tango

History and character

Tango developed in the Río de la Plata region (Buenos Aires and Montevideo) from the mid-19th century, taking its definitive shape between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are the Afro-Uruguayan and Afro-Argentine candombe, the milonga and the Creole payada, the Cuban habanera (with its 3+3+2 cell) and European dances (polka, mazurka) brought by immigrants, especially Italians and Spaniards. Born in working-class neighborhoods, conventillos and brothels, it was considered the music of criminals; the first generation of musicians is the Guardia Vieja. The bandoneón (a German concertina) arrived in the late 19th century and became the voice of tango thanks to musicians such as Eduardo Arolas; Vicente Greco fixed the sextet (piano, double bass, two violins, two bandoneons).

In the 1910s and '20s tango conquered Paris and the world; Carlos Gardel created the tango canción ("Mi noche triste" performed in 1917; "Por una cabeza", "Volver", 1935) and brought it to the middle class. The Golden Age (roughly 1935–1952) was dominated by orquestas típicas of more than ten musicians: Juan D'Arienzo ('Rey del compás', hammering rhythm), Aníbal Troilo ('Pichuco'), Carlos Di Sarli (strings and piano in the foreground), Osvaldo Pugliese (dense, dramatic sound, the 'yumba': "La Yumba", "Gallo Ciego", "Emancipación"), Francisco Canaro, Ricardo Tanturi, Miguel Caló. From the 1950s Astor Piazzolla created the nuevo tango with jazz, classical harmony and counterpoint ("Adiós Nonino", 1959; "Libertango", 1974), criticized by purists. From 1999 the Gotan Project (Paris) and Bajofondo inaugurated electrotango / neotango. In 2009 tango was inscribed by UNESCO on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

There are three dance forms: tango (4/4 or 2/4), milonga (2/4, fast, with the habanera rhythm) and vals criollo (3/4). Aesthetics: drama, contrast between marcato and lyrical passages, rubato, minor-key harmony with dominants, chromaticism, a rhythm built on marcato and síncopa, the bandoneón timbre, violins with percussive effects (chicharra, tambor), double bass with 'arrastre' and 'golpe'.

Scales and keys

Harmonic minor

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 — W H W W H 1½W H (semitones 2 1 2 2 1 3 1)
• Example in D: D E F G A Bb C#
• Characteristic note: the 7 (leading tone) in minor and the augmented second b6–7: dramatic tension, a 'Middle Eastern/Andalusian' flavor
• Diatonic triads: Dm (i) – Edim (ii°) – Faug (III+) – Gm (iv) – A (V) – Bb (VI) – C#dim (vii°)
• Seventh chords: Dm(maj7) (i(maj7)) – Em7b5 (iiø7) – Fmaj7#5 (III+maj7) – Gm7 (iv7) – A7 (V7) – Bbmaj7 (VImaj7) – C#dim7 (vii°7)
• Use in the genre: the central color of tango: melodies and counterpoint with the leading tone C# and the augmented second Bb–C#, i–iv–V7–i cadences and V7 with b9 (A7b9). Most classic tangos are in minor.
• Real-world example: Carlos Gardel — Por una Cabeza (minor verse and major chorus); Astor Piazzolla — Libertango (minor vamp with a descending chromatic bass).
• Common mistakes: using natural minor in cadences: tango calls for the major V7.

Major (Ionian)

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 — W W H W W W H (semitones 2 2 1 2 2 2 1)
• Example in G: G A B C D E F#
• Characteristic note: the 7 (leading tone) and the major 3: brightness and a strong V–I resolution
• Diatonic triads: G (I) – Am (ii) – Bm (iii) – C (IV) – D (V) – Em (vi) – F#dim (vii°)
• Seventh chords: Gmaj7 (Imaj7) – Am7 (ii7) – Bm7 (iii7) – Cmaj7 (IVmaj7) – D7 (V7) – Em7 (vi7) – F#m7b5 (viiø7)
• Use in the genre: major-key choruses and B sections (often the relative or the parallel), the vals criollo and many milongas; harmony with secondary dominants.
• Real-world example: many tangos alternate a minor verse with a B section in the relative major (D minor → F major) or in the parallel.
• Common mistakes: losing the melancholy character: even in major, tango uses chromaticism and diminished chords.

