Analyse This

H

Haz

*note: post is mainly for musicians*

Anybody out there know of a good break down of a "typical" salsa song? We've all heard the '2-3 or 3-2 clave' description, but what about the rest? What sort of things to salsa music composers keep in mind? Better yet, any salsa music composers out there willing to share their thoughts and works?

I've played music for a while now, and wrote some (not to impressive) stuff before, but nothing in the latin genre. Just mostly jazz and electronic stuff....but here's an (mostly uneducated) opinion of the song currently playing. 'Domi Cinco' I believe it's called? Think it represents a typical salsa song no?

- eight note feel, but triplet shots predominant
- instrumentation is raspy trumpet/trombone VS woodwinds...
- notes generally played sharp/short
- sax's for the backup lines
- cowbell keeping a deadlock on the tempo (1 and 3)
- percussion solo's throughout (open snare, toms)
- hand drums...
- percussion basically stays the same with 4/5 instruments repeating
- major pentatonic (?? i'm at work and can't play around with any instrument to see )
- off beats emphasized for backup shots and solo technique

Any thoughts?
 
Haz said:
Haz said:
- eight note feel, but triplet shots predominant
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I'm not really shure what you mean by this, but I don't think I've ever played triplets in my salsaband.

Haz said:
- instrumentation is raspy trumpet/trombone VS woodwinds...
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Yes there's usually a raspy brass section and some woodwinds. But the woodwinds doesn't have to be there.
Haz said:
- notes generally played sharp/short
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yes
Haz said:
- sax's for the backup lines
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I'm not sure about this. I don't here much of the saxophone in many great salsa songs. I think the flute is more common.
Haz said:
- cowbell keeping a deadlock on the tempo (1 and 3)
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Yes, but not allways
Haz said:
- percussion solo's throughout (open snare, toms)
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There are usually some basic patterns and the musician plays variations of those.
Haz said:
- hand drums...
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Yes
Haz said:
- percussion basically stays the same with 4/5 instruments repeating
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I don't know.
Haz said:
- major pentatonic (?? i'm at work and can't play around with any instrument to see )
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I don't know, I've never thought about this.
Haz said:
- off beats emphasized for backup shots and solo technique
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I'm not sure what you mean.

Additional characteristics:
The bass almost never emphasize the one. It usually accentuates the four.

Sorry for not understanding everything in your post. Fist, my native language isn't english and I also believe it's hard to describe music in words, especially when I haven't heard the particular song.

Well, hope this helped.

//Simon
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Re: Analysis

Hey, sorry if this response is late, I just discovered this forum. If you want to know how a salsa ensemble is put together, I would highly recommend Rebecca Mauleon's book "Salsa Guidebook for Piano and Ensemble." In general, however, I would hesitate to generalize about salsa music. Although most songs are based a verse-montuno structure, wherein the verse section is followed by a call-and-response section, certainly not all songs are. The sound, instrumentation, and patterns followed by each of the parts will be highly dependent on what type of song you are doing and what style you are going for.

My experience, as a wanna-be salsa pianist and band leader, and over-read ethnomusicologist, is that the differences across styles and sounds are part of the wealth of the music. There are so many stories that come out once you start investigating why a certain song sounds the way it does. But of course, first you have to realize how and why they all sound so different. Start transcribing, get a group together and try to play some of your favorite songs, you'll be amazed.
 
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