Hello, It's me.
I do so love the song, Begin the Beguine. I listen to the CD repetitively when I am driving, but still feel difficulty in its exact notation related with these following parts of lyric . Could someone kindly email them to me ?tkp323@biznetvigator.com .
Great thanks. (I failed to find this music score on net , May be you could give me a good advice .)
I need these 2 parts:
'Till cloud came along to disperse the joys we had tasted.'
"Make them play till the stars that were before return above you ."
ylchen

y,

Are you after beat/note values as a dancer or are you after pitch values? or both?

I'd just scan you a opy but my computer's acting up so I'm using my laptop.

Regardless, check your library's music score section under "Cole Porter".

Which version are you listening too. I particularly like Thomas Hampson's.

OB (Who sang BTB many, many times)

Yichin. If you want the words and the music sung by Perry Como. Simply Google Begin the Beguine second one down. What moments divine , what raptures serene Till the clouds come along to disperse the joys we have tasted.
Oh ys , let them begin the beguine ,make them play. Til the stars that were there before return above you
If you want anything Google a line . For instance. They seek him here they seek him there. Up comes the Scarlet Pimpernel

Perhaps some of the difficulty (as a dancer) comes from the word: disperse where some singers stretch the time.
More likely though:

BTB is written in 4/4 but has many triplets across 2 beats.

What [(moments di)vine][what (rapture se)][rene][ Till][(clouds come a)(long to dis)][perse the (joys we had)][tast ed}

[Brackets] above equal measure in 4/4.

(parantheses) equal triplet 1/4 notes played across 2 beats, e.g.(mo-ments di).

1st What = 1/8 note anacrusis or pick up beat.

2nd What= 1/4 note on 2nd beat of the bar

Till = 1/4 note pick up

(dis) "perse the" = dotted 1/4 followed by an 1/8th

OB

Do we dance to the singer or the song.
The final of an IDSF International Amateur Competition a Waltz was played recorded by a very poular recording artist. She starts singing on the third beat and continues through most of the song accentuating that third beat whilst the music is accentuating the first beat. Those who only listen to the vocalist, which we are not supposed to, would be in trouble
"Come away with Me".
" Don't know Why ". from the same album is a very nice to dance the Rumba to.

Quick,

The singer and the song are the same.

What you're referring to is the underlying accompaniement.

If she's accenting the 3rd beat then she's a poor singer. However, I bet if you listen more closely you'll find she's accenting "come a - WAY with me" and "WAY" gets the emphasis.

This is just the same as a more advanced dancer starting to dance a waltz on the 3rd beat as a pick up into a strong first beat. When I think of it the "Come Away With Me" I know is by Nora Jones and without actually listening to it I recall it's a slow Viennese. Then I would ask, "Do you start a Viennese on 1 or do you start preparing your body movement before so you can land your first step on the strong 1?"

It's a personal opinion but I would argue you will not really be dancing until you dance the phrasing of the melody rather than the accompaniement. Also, I know some people have difficulty fiinding the beat while listening to the singer but your dancing should be an emotional interpretation of the composer's intent and words are part of the intent.

OB

I meant to add:

Even if there is no singer the melody and in all likelihood the accompaniement of almost all songs you dance to will start on a weak beat and not on a strong one.

You don't pitch a baseball straight forward. To get a strong throw one has to wind up first to maximize the energy. It's the same thing for the dancer and the singer who prepare first creating increasing energy into the strong beat.

OB

Understanding the music is something that is neglected with teachers. In a medal class I think some part of the lesson should be spent on the music and not just SQQS.
If you listen to the song in question you will find it is played at 28 Bars Per Minute in 3/4 tempo which makes it a Modern Waltz. The Viennese is about twice as fast. There is an eight bar introduction and the singer starts singing on beat three of the first bar after the introduction which she accentuates, and does so continuously through the song.That is her style of singing which is very nice and no problem if you do listen to the underlying beats. Also in the same song there are twenty bars of music played with a guitar .That could also throw some people. But as I wrote before . This track was played for the final of an IDSF competition which was televised. There are several of our leading teachers who have said that they think for a competition the music should be none vocal Michael Barr is one. But orchestras are recording to sell also to the general public. If they relied on dancers they would go out of business. Finally
Dancing is, Speaking Without Words.

Quick,

Sorry, my comments were directed to "y". I put your name down by mistake.

My comments are meant to be opions and helpful and not intended to contradict anything you say. Just "group think".

The song I'm thinking of is "Come Away With Me" by Nora Jones so we could quite possibly be referring to 2 different songs. I'm firing up my desk top as I write this so I can play it. As indicated before I was singing it in my head so couldn't be sure.

OK, I've got it playing and yes it is a standard waltz. I was singing it in my head too fast from memory. The accompaniement starts on 1 but the melody is a pick up but it's very subtle: the word "come" has a hard consonant sound but the emphasis is definitely on the downbeat "WAY". "Come a-" is a build up to the syllable "WAY" and is in fact why "WAY" has a longer beat value.

Dancing Without Paying Attention to the Words or the Composer's Intent is Technique. Very hard to do in a competition when one doesn't know what the DJ will play but I can say I generally enjoy the Showcase numbers more as the dancers pick music they make an emotional connection with and interpret more.

Regardless, if a dancer can't feel the music they shouldn't be in an IDSF final.

Finally, and not meant as a put down but it would be in 3/4 time rather than 3/3. I'm sure it was an unintended error.

OB

Have you ever wondered why songs written in the 30's 40's are still being recorded and played today. I believe in those days music was composed to dance to therein lies its secret.. Most of the tunes were written for shows or films. We still dance today to stuff danced by Fred Astaire 60- 70 years ago and I think we will continue to do so. I saw a picture of Fred Astaire when he was about eight years old on the stage in Vaudeville. I think it was with his sister. I also saw a film clip of dancer Bill Robinson ( Mr BoJangles )a show stopper. He had this incredible balance timing and musicality.