Instincts or Creativity: What Tango Reveals about Musical Training
- Chris Benna Piano
- Jun 7
- 12 min read
Music as an art form is a testament to the relationship between instinctive
learning and knowledge-based skills and experience. Though there are many cherished
standard practices and developed expectations for musical genres and subgenres,
oftentimes it is the musicians who defy these norms that are celebrated the most. Ones
who act on their creative impulses and reimagine possibilities leave the most lasting
impact on the world of music. As Arnold Schoenberg once said, “art belongs to the
unconscious! One must express oneself! Express oneself directly! Not one’s taste, or
one’s upbringing, or one’s intelligence, knowledge or skill. Not all these
acquired characteristics, but that which is unborn, instinctive.” For example, an aspect
of Beethoven’s rise to fame and revolutionary qualities was his deviation from the
standard sonata form. Beethoven would have false recapitulations, unexpected thematic
development theme, and other untraditional structural elements in his music that set a
new standard for the possibilities of musical structure.
Yet, without the acquisition of knowledge and standard practices, the art form
would be greatly deprived of possibilities when ideas expand on each other. For
example, music theory has enabled musicians to communicate ideas in ways that would
not be possible without the organization it offers. Near all the musical works and
practices that persist historical and have been preserved through expertise, knowledge,
and esoteric language. How could Beethoven’s symphonies be performed today if there
was not a passing down of musical traditions? What would be missing of music if our
instinctive ideas were not building upon previous intellect.
The Tango exemplifies the interplay between formal knowledge with natural
instincts in powerful ways as musicians of different cultural backgrounds and levels of
experience build on each other's ideas. Comparing the different periods of Tango and
observing specific musicians and their influences, the tremendous artistic value of
natural musical instincts working along with formal knowledge and training is
revealed. This essay aims to not only display the interplay between these elements in
Tango, but to use these observations to offer a well-rounded approach towards musical
education that enhances the natural musician.
In Explaining Creativity, David Priilaid describes instinct as “behaviour [that]
generally manifests without any prior incidents of practice or learning.” For example,
though infants cannot understand instructions, they are still able to learn how to walk
by trial and error through processing what works and what does not work. Musicians
learning in a similar way breeds new musical possibilities such as unexpected harmonies
and extended techniques. In The Inner Game of Music, Barry Green explains how
expectation free learning is often key to musicians finding their own voice and
confidence in their playing since it enhances their self-awareness.
Bill Evans, legendary Jazz pianist once said to his brother Harry, " I don't want to
deprive you of the pleasure of finding this out for yourself, and for that reason, I'm not
going to show you a thing. If you sit at the keyboard and get into it yourself, it'll be a
marvelous experience." When musicians are forced to learn on their own, they are
forced to develop their own ideas. An example of this is Jimi Hendrix, a self-taught
musician who revolutionized rock guitar. His song, “Purple Haze”, features several
innovations such as playing with a microphone held up to the guitar instead of an amp
at moments, wah pedal, proximity fuzz effect, and distinctive tuning. These are
techniques that were never taught to Hendrix, rather through experimentation and
active listening Hendrix’s musical instincts led to new ideas.
The relationship between musical creativity and natural instincts is essential to
understanding the foundations of the Tango genre. Tango began to develop in the port
city Beunos Aires in the late 19th century. Mass immigration was the result of a labor
shortage providing financial opportunities for people from all around the world. Since
Argentina was a newly independent nation blending many cultures, new Argentinians
wanted a domestic cultural identity. This cultural clash led to creative musical
developments. Many of the musicians involved in this time were self-taught with a basic
understanding of folk music. “Europe, America and Africa all met in the arrabales of
Buenos Aires, and thus the tango was born - by improvisation, by trial and error, and by
spontaneous popular creativity...in these first years the music was entirely improvised.”
(Collier 1992). Most of the musicians in this proto-Tango phase of Argentine music had
full time jobs in things other than music and did not have formal training.

