Last Tango On 16th Street Chords

[Stayla Casillas]

OnceI have my mind set firmly on what sort of song I want to write (in this case a tango), I go hunting for other ideas to keep the inspiration flowing. This is a really important step because it helps form ideas for lyrics and to really think about what style of tango to create.

From there I start to visually construct the scene that my song is centred around. I started thinking of everything I associate with Paris; love, romance, satin sheets and art. On the shadow side, heartbreak, small lonely apartments, jealous lovers and dimly lit streets. This step helps me to brainstorm ideas for lyrics; the words I will use and the emotion I am trying to capture.

I curated my own Pinterest board filled with other tango images I liked. I love using Pinterest for this kind of image brainstorming. Its such a fantastic platform because it is completely image based and the quality and variety of images you can obtain are far better than what you can get by Googling alone.

This kind of brainstorming is really just compounding ideas for lyrics, words, emotions and helps me to solidify that visual scene in my head which I will use to write a song about. If I am not writing about my own experiences, I literally see my imaginary characters play out a make believe scene before me in full colour and audio and I just create the soundtrack behind it.

OK, so where to from here? There are many ways to compose a song (and I use most of them) but for this example, we are starting off with lyrics. Using the words gathered from your inspiration hunting, start scribbling down a few sentences you like the sound of. I always try to keep a rhythm to the words as if they would be placed in a song.

I like to use Avid Software Sibelius (extremely awesome music notation software) to keep my songwriting nice and neat. I used to write all of the notes out by hand but now I am too lazy. Sibelius is great because it plays the notes back to you and you can move them around if you want.

The tango is traditionally played by a small ensemble, including a bandoneon (a type of accordion), a guitar, a double bass, and a violin. These instruments give the tango its unique sound, and using them in your composition will help to create an authentic and sizzling tango.

The tango is known for its harmonies, which are often complex and sophisticated. Experimenting with different chord progressions and using dissonance and tension can create a dramatic and passionate tango. Try using minor keys, augmented chords, and diminished chords to add depth and complexity to your composition.

Silence is an essential element of the tango. Pauses and silences are used to create tension and drama, and to highlight specific moments in the dance. Using silence in your composition can create a sense of anticipation and make the music feel more dynamic.

The melody of the tango is just as important as the rhythm. A good tango melody should be expressive, sensuous, and evoke the passion and drama of the dance. Creating a melody that dances is all about playing with rhythm and phrasing, using syncopation and staccato notes to create movement.

The tango is known for its storytelling. The lyrics of a tango are often passionate, melancholic, and full of drama. Using lyrics in your tango composition can help to create a narrative and add emotional depth to the music. Try to tell a story with your lyrics, and use them to evoke the mood and feeling of the dance.

Tango en Ska will challenge your right hand pretty much straight out of the gate: bars 1, 2, and 4 require excellent control. The ability to select strings, pluck and damp notes, and control bass strings is essential to making the character of the tango apparent. This carries through the entire piece, but especially where there are chords.

Of special note, be aware these two bars require a lot of RH mechanism movement to be accurate, so slide the RH down over the strings in bar 1 where the music moves from string 6 to string 1; after that the RH will hover for bar 2. If you are still struggling to attain speed, separate the hands and play this as an open-string ex. only and concentrate on the string- crossing.

Micro Study 3 (a diminished chord from bar 5) is a practice example that utilizes rhythmic intensity to get the speed bursts up. Use full planting on the slow passes. Note: These are grouped in fours, as they are not triplets, which are easily played with this finger combination.

Remember: Speed is a consequence of relaxed effortless technique, which is achieved through mindful repetition. Do not practice in long sessions where it is possible to daydream. Turn off all the wonderful gadgetry available today apart for one: a metronome.

