Tango like a Tanguero

Five little tips to help a classical flute player perform tango music

By Jessica Quiñones

M any classical players first discover the beauty and allure of tango music
through Astor Piazzolla’s repertoire written specifically for flute. My first
experience with tango music was L’Histoire du Tango scored for flute and
guitar. A chance encounter with it performed by a classical flute and guitarist had
me enchanted by the way that Piazzolla uses colourful melodies, instrumental
American flautist Jessica
Quiñones holds flute perfor-
mance degrees from The Royal
Scottish Academy of Music in
drumming, and unusual rhythmic accentuation which form part of his personal Glasgow and The University
Tango Nuevo style. of Denver’s Lamont School of
Living in the vibrant city of Buenos Aires while doing field work for a Ph.D. in Music in the USA. Embracing
her Latin roots, Ms. Quiñones
tango music has led me to expand the way that I approach playing this genre. I
is currently undertaking a
am hoping that this miniature guide will serve to inspire you to learn more about Ph.D. in flute performance at
tangueros, tango music and its unique performance style to help enhance any future the University of Huddersfield,
flute performances. where she has received full
funding to explore Astor
Tip 1: Let’s contextualise the flute in tango as part of a bigger picture… Piazzolla’s tango flute music. Her
hobbies include dancing the
As examples of tango’s spread on an international platform, the genre, including
tango, studying Expressionist
its music, lyrics and dance, was added to the UNESCO Representative List as an art, Ashtanga yoga and finding
‘Intangible Cultural to the Heritage of Humanity’, and in the twenty years since Astor the perfect chocolate brownie
Piazzolla’s death, his flute compositions have been recorded and released on albums recipe.
by musicians worldwide. Both his 1986 Histoire Du Tango and his 1987 Six Tango-Études
pour flûte seule have quickly entered the flute repertoire and have become accepted as
‘art music’ despite the associations with tango as the core of their musical style. Author’s picture
The role of the flute in tango is curious and unique in that it has not found a
similar course in tango history that can be compared to other instruments of the
tango sound, such as the violin or the bandoneon. The transverse flute only made
initial appearances in tango roughly between the years 1905 to 1920.
The original tango ensemble was the orquesta típica criolla, a small trio (terceto)
that was formed of a violin, flute (or clarinet) and a guitar (or bandoneon). Using
habanera rhythms, the groups played lively tangos, milongas and valses in bordellos.
Fain suggests that the flute and the violin in the original tercetos were used because
three in an ensemble were inexpensive to hire. It was easy for these musicians to
Photograph: Chris Sands

move quickly if the establishments in which they were playing were raided by the
police. It seems these musicians were not paid very well for each gig, so they played
at many venues in one night’s work. A portable instrument such as the flute was easy
to transport from establishment to establishment.
After the tango made an appearance in Paris in 1911, it gained popularity and
acceptance from the middle and upper classes who started to claim it as ‘Argentinean’.

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 The venues in which tango music was played became
more reputable. The flautist (who was often employed
to play melodic lines) was replaced by multiple
bandoneonistas, because these musicians could play both
the rhythm and melodic musical sections at one time.
A string section was added because the musicians were
playing in larger spaces and the flute was simply not
loud enough for larger venues hosting tango dances.
The flute would not enter the traditional ensembles
with the same popularity of the early tercetos until
Piazzolla incorporated it into the tango orchestra of his
only opera Maria de Buenos Aires (1968). He added flute
to Conjunto 9 (or Conjunto Electronico) for a brief period in
the 1970s, but it was not until the 1980s that his flute
compositions, the Six Tango-Études por Flûte Seule and Histoire
du Tango were composed.
As the flute was not often included in traditional
orquesta típicas after its earlier appearances, what inspired
Piazzolla to compose flute pieces in the 1980s? The
music he performed with his New Tango Sextet consisted
Tango dancers in La Boca, of cello, double bass, piano, guitar, and two bandoneons,
one of the birthplaces of so why write these flute compositions?
tango. Despite recent interviews with tango musicians, and trips to Buenos Aires
and to Piazzola’s birthplace, Mar de Plata, to visit archives, it is still a matter of
speculation why he composed these pieces. In an interview in 2010, arranger and
scholar Marcelo Costas in Buenos Aires suggested that the flute pieces were written
because Piazzolla wanted to carry on his legacy of tango to other instruments. He
Astor Piazzola mural,
suggested that Piazzolla knew his health was failing, so he chose flute as one of the
Buenos Aires.
instruments to feature his music, as it is a popular instrument worldwide. Despite
the mystery surrounding these pieces, these are among the most popular tango flute
compositions of the twentieth century because they have become established in the
western flute repertoire.

