How to Find the “One”… in Salsa Music

Sometimes it is hard to find the rhythm of salsa songs, especially when we have just started to dance salsa or Casino. There are lots of instruments, the pace changes in the middle of the song, there are interludes and breaks. However, there are a few tricks we can use to find the “one” when in doubt.*

The Basics

First of all, when we've already had our first dancing lessons or watched some instruction videos online, we might remember that salsa is danced over two bars in four-four time, hence the counting from one to eight.

Over these two bars, we dance the basic mambo step: three steps on 1, 2 and 3, then a little tap on 4, and again three steps on 5, 6, and 7, and a little tap on 8. Now, how do we connect these steps to the music?

The Pattern

Even though there might be many instruments used in a salsa song, they all tend to follow a certain pattern that we can use to connect to the rhythm. It may be difficult in the beginning, but we can train our hearing to focus on each instrument individually and crack the code of every song.

The piano usually plays a pattern (called montuno or also tumbao) over the entire eight beats. Once we recognize this pattern, we will be able to find the one easily. We can start training our hearing by just listening to a salsa pattern with a clave. If we’re comfortable enough with entire songs, here’s one that starts with the piano pattern and then gradually adds more instruments: El Timba by Hermano.

Also congas (those drums that look like tall, narrow barrels) usually play a tumbao rhythm. There are many variations but in general, the pattern can either be played over four or eight beats. Do you hear the double hit on 4 and 8 in these examples? Again, if we’re comfortable to train our hearing and rhythm on a song, here we go: Para Bailar by Maité Hontelé.

The Beat

Last but not least, we can learn to focus on the clave rhythm. This is played by two small wooden sticks, also called clave, and can be a 2/3 rhythm or a 3/2 rhythm over eight beats. In case of the 2/3 pattern, the first hit will be on 2 and the last on 8. With the 3/2 pattern, the first hit will be on 1 and the last on 7. Here is a song to tune into the 2/3 pattern: Vente Negra (the clave starts after 24sec) by La Nova Tradicional and another song in the 3/2 pattern: Temba, Tumba, Timba (the clave starts after 15sec) by Los Van Van.

In a Nutshell…

When we are having trouble finding the first beat in salsa songs, we can use the instruments’ rhythms and patterns for orientation. These patterns usually repeat themselves over 4 or 8 bars, allowing us to find the rhythm easier once we have attuned our hearing to them.

Further Reading and Recommendations:

The videos of Scuola di Salsa offer a great opportunity to train your hearing as they gradually add instruments to a salsa pattern.

If you want to practice with some real salsa songs but still need a little help, the Salsa Beat Machine indicates every first beat for you.

For a more detailed explanation on timing in salsa (including some music theory), check out Timing is Everything – Mastering Dance Timing in Salsa and Other Dances by Peter Rolls.

If you prefer having someone explain salsa rhythm to you, here is a pretty detailed video by Andrei Vazhnov to help beginners.

*) The videos used for this blog entry can be found in our Musicality playlist.

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