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The Viennese Waltz

© Copyright 2001, Jim Loy

We all know what a waltz is (except for Waltzing Matilda who seems to be dancing to something else). A waltz is rather fast, and goes . Well, a Viennese waltz (those by the two Johanns Strauss, for example) is slightly faster than other waltzes (French waltzes for example). But the main feature of a Viennese waltz is that those three beats per measure are not played evenly. The first beat is right on the money; the second is played slightly early; and the third is slightly late. The rhythm is slightly jerky, like the hint of a hickup. The effect is obvious, if done authentically, as Austrian orchestras always do. The director directs one beat per measure, giving only the first of the three beats, by the way.

When I was a child, learning to play the trombone, I was surprised to find that the written music gave almost all the information that the performer needed. There were no subtle effects like speed changes. As I grew up, I found that there were subtleties like vibrato. When I started to play in a jazz band, I found that the rhythm was quite different from what was written. Then I found that some classical performers varied their tempo, from note to note, quite noticeably. This is called rubato. Most of them do it (perhaps unconsciously). It is just not noticeable with most performers.

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