SELECTING MUSIC AND IDENTIFYING DANCE RHYTHMS



Social (Ballroom or Country and Western) dance should be performed to music played by a band or an orchestra that specializes in dance music. A good dance band will emphasize the underlying beat of the music. Music designed for listening stresses the melodic line rather than the underlying beat, which is played more softly. A good dancer must be able to hear and respond to this underlying beat. The underlying beat is what enables the dancer to distinguish a Waltz from a Fox Trot, a Runba, or any other music. The dancer must not try to discover the dance rhythm from the name of the selection; a good musical arranger can take any melody and turn it into a Waltz, Samba, Fox Trot, Polka, etc.

In American social dance, the most common rhythm is the duple meter, whether it be Country and Western, Rock, or Big Band. This means that the music is constructed rhythmically with two dominant beats or some multiple of two beats to the musical measure. The musical signature may be either 2/4 or 4/4 time. Both time signatures, however, should produce a clear two-beat rhythm. In 2/4 time (e.g., Polka), the count of 1 is stressed, producing a pattern of 1-2/1-2, etc. In 4/4 time, counts 1 and 3 are usually stressed, producing a pattern of 1-2-3-4/1-2-3-4, etc. In Rock counts 2 and 4 are accented. The difference between the 2/4 and 4/4 time signatures are frequently so subtle that only an experienced musician can distinguish them by ear.

Although most dances use either 2/4 or 4/4 time, each dance employs the rhythm in a characteristic manner, marking it as a Fox Trot, a Tango, a Two-Step, or something else. The only other time signature used in American social dance is 3/4 meter. This is the rhythm danced in the Waltz, with 3 beats per measure. Rhythm is the meter of the music (listen to the accents). Tempo is the rate of speed at which the music is played.

The easiest method of counting dance rhythms is by "quicks" and "slows". Two "quicks" (Q's) are the rhythmic equivalent of one "slow" (S). Each Q or S represents a change of weight. Single notes are divided into two Q's only in 2/4 and 4/4 time. Occasionally there will be an "ah" or upbeat that is used, such as in the polka's "ah, 1 and 2". In 3/4 meter each of the three notes is consistently equal.

Following is an interpretation of quarter notes and some of the dances performed for two measures of that time signature. The numerator denotes the number of beats per measure; the denominator, the note that receives one count in value. The quarter note is the common denominator for all three signatures.

RHYTHM ANALYSIS
4/4   1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4  =4 beats per measure
    S S S S S S S S  =1 step per beat; Merengue and One-Step
    S S Q/Q S S Q/Q      =C/W 2-step; Fox Trot Magic Step; Swing (6 counts)
    S Q/Q S Q/Q S Q/Q S Q/Q  =Fox Trot Box; Rumba Basic (4 counts)
 
2/4   1   2   1   2    =2 beats per measure; accent on 1
    S   S   S   S    =1 step per beat; 2 steps per measure
    Q/Q   Q/Q   Q/Q   Q/Q    =2 steps per beat; 4 steps per measure
    Q/Q S Q/Q S Q/Q   S    =2-step; Polka; Samba basic; counted "1-&-2"
    1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2    
    S   S   Q Q S    =Tango basic; takes 4 measures (8 counts)
 
3/4   1 2 3 1 2 3      =3 beats per measure; accent on 1
    S S S S S S      =1 step per beat; Waltz




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