Friday, February 17, 2006
A shocker of a revelation the night before, then in a separate occurrence, such muted leadening of the heart this day in the dank cold. Oh mi corazon.. Would it have the requisite strength? Or has it already plummeted to those deadened depths.
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I have not danced socially for a few weeks - ever since that less-than-pleasant experience at the Union CNY party, and even though I have been -attempting- to teach basics, I am already rusty and in desperate need of a pick-me-up. So help me.
The only good thing to come out of this past week, from the dancer's perspective, has been my new shoes.. : ) Looks and feels good enough to last, and I've also visited my good old Bugis cobbler to get the frontal sole sueded, good stuff indeed. Now I need only to start blazing the floor. Tall order huh.
-Someone ask me out to Union, quick!-
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Please allow me the liberty to consolidate my thus far poor-enough knowledge of the Cuban roots of salsa music.
They say salsa evolved from a version of danzon, termed son. Within the genre of son lies several sub-genres, one of which - son montuno - had been most critical in influencing the development of mambo (and thereafter, salsa). A further breakdown of son montuno reveals its individual percussive elements, as detailed below.
Son Campana - fast percussive beats played on cowbells or cymbals.
Son Clave - our all-too familiar clave, with a 2/3 or 3/2 rhythm, traditionally played on the claves.
Timbale - simple off-tempo (relatively so) conga beats, which may be heard as ghost notes.
Tumbao - my favourite element in Cuban musicality, bassy doublets played on the bass (what else?), prone to sudden improvisations.
Montuno - the final piece in the puzzle, syncopated, repetitive riffs that sketch out the chord changes, played on the piano or flute.
Whew, there. I'm done with it for now. Enjoy.. And hopefully you won't get too bored with the unorthodox information, haha.
--------
I have not danced socially for a few weeks - ever since that less-than-pleasant experience at the Union CNY party, and even though I have been -attempting- to teach basics, I am already rusty and in desperate need of a pick-me-up. So help me.
The only good thing to come out of this past week, from the dancer's perspective, has been my new shoes.. : ) Looks and feels good enough to last, and I've also visited my good old Bugis cobbler to get the frontal sole sueded, good stuff indeed. Now I need only to start blazing the floor. Tall order huh.
-Someone ask me out to Union, quick!-
--------
Please allow me the liberty to consolidate my thus far poor-enough knowledge of the Cuban roots of salsa music.
They say salsa evolved from a version of danzon, termed son. Within the genre of son lies several sub-genres, one of which - son montuno - had been most critical in influencing the development of mambo (and thereafter, salsa). A further breakdown of son montuno reveals its individual percussive elements, as detailed below.
Son Campana - fast percussive beats played on cowbells or cymbals.
Son Clave - our all-too familiar clave, with a 2/3 or 3/2 rhythm, traditionally played on the claves.
Timbale - simple off-tempo (relatively so) conga beats, which may be heard as ghost notes.
Tumbao - my favourite element in Cuban musicality, bassy doublets played on the bass (what else?), prone to sudden improvisations.
Montuno - the final piece in the puzzle, syncopated, repetitive riffs that sketch out the chord changes, played on the piano or flute.
Whew, there. I'm done with it for now. Enjoy.. And hopefully you won't get too bored with the unorthodox information, haha.
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