Melodic minor (jazz)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7 — W H W W W W H (semitones 2 1 2 2 2 2 1)
• Example in A: A B C D E F# G#
• Characteristic note: major 6 and 7 over a minor third: an elegant, jazzy, ascending minor
• Diatonic triads: Am (i) – Bm (ii) – Caug (III+) – D (IV) – E (V) – F#dim (vi°) – G#dim (vii°)
• Seventh chords: Am(maj7) (i(maj7)) – Bm7 (ii7) – Cmaj7#5 (III+maj7) – D7 (IV7) – E7 (V7) – F#m7b5 (viø7) – G#m7b5 (viiø7)
• Use in the genre: in violin and bandoneón lines that rise toward the tonic (major 6 and 7 ascending) and in Piazzolla's language, which also uses m(maj7) and m6 chords.
• Real-world example: Astor Piazzolla — Adiós Nonino (1959) and Oblivion: chromatic lines, melodic minor and harmonies with 9 and 11.
• Common mistakes: using it in cadential passages where the harmonic b6 (augmented second) is needed.

Phrygian dominant (5th mode of harmonic minor)

• Formula: 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7 — H 1½W H W H W W (semitones 1 3 1 2 1 2 2)
• Example in A: A Bb C# D E F G
• Characteristic note: the b2 + major 3 pair (augmented second b2–3): the quintessential flamenco/Arabic sound
• Diatonic triads: A (I) – Bb (II) – C#dim (iii°) – Dm (iv) – Edim (v°) – Faug (VI+) – Gm (vii)
• Seventh chords: A7 (I7) – Bbmaj7 (IImaj7) – C#dim7 (iii°7) – Dm(maj7) (iv(maj7)) – Em7b5 (vø7) – Fmaj7#5 (VI+maj7) – Gm7 (vii7)
• Use in the genre: over the V7 in minor (A7 in D minor: A Bb C# D E F G) for dramatic bandoneón and violin phrasing, with the characteristic b9 (Bb).
• Real-world example: the bandoneón variaciones in the endings of Golden Age tangos (Troilo, Pugliese) are full of b9s over the dominant.
• Common mistakes: using B natural over A7 in a piece in D minor: the b9 (Bb) is more idiomatic.

How to choose among the genre's scales

• Classic tango → harmonic minor, with a B section in major (relative or parallel).
• Lyrical lines and Piazzolla → melodic minor and chromaticism.
• Dramatic dominant → Phrygian dominant / V7b9.
• Milonga and vals → major or harmonic minor with simple cadences.

Harmony

Harmonic function

Tonal and cadential harmony, with heavy use of the dominant (V7, V7b9) and of secondary dominants, passing diminished chords, descending chromatic basses, and modulations to the relative major or the parallel key between sections. The harmonic rhythm is 1–2 chords per bar.

Formulas

• i–iv–V7–i, i–V7–i (with V7b9).
• Descending chromatic bass under the tonic (Dm–Dm(maj7)/C#–Dm7/C–Dm6/B: the 'cliché line').
• iiø7–V7–i in cadences.
• Classic final cadence: V7 → i with the characteristic 'chan-chan' (two dry chords: dominant and tonic) that closes almost every tango.

Piazzolla

Chords with 9, 11 and 13, polychords, ostinatos (3+3+2), fugues and counterpoint, pedal points, wide-ranging modulations.

Voicing

• Piano: left hand with bass notes and marcato chords, right hand with chords in the middle register; arpeggios in lyrical passages.
• Bandoneones: full two-handed chords, melodies in octaves, variaciones in sixteenth notes.
• Violins: melody, countermelodies, percussive effects.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Marcato and síncopa

• Marcato en cuatro: four accented quarter notes (with slightly stronger accents on 1 and 3): the basic rhythm of the orquesta típica, very 'square' in D'Arienzo.
• Marcato en dos: accents on 1 and 3 only, more relaxed.
• Síncopa: anticipation of an accent on the offbeat (e.g. the last eighth note before the downbeat) or the 3+3+2 figure (hits on 1, 2&, 4 in a bar) inherited from the habanera: it makes the rhythm 'limping' and tense.
• Arrastre: a 'dragging' of the double bass, bandoneón or strings that starts slightly before the downbeat and 'pulls' it.
• Yumba (Pugliese): a heavy, dragged accent on 1 and 3 with the arrastre, like a drum hit.