Tango in its earliest stages was rejected by the upper class, deemed as music for
low lives, the promiscuous, and the poor. The musical environments resembled a jazz
“jam sesh”, rather than a classical chamber group, featuring improvisation, playing by
ear, dance, and rapidly evolving musical expectations. This time was ironically critical
for the Tango because it allowed the musicians to develop a new language of music.
Many of the distinctive characteristics of the Tango exist because at one point the
musical culture had no established expectations. As amateur musicians formed
recreational ensembles to play at social events such as salons, streets, cafe’s and more,
several essential techniques gradually developed in adaptation to the musical demand.
For example, because the music was often in settings where people wanted to dance, the
arrastre technique developed emphasizing the meter, thus making it easier to dance to.
Other techniques, such as percussive effects called yeites, yumba on the piano,
and off beat accents called síncopa, emerged because of the opportunity that these
musicians had to blend their folk backgrounds together. Since advanced orchestration
techniques were not available to these musicians, early Tango had a common texture of
melody and accompaniment, the melody being the central communicator of the
emotional depth. A la Parrilla, or “on the grill”, captures the spontaneous and memory
induced musical performance practice. This esoteric, creole, or in Tango, criollo style of
playing became the foundation for future developments in the genre.
Around 1912-1913, the Tango became a socially accepted genre after reaching
Europe. During this, professional musicians began to influence the music. The evolution
of Tango after profession musicians brought in their influences displays the positive
impact that formal musical training has on artistic development. Julio De Caro is an
example of a musician in the early 19th century who revolutionized the Tango with his
background in formal musical training. De Caro’s Father, Francisco de Caro, was a
music professor at Milan Conservatory and had his own conservatory. Julio was a
classically trained musician, occasionally helping his father teach theory, musicianship,
and more. After hearing De Caro playing with Roberto Firpo, Eduardo Arolas, a major
Tango composer, invited De Caro into his orchestra. De Caro started his own sextet
which became internationally renowned.
Eventually, Julio De Caro and other composers became an extremely influential
figure in the Tango by incorporating refined musical elements into the Tango, such as
“complex contrapuntal textures, contrasting accompaniment rhythms, sophisticated,
chromaticism within diatonic frameworks, and elegant phrase and formal structure.”
(Link and Wendland, 2016). Tango was able to develop because of the influences of
formal music training. For example, De Caro’s “Chiqué” has counterpoint between the
melody and accompaniment, recitative like piano solos, contrasting textures, and
motivic development. At this point Tango entered a new era, called the guardia nueva.
Many of the unestablished elements of the guardia viejo became standard
practices for the genre in the guardio nueve. For example, the orchestra typica was
pioneered by Vicente Greco and Fillipe Canaro, two self-taught musicians of the old
guard. Consisting of two bandoneons, two violins, piano and bass, the orchestra typica
became a standard instrumentation for future generations. Another example is the
contrasts between rhythmic melodies, or ritmico, and lyrical melodies, or cantando, is
something that was starting to form in the early stages of Tango but became solidified in
the guardia nueve. This exemplifies the origins of musical practices. Often, they begin
as spontaneous ideas and nuances, but over time they become standard techniques. An
example of this outside the Tango is baroque ornamentation. That which was once a
testament of individuality and spontaneity became standardize melodic techniques.
The Tango eventually became a massively popular genre that was frequently
broadcasted on major media productions and performed in iconic settings. This era is
called the Golden age (1935-1955). This increase in the genre's prominence and artistic
refinement is largely due to the advantages of trained musicians bringing their
knowledge and skills to the music. Piano scores became widely accessible to the public,
where tunes could be practiced at home. This along other factors, such as radio
broadcasts and vinyl records helped create a standard repertoire. Orchestras had music
that they could practice, and large works demonstrated high levels of sophistication.
Tangos became a refined form of music, with dramatic shifts in emotional contour, deep
narratives, putting exceptional compositional skills and chamber music virtuosity on
display. This illustrates the power of musical instruction to advance a genre to its utmost
potential.
