Is it that important to dance to a specific style of Salsa?

S

Super_Buddy

Changui
Hi everyone, so I am trying to learn more about Salsa music and all the different sub genres within Salsa. But it is endless and very frustrating when trying to learn without anyone to learn from.

I like all types of Salsa music, but have been a bit focused on only trying to find Salsa music for cross body dancers to dance to.

Does it actually matter?

I mean, you can dance cross body style salsa to anything really. Cuban, NY, PR, Columbian, Latin tracks, even r & b and pop tracks.

Its all the same as long as you enjoy the music you are dancing too right?

Some people enjoy allot of romantica salsa, some people like a bit more of the salsaton stuff.
I myself do enjoy a big mixture of tracks, dura, son, all the way through to english salsa and Latin/pop stuff.

But what's the main thing to look for when playing a song for people to dance to? the tempo? a dominant beat? a good vocal? Should I be focusing more on this when choosing songs, rather than the sub genres of salsa?

I never want to be a DJ, have allot more respect and appreciation for DJ's after trying to learn more about Salsa.
Just want to play a decent selection of music :)

What's your thoughts?
 
I would stick to actually salsa genres and stay away from dancing salsa to pop, RnB etc because I think you will learn better musicality through dancing to teh actual music with it's rhythmic particularities. You may be able to dance fine to pop but when you hit the salsa club and you might not feel comfortable with/be good at dancing to the polyrhythms and the breaks etc of the style that you find in salsa. When you reach a more advanced level if you still want to dance salsa to all kinds of other music, fine, because by then you will hopefully have the salsa bits down. But to get good at teh basics and develop strong salsa skills first, stick to salsa music. Whether you choose dura, romantica, colombiana, cubana is less important IMO. you will probably eventually develop a preference anyway. But starting out why not sample it all?
 
Thanks for that. I dont mean I want to dance salsa to pop/latin, just mentioning you can. Although I am at a level I feel like i can dance to other styles of music too.

My main thought is about choosing songs to play for others. I really want to play predominately salsa music, with a little latin/funky stuff.

But there is so many styles of salsa, just wondering does it really matter.

I mean does it matter if a cross body lead dancer, dances to a cuban track, or vice versa?

I can't see any problem in ti myself as it always happens :)
 
Short answer IMO no, but I do draw the line @r&b,pop and latin tracks (I am assuming you mean Shakira, Ricky Martin et al) and worst of all English Salsa (Salsish???). Every scene is different and I know tastes vary, but you are trying to learn about salsa music and it seems in your scene there are a wide cross section of dancers, cuban ,cross body etc. Here is the US, most scenes are sub divided, by style of music and in the bigger scenes, most of the different styles (Timba vs Salsa Dura for example), don't really coexist harmoniously. I am not saying that they can't, but they don't, that's not to say that you wouldn't hear a Timba or Cuban Salsa song played at social ( I have heard Van Van played @ our All Vinyl night)but that is an exception rather than the rule. So stick to Salsa/Mambo tunes in Spanish, stay away from the other fluffy stuff...just saying.Two big no no's for DJ's (Salsa that is ) are mixing and playing the fluffy stuff.
 
:) thanks MAMBO_CEC

How do you suggest I find good Salsa/Mambo tunes to play?

We should have a sticky thread on here for top tunes played at parties for certain types of Salsa, cuban/mambo/dura etc...

I know the lists could be endless, but at least people like me with little knowledge of salsa music can learn more about certain styles and why its that certain style of salsa.

I hear people moaning about Salsa music in the UK going bad extra (although thats not me saying that), so this would be a good way to show people what they should be playing rather than telling them that they are not playing good stuff.

Helping people learn :)
 
When you play for other people it is more important what they want to hear. If it matters to them what style you play then you better pay attention to what they say. Personally I enjoy many different styles and would prefer to hear a healthy variety of music. Others have a narrow preference for a specific style and that often is matched to the style they dance.

One thing though, stick to salsa. Even if your scene tolerates anything on (so-called) salsa nights, please don't water down the music choice. It will make things worse on the long run.
 
You don't have to go very far mate, a lot the experienced members on this forum know a lot about music, and they're in UK or Europe: Terrence, Matty, Tallpaul, Wildbill, Azzey, DJ Yuca ,Timberamayor, to name but a few, sorry to the others but these are the names that come to mind, you can IM them. Itunes, Amazon etc,Youtube...the world is your lobster!!!
 
