Dance Music Salsa (AoS 3 Dance Music)

Salsa – The dance and music style from Cuba. - A fusion (mixture) of traditional Cuban Son and American Big Band Jazz. - Basically African Slaves brought by Spanish settlers working on Sugar plantations. - This formed the (now) traditional music called SON - Influences from the southern states of USA where there was lots of Jazz. - Particularly the Carnival street jazz and Big band jazz. - As populations moved between countries/ areas (1960s /70s) the modern Salsa we know today was formed.

Traditional Cuban Son – The most important element is the Son Clave rhythm (pronounced Clah-veh). Where? – Carnivals and street celebrations. - Other syncopated rhythms are layered over this rhythm to create complicated sounding cross rhythms or polyrhythms. - Other percussion instruments include Maracas, Bongos, Timbales, Congas, and Guiro. (If they tell you about the name of each instrument, Tom or Sian etc, just ignore the name, just know them a congas, timbales etc.) - Main melody is on brass instruments - Call and response is between lead singer (SONERO) and chorus (CHORO) - This call and response is called PREGON (traditional word meaning announcement) and CHORO in Salsa. - Singing in Spanish, particularly nasal sounding. It’s often improvised. - Quite Traditional Cuban Son – We know it’s Son – NO trombone, NO Piano, NO Saxophone, NO Drum kit. Listen for the different layers of Latin Percussion instruments. That Guitar is called a Très. - More Son Here – This one has a trumpet, but still NONE of the other. - And again - You can watch it being played and sung. – Listen out for those layers of rhythm which together are called Polyrhythms.

American Big Band Jazz – 1960s/70s Many Cubans in New York. - Son/ Salsa music arranged for big band. - Added more instruments – Trombone – saxophone – Drum kit. Here's some big band jazz – so listen and watch for each section. Should be easy to see / hear how they combine with Son to give Salsa.

Son Clave Rhythm – The basic Salsa rhythm. Everything revolves around this. - It comes in 3-2 and 2-3 forms.

- is the 3 – 2

is the 2 – 3 - The clave rhythm can change in the music. It’s always there and always in 4/4 time.

Salsa Band Instruments – Comines both Son and Big Band instruments. - FRONT LINE or HORN SECTION – Trumpets, Trombones and Saxophones. - A Horn section of Salsa style music (Well to start with!!!) - VOCALS – Lead Singer (Sonero - Sings at 22 secs) and chorus (CHORO) - STRINGS AND PIANO – Bass Guitar, Très (Spanish Guitar – you music call it TRES) and piano. - RHYTHM SECTION – What we call LATIN PERCUSSION – Congas, Timbales, Bongos, Maracas, Guiro with the western Drum kit as we know it. - Ultra-modern version may even use samplers and synthesisers or rapping. This really modern version is called SALSATION. - Intro to Salsa percussion – you really see the different parts here. - This guy loops the different parts together

Salsa Structure – There are THREE main sections. The Timbale plays a drum roll at the start of each section – this is called an Abanico. - VERSE – Sonero sings main tune (occasionally instrumental) - MONTUNO – Like a chorus. Sonero or instrumentalist improvises and other instruments or Choro answer. - MAMBO – Like a break between other sections – new music, new chords. Horn section takes the lead. - Just to complicate it, these sections can come in any order AND they’ll probably be and intro and outro. - Salsa 1 – can you tell the sections? - Salsa 2 - you can clearly hear the piano then the choro. Short brass stabs at ends of phrases. You can hear the class and response, the layers of polyrhythms. - Salsa 3 – fades between various different Salsas. - Salsa 4

Salsa Rhythms – Each section of the structure (above) have different rhythms. - Well they’re SO similar, but... - The Conga player used one drum in verse, both in Montuno and Mambo. - Bongos ONLY in Verse. - Mambo Bell used in Montuno and Mambo, but not in verse. - Mambo bell – so it’s not really a bell like a church or playground bell, it’s like – well listen and you’ll find out.

Salsa Dance Steps – They love asking you about dance steps. - Male and Females in partners. - Start in closed (facing) position. - Man steps forward (RF), back to place, backwards (LF) and back to place over period of 8 beats. - Since in pairs the woman mirrors the man. - Stays in one position, does not move round the room. - In the Montuno, just like when the instruments go for it, the dancers can open up and improvise a bit too. - Salsa Dance Steps - The second set of steps they do is described above – clearly there are other steps too.

Salsa History

Salsa Recipe

Chocolate cake recipe

GCSE Music composition recipe

More recipes