Beat for Cuban Improvising

[adamg67]

I've recently had my second string bass de-fretted, and it's inspired me to mess about with some Cuban-ish bass lines, inspired pretty much exclusively by Cachaito Lopez. I'm learning a few lines and melodically they seem to fit really well against what I already play, which is mainly blues based - they seem almost to be "Latin Blues" to me, maybe that's why the only "Latin" music I've ever liked is Cuban.

What's new is the rhythm, it seems very natural to play to but I don't have the knowledge to create backing tracks to play along to. I can probably just get some from Groove Monkey but I need to know what I'm after.

So, to get down it, can anyone tell me how to describe the beat / percussion on something like this: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IudnOvyXdk"]https://www.youtube....h?v=-IudnOvyXdk[/url] ? or this: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y665wQIg0dY"]https://www.youtube....h?v=Y665wQIg0dY[/url] ?

I'm guessing it's all Clave based?

It's quite exciting, probably my first real foray out of blues / rock based stuff.

Edited December 9, 2015 by adamg67

[Dad3353]

[quote name='adamg67' timestamp='1449673922' post='2925853']... can anyone tell me how to describe the beat / percussion on something like this: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IudnOvyXdk"]https://www.youtube....h?v=-IudnOvyXdk[/url] ? or this: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y665wQIg0dY"]https://www.youtube....h?v=Y665wQIg0dY[/url] ?

I'm guessing it's all Clave based?...
[/quote]

The first I'd call a Cha-cha, the second is a Tumbao (the clue is in the title..!). Look 'em up if you want a bit more of a definition; there's an awful lot of musical genres around Cuba, including Salsa, Rumba, Beguine and many more. The differences are critical to those heavily into these, but can be confusing if trying to untangle them analytically. It's easier if you're into dancing, as all are based on that.
Yes, most Cuban (and Brazilian, Latin and West African...) music is clave based. That's not 'claves' as in the wooden instrument; rather 'clave' as being the base beat, hypnotically repetitive.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Dad3353

[tinyd]

As @dad says, other countries' music also uses clave rhythms, but the Cuban variants are probably the most rigid in that they don't change throughout the tune.The rhythms are over 2 bars, with 2 beats in one bar and three in the other and depending on the tune these bars can be played with the 2 first (2-3 clave) or the 3 first (3-2 clave). The Wikipedia article is pretty good https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clave_(rhythm). What's more, there are two main variations, son and rumba, that have slightly different beats. To further add confusion, the term "tumbao" refers either to the bass rhythm played over Cuban/salsa tunes or to the rhythm played on the congas.

So if you're looking for rhythm tracks to play along to, you could try searching for "conga tumbao with 2-3 son clave" for example. If you fancy treating yourself to an Xmas pressie, The Latin Bass Book by Oscar Stagnaro and The Salsa Guidebook by Rebecca Mauleon are both great.


Have fun!