Re: [TANGO-L] Tandas at the speed of a mouse click

[Yale Tango Club <yaletangoclub @yahoo.com>]

Hi Stephen and everybody

Thanks so much for sharing your informed opinions!

The mp3 sound quality is indeed a pitfall. I encode everything at 256 kbps which I think is adequate (some people think it's overkill). I don't think it's audible, but if it were, the difference might be an order of magnitude smaller than the difference heard between RCA and, say, Tango Argentino or El Bandoneon. 96 kbps is awful even on crappy laptop speakers, 128 is probably OK in most cases but not all. My homefield has a medium-size but excellent PA system which is a big help, it's the Fender passport deluxe 250W amp with Bose speakers. Portable and affordable. A great investment, I leaned on all my members for $10 or $15 each, and the purchase was painless. If you are interested I can tell you the cheapest source for one of these, email me.

Regarding the issue of putting together a tanda, that problem is not unique to the use of a computer. Stephen, your "La" and "A" tanda ideas are very funny. I know my music well and Pugliese is pretty obvious, so I could assemble on the fly several coherent and very different tandas from your list, but the neat thing is with my computer your grandmother can do it too. I must have too much time on my hands, but I encoded into the mp3 the recording years for all my Pugliese, Di Sarli, D'Arienzo and Troilo tracks, I see which albums the tracks are from, whether instr/name of singer, all sortable, right in the DJ software, and to top it off I have made a sortable column with tanda codes, eg PUG 40s instr A, 4 to 6 of those mp3s that are gems individually and all work great together, there's also PUG 40s Chanel, PUG 60s Emancip etc etc. The info is there to use or disregard. So your grandmother could do it. When I buy a new CD with something that belongs in an existing tanda, I just give
 it that tanda code and voila I have one more to choose from, or even enough to split into 2 tandas. No need to make new CDs or juggle them around. The real beauty is that I can now think outside the box in an informed manner, and act on it with minimal hassle right there in the field. I permutate the track order in the tanda, I add a track to stretch it, or I add a special request, or most often I pick and choose from multiple compatible pre-defined tandas, this I do a lot in places where I play occasionally and I can give them my top 4 of orchestra XYZ. Otherwise I give them my top 8 in 2 weekly installments. Both are first-rate, but I'll admit I have seasonal favorites.


About distractions, well of course you know that putting your finger on the CD player's  >>| button not only makes you skip a track, it also causes a random person to come ask you a random question at that very moment. It's very remarkable. With my computer, I am always way ahead of the dance floor, and although I often make changes to the selection until the last minute before the song goes on, there's always something good there already that can go on if I get distracted, so no disasters ever happen. Try that with CDs... Well I'm preaching to the converted.

Tine


http://www.geocities.com/yaletangoclub/Tine.html

Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown   @DAL.FRB.ORG> wrote:
The use of a computer with MP3 files does make the dj's job easier in some
respects, but I see two pitfalls. First, the sound quality is reduced,
which tends to suck the life out of the music and create less atmopshere.
Second, the dj composing tandas on the fly is really required to know
which tangos from a particular orchestra are in the computer, go together
and what order they ought to be played.

For instance, suppose the dj is putting together a tanda of Pugliese
instrumentals and has the following files on tap: A Evaristo Carriego, A
Los Amigos, Arrabal, Boedo, Chique, Derecho Viejo, Don Agustin Bardi, El
Arranque, El Andariego, El Paladin, El Remate, Emancipacion, La Bordona,
La Mariposa, La Rayuela, La Tupungatina, La Yumba, Gallo Ciego, Mala
Estampa, Mala Junta, Nochero Soy, Orgullo Criollo, Para Dos, Pata Ancha,
Pelele, Raza Criolla, Recuerdo, Tierra Querida, Tinta Roja, Tiny, Yunta de
Oro.

Which should tracks be put together?
How about a "La" tanda -- La Bordona, La Mariposa, La Rayuela, La
Tupungatina, La Yumba?
How about an "El" tanda -- El Arranque, El Andariego, El Paladin, El
Remate?
How about an "A" tanda -- A Evaristo Carriego, A Los Amigos, Arrabal?
How about an "A,B,C,D" tanda--Arrabal, Boedo, Chique, Derecho Viejo

None of these tandas will work nearly as well in comparison to ones where
the dj has thought carefully about what works together. What happens if
the dj is programming the computer and distracted by someone who wants to
talk or ask questions? In short, djs who do a poor job with a computer
probably are distracted or don't know their music well enough to create
coherent tandas. Using preset tandas allows them to determine what goes
together without distraction or the pressure of time.

A little more about MP3 sound quality:
Many claim that in a noisy room and the typical sound system at milongas
and the mediocre sound quality of the original recordings, the loss from
MP3 files won't be that noticeable. A few claim that there is no audible
loss in sound quality. I wonder what kind hearing people who make such
statements have. I find the difference to be quite noticeable. In
comparison, to the original CDs, MP3 files of tango music sound suffer
from a loss in dynamics, sparkle and dimensionality. You can still hear
the bump, bump, bump of the rhythm, but what much else of what gives music
life is lost.

With best wishes for 2005!
Steve (de Tejas)

Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
http://www.tejastango.com/



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