Tango – Sheet Music & Scores

The tango - how can there be so much feeling in so few notes? Browse our sheet music and scores, try works by Carlos Gardel, Astor Piazzolla and many more, and immerse yourself in the electrifying world of tango with Stretta Music today!

The Origin of Tango

There are many theories about the origin of the tango. The word tango is thought to have been used in the Congo, the Gulf of Guinea and the South Sudan to refer to a meeting place. There is evidence of the same word being used for slave dance meetings in Buenos Aires, and also in Montevideo as early as 1789.

Names of other Latin American dances also have African origins, such as the milonga or the candombe, but this does not mean that the tango originates from African Music. The tango, born on both sides of the Rio de La Plata between Argentina and Uruguay, is the musical result of waves of immigration in the mid-19th century, a wonderful mixture of cultures, rhythms and musical forms including the Payada, Milonga, Habanera, Andalusian Tango, Mazurka, Polka, Waltz, Zarzuela, Sainete and many more.

The Development of Tango

Although the bandoneon is synonymous with tango today, it did not feature in tango music until the late 19th century. Until then, the line-up consisted of guitar, violin and flute. The flute gradually disappeared, being replaced by the piano, and shortly after the bandoneon was introduced.

In 1925, the Tangos by Carlos Gardel achieved international fame, with hits such as Por una cabeza and Volver, and along with Astor Piazzolla, in the film adaptation of El día que me quieras, named after the famous tango.

Through the works of Astor Piazzolla, particularly his Adiós Nonino, and classical composers like Igor Stravinsky, with his Tango by Stravinsky, the tango has become an integral part of classical concerts world-wide.

It takes two to Tango!

• Piano – Tango Sheet Music
• Strings – Tango Sheet Music
• Accordion – Tango Sheet Music
• Astor Piazzolla – Sheet Music
• Tango Orchestra – Sheet Music
• Bandoneon – Tango Sheet Music
• Bandoneon with Orchestra – Tango Sheet Music
• Guitar – Tango Sheet Music
• Tango – Sheet Music Downloads