Though the tango evolved into forms oriented towards active listening, the
ingenuity of its early musicians remained evident. Traditionalists, such as Francisco
Canaro expressed fear that an academic framework around the Tango could rob the
music of its roots in popular dance music that is for the general public. In many ways,
the revolutions of the Tango did indeed stray away from being rooted in popular dance
music as the Tango became more of a center stage event than social background music.
However, qualities of natural musical instincts such as improvisation and rapid
innovation never left the genre. Annibal Troilo was one of the most prominent
composers of the golden age of Tango. His music featured many of the academic
changes to the genre such as advanced orchestration techniques, chromatic harmony,
complex forms and rhythms. However, as a self-taught bandoneonist, his performances
would also include solo sections of improvisations, have rhythmic elements similar to
that of early Tango, and expressive melody and accompaniment textures.
Tango's highly distinguishable phrasing, or fraseo, was a staple of Tango and reinforced the instinctive qualities of Tango in the golden age. Carlos Gardel was a self-
taught vocalist whose phrasing style had dramatic, emotionally led rubato that
manipulated rhythms boldly from their original notated rhythm. Since Gardel could not
read sheet music, he relied on his recollection of the melodies he would sing. His
execution of the melodies was generally differently in rhythms than the notated version
which enhanced originality of expression. Similar to the old guard, the lack of musical
training allowed for new possibilities to emerge. In this case, Gardel and other self-
taught vocalists who learned aurally would sing alongside professionally trained
musicians, creating a collaboration that is a powerful example of musical instincts and
intuition working hand and hand.
Many valuable conclusions about musical education can be drawn from observing
the evolution of Tango. As educators, we are charged with the responsibility of helping
students develop standard practices in a way that also enhances their musical
individuality. Beyond the Conservatory Model, by Michael Stepniak and Peter Sirotin,
claims that college musicians should be judged “not only according to their technique
but also according to their ability and willingness to be courageous and skillful in
bringing their interpretive and personal self to the task of performance.” An exceptional
example of this is Astur Piazzolla. Piazzolla visited renowned teacher Nadia Boulanger
to classical study composition. However, Boulanger noticed Piazzolla’s personal
connection to the Tango and encouraged him to continue exploring this genre.
Astor Piazzolla revolutionized Tango by blending baroque, classical, jazz, and
romantic influences into his Tango. Much of Piazzolla individuality is due to his ability
to include musical instincts with intellect. In a live recording of “Libertango” with
Piazzolla and Gary Burton, the band blends improvisation with a formal structure. The
piece features sequential harmonies, a solid rhythmic grounding, and melodic precision
whilst also leaving room for improvisation and flourishment’s. Piazzolla embodies a well
rounded approach to musical training, leaving room for the natural musician to
collaborate with the developed one.
Often in instrumental pedagogy, musicians developing their own style of playing
gets drowned out by the demands of stylistic perfectionism. In On Hearing Music, Colin
McAlpin describes how when the musical expert is merely aware of all the technical
challenges, theory, and historical relevance of their repertoire, they may become overly
focused on these concepts instead of the sound of the music itself. He says, “Indeed,
many a learned professor has so fastened on the science on his art as to deaden his soul
to the spontaneous freshness of inspired beauty.” The ultimate goal of musical
instruction of for individual musicians to develop convincing individuality. The history
of Tango defends this because of its roots in unrestricted musical creativity. The guardio
viejo composers and performers were developing their own ideas with only a basic
understanding of folk music because they had no other option.
However, much of the genre’s continued success can be attributed to formal
music training, Paul Hogue, president of Cleveland Institute of music claims that “we
need a incubator space, not to operate without any roles, but with a freedom and
independence that doesn’t serve any master but the student career needs.” This does not
mean that stylistic nuances and standard techniques should be disregarded. The
essential training of rigid skills and knowledge should not be reduced. However, there
should be an increase in instrumentalists’ opportunities to incorporate their own ideas
into their playing. This could include students being required to play the same piece in
two ways: one as perfectionistic and stylistically appropriate as possible, and another as
if the student was composing the piece themselves with the freedom to manipulate their
interpretation as freely as possible. This way students become aware of the deviations
that they are making, but not afraid of them.