Milonga and vals

• Milonga: 2/4 with the habanera cell (dotted eighth note, sixteenth note, two eighth notes) or 3+3+2.
• Vals criollo: 3/4 with an accent on 1, very fluid.

Feel

There is no swing; there is strong rubato in lyrical passages and a relentless rhythm in marcato passages: the contrast between the two is the expressive heart.

Drums

Instrumentation

Tango has no drums or percussion: the rhythmic function is given to the double bass, the piano's left hand and the bandoneones (and to the percussive effects of the strings). In electrotango, an electronic drum set is added.

How the rhythm section 'thinks'

• Double bass: marcato on the quarter notes (1–2–3–4) with arrastre; golpe on the body of the instrument with the hand (percussive effect); pizzicato or arco.
• Piano: left hand with bass notes on the beats and offbeat chords or two-handed marcato; clusters and hits on low notes as percussion (Pugliese).
• Bandoneones: staccato marcato chords, arrastre, syncopated accents.
• Violins: chicharra (bow behind the bridge, 'cicada' effect on 2 and 4), tambor (finger taps on the body), látigo ('whip' glissando).

Electrotango (programmed drums)

• Kick on 1 and 3 or in a 3+3+2 figure, snare/clap on 2 and 4 or on 4, hi-hat in light eighth notes; downtempo groove (Gotan Project) at 100–120.

Dynamics and interaction

• Constant contrast: loud marcato passages (ff) and soft lyrical passages (pp) with rubato.
• Ensemble accents (everyone together on the síncopa) are the 'punctuation' of tango.

By section

• A (rhythmic): marcato in 4 or síncopa.
• B (lyrical): marcato in 2, legato violin or bandoneón melody.
• Final variación: bandoneones in very fast sixteenth notes over the marcato.
• Closing: chan-chan.

Typical mistakes (in production)

• Putting a pop drum set under a traditional tango.
• Quantizing everything: tango lives on accelerandos, rallentandos and arrastre.
• Accenting 2 and 4 as in pop.

Bass

• Sound: pizzicato double bass (full, woody sound) or arco in lyrical passages; range E1–D3.
• Rhythm: marcato in 4 (quarter notes), in 2 (1 and 3), síncopa (1, 2&, 4) and arrastre before the beats.
• Notes: roots, fifths, descending chromatic passing tones (cliché line), arpeggios.
• Effects: golpe on the body of the instrument, glissandos, 'chicharra' on the double bass too in some orchestras.

Harmonic instruments

• Bandoneón (2–4 in the orquesta típica): melody, marcato chords, virtuosic variaciones.
• Piano: rhythmic-harmonic foundation, arpeggios, interludes.
• Violins (2–4) and viola/cello: melody, countermelodies, percussive effects.
• Guitar (early tango and accompaniment of singers such as Gardel).
• Piazzolla: electric guitar, vibraphone, flute in the quintets/nonets.

Melody and vocals

Voice (tango canción)

• Singer ('cantor' of the orchestra or soloist), dramatic and theatrical timbre, rubato phrasing, lyrics in lunfardo; baritone/tenor range (Gardel was a baritone).
• Lyrics about nostalgia, the neighborhood, lost love, mother, Buenos Aires.

Instrumental melodies

• Lyrical melodies given to the violins or bandoneón with portamento and vibrato; broken, rhythmic phrases in the marcato sections; final variación in sixteenth notes.

Backing vocals

Rare; in electrotango, vocal samples and filtered voices.