I agree, keep your set rooted in the classic sound and add embellishments and variety on top.

For your first outing keep it simple and program lots of tunes from big names: Ismael Rivera, Roberto Roena, Bobby Valentin, Ray Barretto, El Gran Combo, Tito Puente/Rodriguez, Oscar D'Leon, Fruko Y Su Tesos/Joe Arroyo etc... Mix it up with modern and current releases like La Maxima 79, Tromboranga, Moncho Rivera, New Swing Sextet, Latin Giants Of Jazz/Mambo Legends etc... Go ahead and drop the occasional bit of Romantica, playing some Marc Anthony is fine, people recognize him and as a DJ recognition is your best friends.
 
Yeah, what others have said.

For choosing what to dance to yourself, it doesn't matter much.
(Although you may find that some songs fit better with one style of dancing rather than another. And it'll be easier for you to progress in your chosen style of dancing the more you familiarise yourself with the sort of music its usually danced to).

If you're playing music for other people to dance to, then the kind of music they like to dance to matters.
(The kind of music they like to dance to may well be influenced by what they're most used to).

There's a time and a place to encourage people to be more broad-minded, but if dancers don't enjoy dancing to the style of music you're playing, then they're not going to have a very enjoyable evening.

Understanding why they're not enjoying dancing to the music you're playing (even though some dancers in other places really enjoy those songs) is important too.
 
I really love this topic and I know that it is not an easy thing to discuss about.
It is strongly related to the personal subjective taste. We all tend to react in a bit of sensitive way when somebody is speaking about our taste. That is why it is difficult to obtain objective answers to this topic.There aren't.

Not all DJs out there know/hear/feel the difference between a song more adapt to Salsa Crossbody or one to Cuban Style. Some other people have a very discerning hear and know well what it means, indeed.

A litte example: dancer on 2 love the sound of the congas. If that nice sound is missing, you will feel the difference. This is just a little example.

Theoretically, and technically speaking, one could dance Salsa to Techno or even to Classic music but does it feel the same? Well, one could blame me for comparing Salsa with two completely different music genres. It is true. I just wanted to make sure you can feel the difference.

Believe it or not, the fact is that I do feel the difference between Cuban and Crossbody music as much as everyone would feel the difference between Salsa and Classic music.
You need to have a sense of musicality to understand the differencies.

There are of course people who know well what I am speaking about. I would encoureage these people to become Salsa-DJs.

As I said, I am convinced it is not an easy topic to talk about. Everybody would come up with his or her theory and give argumentations to it.
I have spoken with some dancers/teachers about this topic. I have never really had the impression we were talking about the same thing,
BUT RATHER at cross-purposes
 
good post Domenico!

I believe I can feel the difference in music, but I don't understand why I feel they are different. If you now what I mean.
I need more knowledge of what I am feeling and what the differences are. Thats my big downfall I believe.

Since chatting to people on here I have learned so much. about stuff that I did know before, but didnt really notice that they mattered so much.

For instance I do enjoy salsa romantica, english salsa, and rnb covers etc... stuff I am maybe more familiar with. I think this is because I am a singer also, so i can sing along to the english words and am familiar with the rnb/pop tracks.

But never really considered that its a watered down type of salsa music. Just did not occur to me. and even when people on here said it was, it didn't bother me as i could not see the difference.

But I played a set the other night. (not really as DJ, more a glorified jukebox lol) but I only played:

Salsa Dura
PR/NY
Columbian
Cuban

took out all the other stuff I used to put in. and it really did make a difference to be fair.

I still have a long long way to go, and would like to add in some of the other songs in now and again, but I am taking them out completely for the moment, to really get a better understanding of the music.

Need more songs for my collection though, that I know are good "salsa dura" tracks. as the more "good" salsa tracks that I can be confident with that are played regularly in events. the more I will understand the music and what makes that track a good track and hopefully be able to find more like it and make it a better night :)

Thanks everyone for the comments on all my posts. I have been posting allot lately. with so many questions. I love to learn and you have all helped me so much.