The danger of musicians not developing solidified elements such as, techniques,
styles, language, and performance practices is that it obscures musical art forms.
Intuition is best when working in tandem with knowledge. Otherwise, “the concept of
intuition is held to invite obscurity which may lead to intellectual anarchy because there
are no adequate canons or criteria by which the authenticity of intuitive insights may be
test.” (Harold H. Titus 1964) Tango demonstrates the value of acquired knowledge
because in the guardia nueva period and the golden age, musical forms and advanced
techniques furthered the genre into new levels of sophistication and refinement.
Without the Tango undergoing this process of refinement the genre may have perhaps
continued as a backwoods town folk music, or even worse, lost in history and replaced
by other music.
Jazz showcases a similar history to Tango and demonstrates the interplay
between untrained musical skills and trained skill. Jazz evolved out of a culture clash in
New Orleans with oral tradition, self-taught musicians, and group improvisation.
Overtime Jazz was enhanced by music theory enabling musicians like John Coltrane to
improvise over complex harmonic changes. Duke Ellington, one of the most prominent
big band arrangers developed his unique style of arranging mainly through his own
exploration. These arrangements are sustained and expanded upon by trained
musicians. Dizzy Gillespie, one of the pioneers of bebop was largely self-taught and this
influenced his style. Bebop language has become a focused studies in many of the most
highly regarded music institutions such as Julliard and Berklee.
Other genres of music display the value of musical intuition. Though the classical
composer Edward Elgar was taught a basic understanding of musical reading and
writing, his unique style is largely attributed to the fact that he was self-taught. In
American folk music, such as blue grass, improvisation and spontaneity are essential to
the genre. The baroque period depended on oral tradition, improvisation, and individual
musicians and their voices. Mozart, regarded as one of the most refined composers of all
time, also was famous for his improvisations. Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt,
Bruckner and more were all also improvisors. Horowitz, one of the most famous pianists
of the 20th century had a unique playing style with bold interpretations which largely
contributed to his success.
Today, in musical institutions, improvisation and bold interpretations is
extremely rare and even disregarded outside of jazz and avante-garde. It is possible that
in the attempt to preserve musical traditions of the past many conservatories and
universities have sacrificed the creative possibilities of their students. On the contrary,
many self-taught musicians have abandoned the opportunity to push their creativity to
its highest levels if they were to undergo traditional instruction of harmony, technique,
and a knowledge of history.
The Tango exemplifies the harmonious relationship between natural instincts
and acquired skills and knowledge, one of the greatest mysteries of music. From its
humble beginnings in the guardia viejo involving amateur musicians gathering to create
music for that particular moment, to massive orchestra productions in the golden age,
Tango has always undergone changes because of new creative ideas. Educators should
observe this relationship and apply it to their teaching philosophy by implementing a
well-rounded approach. As musicians continue to learn in highly refined formal
environments with a focus on established ideas and practices, our goal as educators
should be to pursue musical refinement in our students without restraining instinctive
creative freedom.
How can we do this? To start we need to be aware of the unbalances. Can we
recognize when a student is afraid to trust their own interpretations? Can we exhort a
student who underestimates the value of musical traditions? Even more importantly,
can we recognize the imbalances in our own philosophies. Are we willing to adjust to the
unique needs of our students as individuals? Why are our programs leading to
musicians feeling restrained from their originality? Why do some students feel as if they
are being neglected their fundamental training?
After recognizing the issues of intellect vs instincts with our approaches and our
students, we must think of practical ways to solve the issues of imbalance in ourselves
and our students that directly targets the specific imbalance. The classical
instrumentalists whose interpretations lack originally will benefit from writing in their
own dynamics to a piece as an experiment. The formally self-taught musician who only
learns mostly aurally will benefit from being required to learn a piece from the score
without listening to it. We should promote diversity of skills, where musicians can be
exposed to a variety of interpretive philosophies and ideas. Our goal should be
assimilation to the traditions of academic music whilst simultaneously magnifying the
creative individuality. This will greatly enhance musical education and artistic developments.
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