Music GCSE - Area of study 3:Dance Music

-It is a dance of the romantic period

-It quickly became popular

-Its origin is in vienna, austria

-Some composers: Johann Strauss (junior and senior) and Joseph Lanner

Feactures: triple time, fast, 70 bars per minute, 1 in a bar feel, um cha cha accompaniment, strong first beat of the bar, uses rubato, played by orchestras.

Dance steps:

- closed couples facing one another

- 3 step pattern

- couples would move around the ballroom

- originated in New York (was developed by cuban and puerta rican immagrants)

- was developed in the 1960's

Feactures: clave rhythm, call and response (oregon and choro), spanish language, improvised section comping (rhythmic playing of chords on piano)

Dance steps:

- partners in close hold

- steps in 4 beat pettern (forwards, backwards to the side and back)

- upper body remains still but has hip movements

- originated from argentina

Feactures: 2 or 4 beats in a bar, moderate tempo, dotted rhythms and syncopation, strong accented notes, minor key.

traditional instruments include bandoneon, violin, piano, bass, castanets.

Dance steps:

- partners in close hold with walking steps

- upper body remains upright

- sometimes with fast jerky movements

- woman makes fast kicks and intertwines legs with partners

Most famous piece is La Cumparsita

Songs: YMCA by The Village People

Feactures: four to the flour bass drum, snare drum plays on beats 2 and 4, hi-hat plays constant quavers, 120 beats per minute, syncopation, memerable vocal melody and hook lines, walking bass, multi tracking, reverb, 4 beats in a bar, ostinato patterns,

Dance steps:

- improvised dancing that is danced as an individual or in a group

- hip and shoulder twisting with arm waves

Types of club dance:

- house

- techno

- garage

- trance

- ambient

Feactures: 4 beats in a bar, repitition, speed varies, strong bass line and beat,

Contains lots of technology such as looping, synthesisers, sampling and reverb

- traditional bangra originated from Punjab

- modern bangra originated from UK

Feactures: sung in Punjabi language, 4 beats in a bar, use of samnpling that is mainly for shouts of 'hoi' and reverb, chaal rhythm

Instruments used: dhol drum, sitar, tabla drum, harmonium

Dance steps:

- performed in a line, circle or row with little or no physical contact

- use of energetic steps like hops and leaps and use of strong up and down movements 

Feactures (Reel): danced in soft shoes, is simple time (2/2, 4/4, 2/4),  fast tempo, ornamentation, simple harmony.

Feactures (Jig): danced in hard shoes, is compound time (6/8, 9/8, 12/8), all notes grouped in 3's, fast tempo, ornamentation, simple harmony.

Instruments used: fiddle, tin whistle, accordian, uilleann pipes, bodhran (drum), harp.

Dance steps:

- danced with hops, kicks, jumps and crossing over of legs

- upper body kept straight with arms by side

- dancers stand in a line

- dancers all perform the same steps at the same time without touching each other

- often includes jumps to face another direction

Feactures: there is only one melody line, it has a simple harmony, there are 4 bar phrases, it has a verse-chorus structure, there are slides in the melody and accompaniment

Instruments: guitars, violin, banjo, harmonica, accordian, drums

A well known artist is Johnny Cash