Thanks to our correspondent Karlos, who sent us this nice video clip of an old Eddie Torres instructional DVD. I get a lot of questions about timing and clave - and of course, the main discussion of dancing On2/On1. Here is a great find, one of the best I’ve seen, on what it is to dance on clave. This instruction specifically shows you how the ‘tumbao’ or ‘el vacio’ hooks into the basic salsa step. Specifically, watch how when those parts of the beat match the parts where Eddie in the video breaks forward and back. Of course, that is all I will say (to reduce the nasty-grams about On2). Anyways, a video is worth ten-thousand words.
Of...
Can’t see the video, man!
Got it! Sorry about that (fixed another bug)
You know, this guy is actually wrong… 12345678 is one measure and not two measures like he explains in his vid. That’s why we make the distinction between 1 and 5.
In standard 4/4 time, there are four beats to each measure with each quarter note representing one beat. he is actually right…
the first 4 beats comprise of the first measure, the second 4 comprise of the other
No, he’s not right, cause salsa is danced in 4/4, but subdivided in 8. It is danced on the eighths. Not the quarters.
One step is an eighth.
Ah no, apparently I am wrong, Justin (just checked a website).
But now I am puzzled. Normally in 4/4, the emphasis is on the 1st and 3rd quarter notes. The 1st is more heavily emphasized that the 3rd and I thought that that was what I heard in salsa (1 being one in 4/4 and 5 being 3 in 4/4 because step 5 is less heavily stressed than step 1). Apparently this is not the case.
I think it’s akward, salsa groups two measures all the time.
Yuri: don’t forget the original afro rhythms were there *before* notation was applied. Because the rhythms are (a) highly syncopated and (b) swung in a particular way, it’s hard to conclusively say what are the emphatic beats in terms of musical notation. It’s my opinion that conventional notation is simply not up to the job.
Convention has varied down the years but currently settles on one cycle of the clave being notated as two 4/4 musical bars, equal to the 8 counts we dance on.
Coincidentally, a few months ago I addressed this issue in two posts.
On2 Salsa Beat, How to Dance On2
http://scarletmambo.com/2007/03/29/on-2-salsa-beat-how-to-dance-on-2/
On this article, I explain in detail with words and diagrams how to dance Salsa on2. This should address all questions, including how it differs from the original Mambo and Ballroom Mambo.
Musicality Of Salsa Why An 8-Beat Measure
http://scarletmambo.com/2007/05/21/musicality-of-salsa-why-an-8-beat-measure/
And on this article, I explain the difference between 2 measures of 4 beats Vs. 1 measure of 8 beats. (basically, 2 musician measures = 1 dancer measure). Nearly all musicians I have asked(including salsa percussionists, piano players, etc) feel the music in 4/4, while dancers feel the music in 8 beats.
Both sides have a point- salsa music is written in 4/4 generally, but the clave is spread across two of the measures- hence the eight beats that you generally count when you dance. In something like a march beats one and three are emphasized. In jazz (and many things descended from it- like hip-hop) the high hat emphasizes two and four.
I found a demonstration of 3-2 clave on youtube in which a drummer demonstrates it and shows on music paper how it works.
http://salsaestacion.com/clave.htm
Greetings,
Regarding the differing views, all of which are well thought through on the timing of the salsa/mambo basic step, part of the problem is overlooking the key drum pattern of the conga which is critical to the Sals/Mambo basic step. In 4/4 time, the conga “slaps” on 2 and hits 2 eighth notes on 4,.. i.e. one..two(Slap),,,three…”four/and”(hit/hit),.. but because the basic step takes two measures and therefore dancers have become accustomed to counting the two measures as 12345678, such has lead to much confusion. Instead and for 43 years dancing as well as a percussionist, the counts should be 1234 2234 to mark the second measure with a 2 instead of a 5. Therefore, when dancing on “one” the dancer steps forward or out on “1″ and steps back on the first count (or”2″) of the second measure. When dancing on “two”, the dancer steps out on 2 (or the conga slap) and back out on the second “2″ of the second measure. The following shows in quotes, when the dancer steps forward or back in the basic step for each style,..i.e.
Dancing on “one”: “1″234 “2″234
Dancing on “two”: 1″2″34 2″2″34
Of the two atyles dancing on “one” is in cadence with the Conga and more prominent of a step….HAving said that the normal count of 12345678 will linger as many of the dance steps are based on such….. best regards to all and we all honor our varying viewpoints and long live SALSA
On2 - “neutral step” is 1 and 5 count
On1 - “fwd/back step” is 1 and 5 count