Time was when the movements in ballroom dancing were precise and slow and the instruments usually used were cellos and violins. The music these instruments produced was very right for the way ballroom dancing was done then. With the passing of the years, the dancing as well as the music changed and today, ballroom dancing music incorporates a lot more instruments.

Today, the music depends on what kind of dance is being performed. Considering that there are ten different kinds of ballroom dances and so many variations of those, one can imagine the diversity of the music that goes with them too. Let's take a look at some of the music that goes with the dances.

The music for the Spanish dance, paso doble, is very fast and dramatic. The dance is about how brave and agile a bullfighter is and the girl is used like the cape which the matador uses. The music is usually instrumental but is intense and could have acoustic guitars and horns as well.

The jive is a quick, upbeat dance that has music that matches as well. You have a lot of fast movement and there is a lot of twirling and kicking. The songs that are great for the jive are ‘Born to Hand Jive' and Elvis's ‘Hound Dog'. These have just the right tempo for this dance and any music like this is great for it. It is a dance that lets the dancers express themselves.

A combination of the jive and the swing – the quickstep has very quick and concise steps and the music for this is instrumental with a tempo that is upbeat. The favorite songs for this dance are ‘Spoonful of Sugar', ‘Flash' and ‘Big Band'.

One of the most popular ballroom dances is the foxtrot. It is tough to learn and master this dance but the ones who perform it well are a dream to watch as they glide around the dance floor to the ‘slow-quick-quick-slow' rhythm. The music for this should not be too fast or too slow and needs to be chosen carefully, Shakira's ‘Underneath Your Clothes' or Berlin's ‘Take My Breath Away' are a good choice for the foxtrot. Since this dance is viewed as formal and very upper-crust, choosing the right music is very important.

One dance that is lively and rather flirty is the cha cha. This is a fast dance and has a lot of quick movement of the feet as well as shaking of the hips. It's rather easy to choose the music for this one and Johnny Cash's ‘Ring of Fire' and Shakira's ‘Whenever, Wherever' are good choices.