07/01/2007
Joe's article published in NHL's "Harmonica World"

Tango Harmonica

By Joe Powers

For a hundred years now the push-button, squeeze-box instrument called the bandoneón has ruled the kingdom of Tango, but its blow-draw cousin, the harmonica has shown that it too has the Tango soul.

Invented in Germany in the 1830's and named after its chief proponent Heinrich Band, the bandoneón was originally intended to play religious music but had more success in South America with Polkas, Waltzes, Mazurkas and eventually the Tango beginning in the early 1900's.

The then somewhat risqué dance was improvised into existence in the brothels and seedy night clubs of the late 19 th century Buenos Aires and Montevideo . In those intimate settings it was most common to hear solo piano, or a guitar/flute duo. But after the Tango's wild triumph in Paris around 1920 the dance craze moved out of the small, low-life establishments and into the large, elegant halls of the upper-class Porteños (people of Buenos Aires ). This would mark the beginning of Tango's golden era which would last until around 1950.The bando's ability to play loudly coupled with its compelling "queja" (complaining tone quality) and it's speed for rapid, Bach like cadenza passages called "variaciones", would help it to become the definitive instrument of the genre.

In all practicality, the diatonic harmonica, with its inexpensive cost and ready availability, may have been introduced earlier to the Tango than the bando. In fact Angel Villoldo, one of the original Tango composers of the "Guardia Vieja" ("old guard", period of the early 20 th century when the first Tangos were composed) reportedly played it along with his guitar though no recordings exist. Also, a certain diatonic player, "Profesor Charles" recorded Tango among other genres in the 30's.

Where portability was an added advantage, the diatonic unfortunately lacked the volume and full chromatic scale of the bando. This would have been a severe hindrance as Tango music became increasingly complex both melodically and harmonically. Even with the introduction of the chromatic harmonica in the 1920's and the wide-spread use of electric amplification, Tango instrumentation had already become codified.

It wasn't until 1939 that Lay Mora, the first known professional chromatic harmonica player to specialize in Tango appeared, and then "Enrique Delfino" in the 40's. Luis Saltos recorded the first known full-length Tango harmonica album in 1973, called "La Armonica Maravillosa" and that same year the famous Hugo Diaz recorded the first of his 4 Tango Albums. Several others would follow suit releasing albums before the close of the 20 th century; Paco Garrido, Jacko Zeller, and then more recently; Franco Luciani, Andres Chorny, and Milton Blanco, among others.

Exciting times are ahead for the Tango. Since the 1990's revival show "Tango Argentino" which toured the world, there has been increasing interest in the dance and the culture behind it. Films such as Sally Potter's "The Tango Lesson," and Robert Duvall's "Assassination Tango," along with the television program "Dancing with the Stars" have all contributed to mainstream attention. More and more tango communities and international festivals are springing up every year.

Special Considerations for playing Tango music on harmonica:

So just why does the harmonica work so well for Tango? The harmonica possesses several unique qualities that make it ideal. The chromatic in particular can mimic not only the "queja" of the bandoneón but also the phrasing of a violin, and the vibrato of a voice. It's like having all three in one. The most important advantages over the bando are in the harmonica's ability to bend pitches, create vibrato, and shape tone colors with the vocal tract and hands.

Speaking from my own experience, when playing Tango on the harmonica I find it useful to employ both the puckering and corner-switching embrosures. For the passages where I want increased volume and pitch bending I typically pucker, but if the music has lots of leaps or outlined chords as in the case of the "variaciones" or ostinatos (repeated bass patterns,) I will choose corner-switching. This allows me to change from left to right more quickly and more accurately than with my lips.

Another feature I commonly use when there is a repeated melody or phrase like in strophic ( ABA ) form, is tongue-blocked octave-doubling. This helps to create emphasis and tension build-up or climax. This technique in particular re-creates the "queja" of the bando which is produced by the sharpness of the conflicting tones within the doubled octaves.

If you listen to traditional Tango, you will also notice that there are typically no percussion instruments and that dissonance like syncopation is a common place. The instruments themselves are played percussively. A Tango pianist for example may hammer the keyboard with his fist, or play staccato minor 2 nd intervals. A violinist may do screeching glissandos and scratchy behind-the-bridge effects called "lijas," and the bass player may hit and slap the instrument in rhythm. I use octave doubling to comp the chords, and create an "arrastre" effect (a dragging/scraping sound followed by a heavy accented beat) by playing what might be considered "sloppy"octaves. I also use glissandos, double stops, and chromatic embellishments to add interest and variety to the melodies.

These are just a few of the many considerations for interpreting Tango music on harmonica. The best advice of all is to listen to as much Tango as possible, and see if your city has a local Tango community that you can get involved with. Who knows, maybe you'll even start your own Tango band!

Joe Powers has performed at festivals and events throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan ... his passion for Tango music and dance led him in 2000 to Argentina where he lived for a year and became fluent in Spanish. Most recently in February of 2007 he returned to Buenos Aires and recorded his first solo tango album entitled, "Amor de Tango", featuring some of Argentina's finest Tango musicians, Horacio Cabarcos - Bass, Raul Luzzi - Guitar, and Latin Grammy nominee, Nicolas Ledesma -Piano. To listen to or purchase "Amor de Tango" please visit www.joepowers.com .

On-line References:
www.tinyurl.com/3dvwwd
www.tinyurl.com/2s2ae4
www.tinyurl.com/36o3db
www.tinyurl.com/gtogm

BACK TO ARCHIVED NEWS

BACK TO ARCHIVED NEWS