Im sure there will be more "so called stupid or silly question" to come, but unless I ask them then I will never learn :D

And I must learn!!!! :D
 
If you have some (read lots of) extra time on your hands I can recommend that you check out the articles by Kevin Moore at Timba.com. He has three articles on pre-timba music in Cuba. You can follow the development including listening to mp3 samples to illustrate various points. It may help you to understand what you are hearing as different when the music is dissected a bit.

Arsenio Rodriguez
http://www.timba.com/encyclopedia_pages/the-roots-of-timba-1

From Arsenio to Songo - Van Van. Irakere, etc
http://www.timba.com/encyclopedia_pages/the-roots-of-timba-part-ii

Roots of Timba III 1978-1989
http://www.timba.com/encyclopedia_pages/the-roots-of-timba-pt-iii
there are some fun articles about clave

He also has some great analyses of La Charanga Habanera, who actually used to be quite the leaders in innovation in Timba, before going total boy band and nearly 100% timbaton.
One of my all time favorite articles is Conversations in Timba where he analyses the musical conversation going on between all the instruments in one song. This is a great way to really hear instrument by instrument how much action is happening in Timba. The action is what timberos like and salseros generally find "too busy".
http://www.timba.com/artist_pages/260

He also has some books that one has to buy but they are also good to some extent at illustrating the differences, although most of them are directed at musicians. I think one of the best books is in Beyond Salsa For Beginners,which is more for dancers and listener.
http://www.timba.com/encyclopedia_pages/beginners

But hold the presses! Kevin is now finishing up a 400 page book where he delves into regular old salsa! Don't know exactly when the book will be finished. I know he looks at the various versions of Guararey in the book. I gave him the gossip scoop on that song after my visit Guantanamo, so maybe he'll add that to the book for color.
 
great thanks for all that.

My focus at the moment is Salsa dura for the cross body dancer, rather than timba, son etc... but it is something I need to learn about.

So will definitely read up on all that when i get some spare time to dedicate to it.

My main focus at the moment is what makes a good salsa dura track and why it makes it a good song to dance to.
And understand what is in that song to make it a salsa dura track rather than a cuban track.

Which I am sure reading the above will help for as well :D

Thanks again x
 
timberamayor said:
But hold the presses! Kevin is now finishing up a 400 page book where he delves into regular old salsa! Don't know exactly when the book will be finished. I know he looks at the various versions of Guararey in the book. I gave him the gossip scoop on that song after my visit Guantanamo, so maybe he'll add that to the book for color.
Click to expand...
I suspect that that might be the most useful book for Super Buddy out of that list, Michelle.
Sounds like he's focused on learning more about Salsa Dura - not just on what makes Timba different from it. :bookworm:
:)
 
p.s. Super Buddy
Timberamayor mentioned the song "Guararey" - originally a Cuban changui song by Los Van Van, I believe.
Ray Barretto's version of the song is an awesome Salsa Dura track to play at a Salsa Dura night.
:headphone::dancingbanana::cool:
 
tallpaul said:
I suspect that that might be the most useful book for Super Buddy out of that list, Michelle.
Sounds like he's focused on learning more about Salsa Dura - not just on what makes Timba different from it. :bookworm:
Click to expand...

I believe I can feel the difference in music, but I don't understand why I feel they are different. If you now what I mean.
I need more knowledge of what I am feeling and what the differences are. Thats my big downfall I believe.
Click to expand...
My post is addressing this comment. There is plenty of information about timba and also Kevin's articles do sometimes compare with regular salsa, which helps illustrate the difference. It's only half of the story. But I'm not qualified to help with the salsa dura part. I leave that to others. I agree the coming book sounds like it should be quite interesting, but for the time being...
 
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tallpaul said:
p.s. Super Buddy
Timberamayor mentioned the song "Guararey" - originally a Cuban changui song by Los Van Van, I believe.
Ray Barretto's version of the song is an awesome Salsa Dura track to play at a Salsa Dura night.
:headphone::dancingbanana::cool:
Click to expand...
It's originally a changüí by Changuí de Guantánamo that Formell heard when he was in Guantánamo and did a version of and later Barreto did a salsa version. I don't like the horns in his version. Sadly Barretto lists the author as DR, which is untrue.
 
How can I find it when this new book will come out? Will people be posting links on here. is there a specific website that will promote it heavily etc...? Thanks
 
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