This piece is the perfect vehicle for achieving new technical plateaus. So, practice it with the metronome set slow and beating on eighth notes; you will then be able to advance your technical ability while still maintaining all the syncopations and flourishes. Push until the music is inconsistent, and then relax back to a slower speed. Make note of where it comes apart at the higher tempo; those are the areas that need further isolated practice. Work on those and then again push the tempo up until it falls apart, or until there are no more issues. This process will help you ascend onto the next level.

Although Tango en Ska is a challenging piece, it can advance your technique significantly if worked on in a systematic way. We are blessed that Dyens was such a generous, both as a performer and a teacher, as such there are a wealth of YouTube videos of him playing and teaching. Below are a few suggestions for getting to grips with this Tango. Here he is live for the Guitaar Salon in 2012:

The humorous sentiment Roland Dyens has secreted in this composition is now poignant as we approach the first anniversary of his passing, so it is fitting that the last word on this piece should be his:

I suppose one of the reasons that I have put this site together is to raise the status of the accordion from a successful tune bashing device to that of the real musical instrument that it is.

Simply playing extremely old and outmoded tunes is not the answer though, if you happen to like them and you are entitled to, applying ideas I am promoting here can definiitely even change these into something worth listening to.

The answer I believe is in really listening to and adjusting your own playing instead of just playing on automatic. In other words to play more musically, just as other instruments expect to be treated.

This is designed to both test your knowledge of accordion playing, currently with in depth questions about bass button configuration. The answers will be available question by question and the act of answering them will further lodge the info in your mind ready for retrieving to get to exactly where you want to go on the bass keyboard when you are playing.

Extra simple rhythm modification with alternating bass notes (not note to chord). For example if otherwise sticking to a very basic note chord chord waltz sometimes inserting (probably on every fourth bar) one of note chord note leading to the next note chord chord standard accompaniment pattern. The extra note would normally be the alternate note (G with a C chord) to lead back on to the key note (in this case C) for the next bar.

I am simplifying your following this by using N for standard bass note N in italics for the alternate bass note. I use K for Kord rather than C for chord as you would always tend to identify it with the actual chord of C which is not always going to be the case. I could perhaps have used Ch instead but it would tend to change the spacing of the letters. My excuse anyway.

Rather than keep to the normal relationship of a Note on the main beat and then a chord on the offbeat I sometimes reversed these, particularly on the last couple of beats in the bar so the bass did not sound like a keyboard that had been left playing itself on automatic. And it sounds less doggedly intrusive. But I kept the rhythm going.

You can be quite free like this, mixing them up almost at random, provided you can come back to first beat with a note on the next bar, or even the alternate next bar. The rhythm feel therefore has to be inside you instead of attached exactly to the fingers for you to be able to do this of course.

And if you have been plugging away on a complicated repetitive bar even modified like this for very long it can actually sound nice and more relaxed for your listener if you revert for a while to the most basic NKNK style pattern, perhaps where the tune goes to a new area.

The easiest choices for any additional non standard bass notes in the accompaniment. If you want more variety in your arrangements I would suggest interpolating a not too intrusive 6th to the chord A for the C chord where you feel the major third on the counterbass E for the C chord is over used or over intrusive. This is particularly natural to do if the alternative note G for the C Chord is played first and you can even go into half beats or divide the beat into triplets returning to the note next door.

This note is very obviously situated as the alternate note up from the alternate note G if the C chord but as this may lead you away from the key centre it is good to learn the counterbass version A from the F chord which is at least equally handy.

Reminding myself about the bass "rolled" effect. This is an effect of doing NKN or even NKNK or even NKNK inside one beat. Gives emphasis, such as on the fourth or first beat of a tango. It is like doing a fast trill but between the bass note and chord instead of between two notes.

The alternative to using just bass notes or a mix with notes AND chords is of course to only use chords. You can do this for an extended period or slightly easier for half a bar or even on a single beat by dividing momentarily into quavers (eighth notes) or triplet eighth notes, or even 16th note semiquavers.

3a8082e126