Mixed Tempo songs?

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mr. e
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Mixed Tempo songs?

#1 Post by mr. e » Sat Apr 19, 2008 12:10 pm

Hi,
What songs do you know that change tempo inbetween?

I guess all of us know "Bei mir bist du schön" which is frequently played with tempo changes. Many probably know the Kevin & Carla video with that song, and their slow-motion aerial is just great.

Then there is of course "Tu vuò fà l'americano" in various versions. While I don't like it too much, it still often works as floor filler.

'Ride Red Ride' by Lucky Millinder is at something like ~340 bpm, but partly the half-speed rhythm seems to be dominant at ~170 bpm. Or maybe it's actually at 170 bpm, just the double speed is sometimes dominant...

Lots of songs also slow down at the very end, but I'm really looking for songs that switch tempos inbetween. Any recommendations? Focus on danceable songs, that you'd actually use in DJing.

I'm also interested in songs that somewhat vary in energy and feeling. E.g songs that have a fast and energetic part, and then switch to some smooth and 'bluesish' feel.

Such songs could be nice for switching between 'mini sets'. When you've been building up energy and taking the tempo up and you notice people getting exhausted, why not transition into something slower again with a song which actually changes tempo&energy too?

zipthebird
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#2 Post by zipthebird » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:46 am

Carmen McRae - Yesterdays (off the album Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man)

I use this as a transition if I am finishing up a blues interlude and want to get the energy back up for lindy hop. The tempo starts off at about 60 bpm, then doubles midway through. Carmen also really digs in, so it tends to produce a big lift in energy.

There's also Jessica Molaskey's rendition of All the Cats Join In (the album is called A Good Day). It starts off at 125, but has a very fast interlude that comes on unexpectedly. Definitely a novelty tune--sometimes I even hear exclamations of "Oh Sh*t!" when the fast bit kicks in.

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trev
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#3 Post by trev » Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:16 pm

After You've Gone - Sidney Bechet & His New Orleans Feetwarmers (1943) or Lionel Hampton's version (1937)
Gully Low Blues - Louis Armstrong's Hot Seven (1927)
S. O. L. Blues - Louis Armstrong's Hot Seven (1927)
Stompin' at the Savoy - Ella & Louis (1957)

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Lawrence
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#4 Post by Lawrence » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:47 pm

Typically, most songs that change tempo ultimately double the tempo, which provides such an abrupt shift for dancers that I completely avoid playing any song that suddenly changes tempo. For listening, it might be fine, but when dancing and turning that music into physical form, it is just too abrupt.
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trev
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#5 Post by trev » Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:36 pm

Lawrence wrote:Typically, most songs that change tempo ultimately double the tempo, which provides such an abrupt shift for dancers that I completely avoid playing any song that suddenly changes tempo. For listening, it might be fine, but when dancing and turning that music into physical form, it is just too abrupt.
For sure, they need to be used with care, but I think they provide an extra dynamic to a song which can allow for a lot of fun between the lead and follow. I don't avoid them as a rule. Many of these tracks do double up, but there are also tracks that drop into half tempo and are fun and reasonably safe; there's less risk of trapping somebody in a song with an uncomfortably fast pace.

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Re: Mixed Tempo songs?

#6 Post by Haydn » Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:29 am

mr. e wrote:Hi,
What songs do you know that change tempo inbetween?
Two adventurous ones are:

Change in Rhythm/George Scott-Wood
Pacific Express/James Kok

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#7 Post by zipthebird » Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:56 am

The last 20 seconds of Chick Webb - Harlem Congo drops significantly in tempo--from insanely fast to moderately slow. Probably not something you'd spin, but just to illustrate Trev's point.

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CafeSavoy
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#8 Post by CafeSavoy » Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:01 am

trev wrote:After You've Gone - Sidney Bechet & His New Orleans Feetwarmers (1943) or Lionel Hampton's version (1937)
Gully Low Blues - Louis Armstrong's Hot Seven (1927)
S. O. L. Blues - Louis Armstrong's Hot Seven (1927)
Stompin' at the Savoy - Ella & Louis (1957)
You see that tempo shift in a few versions of "After You've Gone." I wonder if that was traditional or something added latter. There's a version of "Basin Street Blues" by Armstrong that starts slow, speeds up, and then slows down again. Ella does a couple of other songs with tempo changes. She has a couple of takes on "How How the Moon" from the War Years that starts of medium and then gets faster. And she has a version of Honeysuckle Rose with Basie that starts off slow and introspective and then picks up to medium slow.

One song that is commonly played that has a tempo change is Alberta Hunter's "Darktown Strutters Ball" from Amtrak Blues. I think it gets played more than some of the other tempo change songs because the change is not that great.

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fredo
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#9 Post by fredo » Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:57 am

Characteristic Blues - Sidney Bechet (mostly slow, but jumps up here and there for added surprise)


also, I dont have it personally (wish i did), but there's a sweet recording of Dark Eyes by the Carling Family that starts slow then gets fast.

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Travis
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#10 Post by Travis » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:25 am

Tin Roof Blues - Sidney Bechet (although the increase in tempo doesn't last very long).

My personal favs are the version of Dark Eyes that Fredo mentioned, and Heebie Jeebies by the Boswell Sisters.

There's also Ain't Misbehavin by Fats Waller.

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J-h:n
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#11 Post by J-h:n » Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:59 am

Nobody's mentioned Cab Calloway's Minnie the Moocher yet - it only has a short section in double tempo, but it's enough to give dancers a nice little jolt of energy. Of course, most of them know the song and can anticipate the tempo change.

I usually tend to avoid songs like these, but at the right time they can be fun. You don't want to throw them at a roomful of unexpecting newbies, though. (Well, perhaps you do, but then you probably should try to check that impulse.)

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Capt Morgan
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#12 Post by Capt Morgan » Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:00 pm

"Little Nash Rambler" by Spike Jones starts off extremely slow, and slowly the tempo increases to a fast tempo.

Regarding the comment on the tempo change in After You've Gone, that comes from lots of traditional and dixie jazz. "Dinah" is another one that often has a tempo change.

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#13 Post by JSAlmonte » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:46 pm

There was a previous thread about this topic, but I'm to lazy to dig it up. I think we determined that "After You've Gone" is one of those songs where most versions will change tempos from slow to fast or vice versa.

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remysun
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#14 Post by remysun » Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:32 am

"It's Oh So Quiet" has slow waltz verses and a faster 4/4 refrain. That and Gling-Glo are some Bjork that DJs will play, with good results too.

Just don't wear the novelty out.

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remysun
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#15 Post by remysun » Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:36 am

Not swing, but if the song struture jogs anybody's mind-- The Clash "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

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