Tip 2: Symbolic associations are not all about fedoras, fishnets and roses
Scholars disagree about the exact origins of tango, but there has always been the
sentiment that the genre is a symbolic representation of many things. For western-
ers, it has been a symbol for passion, sexual tension and has an erotic quality,. As a
westerner approaching the tango, I think that it would be useful to understand a bit
about the symbolism that can be associated with the genre. My experience of doing
Photographs: Francisco Gualtieri

field work in Buenos Aires has led me to ponder its affiliations with class, gender
roles, Mufarse, sexual struggle, and Argentine national identity.

Tip 3: Understand how the tango style is disseminated for greater freedom of
your performance
Since the mid 1980s various music schools and academies in Buenos Aires have
emerged with a department specifically devoted to teaching and preserving tango,
such as the Academia Nacional del Tango. Before this, orquesta típicas were the places in

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 which aspiring tango musicians trained. If one
wanted to play, they would need to be employed by
one of the orquestas and learn by ear from the other
instrumentalists in the ensemble. Every orchestra
had a different style of performing rhythm, harmony
and melody that would become a trademark of their
unique sound.
Many tango singers in the past, such as Carlos
Gardel, did not read music and instead sang what felt
‘right’. In a similar tradition, when playing tangos
that are ‘standards of the repertoire’, that is, the
great tango classics, many instrumentalists perform
Photographs: Francisco Gualtieri

from memory and improvise within the standard

melody. A common term associated with this style
of performance is a la parilla, which literally means
‘to the grill’, literally referring to the action of having
to enter the fire of playing from memory!

Tip 4: The great score debate

The first problem I encountered in my early days
of performing tango was ‘where do I find scores?’ Academia Nacional de
Unlike in classical music, where the text is the ‘music’ to be followed, tango scores Tango, Buenos Aires
are flexible. They should be arranged to suit your instrumentation because in tango
performance practice, arrangers are the ultimate ‘editors’.
One example of this philosophy in the tango world was apparent when I ventured
to the Piazzolla archive in Mar De Plata. I asked head archivist, ‘So who comes to
visit the archive? Do you have many Argentine musicians sourcing scores here?’
Tango musicians busking in
His response: ‘Jessica, it is only westerners who come looking for scores. Tango
the streets.
players arrange their own.’ I mention this
story because it exemplifies the notion that as
westerners we are often attached to a score as
the ‘authentic’ way to play.
In published scores for ‘export’, editors
are employed by publishing houses to make,
in my opinion, something ‘authentic’ for
a western player to read. If you watch live
performances of tangueros, very few players
in tango ensembles use music scores, which
lead the music to come across as more
improvisatory.
Photograph: Nadim Abraham

Outside Argentina it is harder to find

arrangements. If you do, they are very
expensive and not written for flute specifically.
However, you still can find arrangers who are
selling their scores for western players if you
are more comfortable reading a pre-arranged
score.