Instruments

• Bandoneón
• Violins, viola, cello
• Piano
• Double bass
• Guitar (Guardia Vieja, vocal accompaniment), flute (origins)
• Voice (cantor)
• Electrotango: electronic drums, synth, samplers

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Piano V — Orquesta típica piano: Grand piano with a decisive attack in the low registers for the marcato.
• Augmented Strings — String section: Legato violins for the melodies and staccato for the marcato; useful for orquesta típica mockups.
• Mellotron V — Strings and flutes for electrotango: Vintage colors for neotango productions.
• Prophet-5 V — Pads and basses for electrotango: Dark pads and synth basses under the sampled bandoneón (Gotan Project style).
• Stage-73 V — E.piano for neotango: Lounge chords and arpeggios.

Song structure

Typical form of dance tango (≈ 2:30–3:30)

Tango canción

Instrumental intro – sung verse – sung chorus – instrumental interlude – chorus – coda.

Arrangement

Alternation of rhythmic and lyrical blocks; each section has a 'soloist' (violin, bandoneón, piano); the ending is almost always the variación or a marcato climax.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Chamber orchestra in a hall: bandoneones and strings in the foreground, clear piano with powerful low end, present and percussive double bass, natural voice; very wide dynamics. For electrotango, a downtempo electronic layer under acoustic instruments. References: Osvaldo Pugliese — La Yumba, Carlos Di Sarli — Bahía Blanca, Astor Piazzolla — Adiós Nonino, Gotan Project — Santa María (del Buen Ayre).

Bandoneón

• EQ: HP 100–120 Hz, −2 dB at 400–600 Hz (nasality), +1/+2 dB at 2–3 kHz, control the air at 8–10 kHz; light 2:1 compression (2 dB) or none.
• Panning: bandoneón section left-of-center (−20/−50), soloist in the center.
• Hall reverb 1.8–2.2 s at 15%.

Violins and strings

• HP 180–200 Hz, −2 dB at 2.5–3.5 kHz if harsh, +1 dB at 8 kHz; percussive effects (chicharra) with +2 dB at 3–5 kHz.
• Panning: violins right (+20/+50), viola/cello +10/+30.

Piano

• HP 40 Hz, presence of the low end at 60–100 Hz (the marcato), −2 dB at 300 Hz, +1 dB at 3 kHz; natural stereo.

Double bass

• HP 35 Hz, +2 dB at 80 Hz, presence 700 Hz–1 kHz for the pizzicato, golpe at 2–3 kHz; opto compression 2:1 (2 dB). Center.

Voice

• HP 80 Hz, −2 dB at 300 Hz, +2 dB at 3 kHz; opto compression 3:1 (3 dB); hall 1.8 s at 15%. Automation for the rubato.

Electrotango (drums and synth)

• Kick HP 30 Hz, +2 dB at 60 Hz, soft; clap with hall; mono synth bass; light sidechain kick → pad.

Buses and groups

Bandoneón bus, strings bus; minimal bus compression; in electrotango, a drum bus with glue.

Master

• Traditional: −16/−12 LUFS integrated, PLR 13–16 dB (tango is extremely dynamic).
• Electrotango: −11/−9 LUFS, PLR 9–11 dB. True peak ≤ −1 dBTP.

Common mistakes

• Compressing the orchestra: the marcato/lyrical contrast is lost.
• Nasal bandoneón (400–600 Hz) that covers everything.
• Harsh strings at 3 kHz.
• In electrotango, a beat that erases the arrastre and the rubato.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Osvaldo Pugliese — La Yumba (1946)
• Carlos Di Sarli — Bahía Blanca (1957)
• Astor Piazzolla — Adiós Nonino (1959)
• Astor Piazzolla — Libertango (1974)
• Gotan Project — Santa María (del Buen Ayre) (2001)

Reference listening

• Carlos Gardel — Mi Noche Triste (1917)
• Carlos Gardel — Por una Cabeza (1935)
• Juan D'Arienzo — La Cumparsita (versioni anni '30–'50)
• Osvaldo Pugliese — La Yumba (1946)
• Carlos Di Sarli — Bahía Blanca (1957)
• Astor Piazzolla — Adiós Nonino (1959)
• Astor Piazzolla — Libertango (1974)
• Gotan Project — Santa María (del Buen Ayre) (2001)