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 Tip 5: Tango musical techniques are very different than classical techniques
Once you have a tango arrangement or score or melody that you would like to
play, it might help to find a recording of that tango played by different orquesta típicas.
Listening to different interpretations of one song will help you become familiar
with the different range of techniques used to inspire your own playing. Various
orquesta típicas to become inspired by include those of the bandleaders Di Sarli, Canaro,
D’Arienzo, Pugliese, and of course, Piazzolla.
Listening to tango singers throughout tango’s history is a fast way to pick up
on tango improvisation and how the melody is carried in relation to the bass line.
Listening will also help you understand different ways to treat the rhythmic and
melodic sections in tango. Why? Because tango melodies are sung freely and each
vocalist each have their own unique flavour of performance style. For example, the
melodic changes you might encounter when comparing the notation on a score to
the actual performance of a tanguero might include the addition of:

• Pauses within the bar lines

• Repeated notes
• Turns
• Trills and mordents
• Neighbour tones
• Glissandos
• Articulation changes
• Octave changes
• Highlighting of certain notes by changing rhythms
•
Similarly, changes that are added by tangueros when playing rhythmic sections
might include:

• Detailed accentuation patterns

• Shadow effects of accented notes
• Vibrato use limited to longer notes
• Semi-slurred articulations added
• Arrastres (‘dragging’)
• Pitch bends
• Glissandos
•
Vocalists with varying styles are Carlos Gardel, Julio Sosa, Susan Rinaldi, Rosita
Quiroga, and Robert Goyenoche.
In conclusion, these tips are not to serve as an all inclusive approach to the tango
genre. To limit interpretation would confine the creative process and the possibilities
for the many influences of this rich music. Instead, I hope a new reading of this flute
music is enhanced as the genre of tango continues to be reborn worldwide.

Glossary

• A la parilla. Literally ‘to the grill’, referring to the action of having to enter the fire
of playing from memory.

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• Bandoneón. A relative to the accordion, was invented to replace the harmonium
in churches as it was a less expensive instrument. It is speculated that it made
its way from Germany to Buenos Aires in the late 1800s by sailors arriving in
the port city.
• Bandoneonista. A player of the bandoneón.
• Flautista tanguero. A tango flute player
• Mufarse. Julie Taylor, an American anthropologist who lived in Argentina for
many years, thinks that tango reflects the state of Mufarse, which is a national
sentiment of ‘bitter introspection’. See her book listed below to learn more.
• Orquesta típica. This is the name for a traditional tango ensemble, usually compris-
ing a string section (with violins, viola, and cello), a bandoneón section (with
three or more bandoneons) and a rhythmic section (with piano, and double bass).
• Tango Nuevo. Tango infused with classical and jazz idioms, including the use of
new instrumentation and harmonic structures, made famous by Astor Piazzolla.
• Tanguero. A name given to a tango aficionado, or anyone who practises the genre.

Books and articles

I have listed some texts published in English that you might find interesting, as many
are widely available through your local library. These will serve as a platform for
your understanding of tango music and the other things associated with it you might
not have realised. After all, isn’t the performance of any genre greatly enhanced
when the reasons behind the music become more familiar?
• Azzi, Maria Susana and Collier, Simon. Le Grand Tango: The Life and Music of
Astor Piazzolla: Oxford University Press, USA, 2000.
• Collier, Simon. Tango! , edited by Simon Collier, et al. London: Thames and
Hudson, 1995.
• Ferris-Thompson, Robert. Tango: The Art History of Love. New York City:
Pantheon, 2005.
• Gorin, Natalio. Astor Piazzolla: A Memoir. Portland: Amadeus Press, 2001.
• Kutnowski, Martin. ‘Instrumental Rubato and Phrase Structure in Astor
Piazzolla’s Music’, Latin American Music Review, 23 (1), 106–13, 2002.
• Savigliano, Marta E. Tango and the Political Economy of Passion. Boulder,
Colorado: Westview Press, 1995.
• Taylor, Julie. Paper Tangos. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1998.

Playing manuals

If you can’t venture to Buenos Aires for tango music lessons, I would recommend the
only two performance manuals published in English as a starting point:
• Paulina Fain. Método de la Flauta en El Tango, Ricordi Publishing, 2010.
• Salgan, Horacio. Tango Course, second edition. Translated by Will Genz and Marisa
Hurtado. Buenos Aires, (privately published), 2001.

Internet resources

www.jqflute.com/flute-music-links.html

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