Familia Valera Miranda

Se Quema La Chumbamba
What are some
of the
musical What does
characteristi syncopation
cs of Salsa mean?
music?
How many What song do
steps you associate
between with the
interval of a
two notes
fourth, fifth,
with an seventh?
interval
 Learning Objective:
• To understand the context of Se Quema
La Chumbamba

• To learn about the Rhythm of Se Quema

La Chumbamba
 Starter: Listening exercise
1. What language is being sung?

2. What instruments can you hear?

3. Where do you think this music might

have come from and why? Influences?

4. What beat is the first beat of the bar?

(tap and try to identify it)
 The context: Spanish vs African
influences = CUBAN MUSIC
• Colonised by Spanish in 16th century its music is a mixture of
African and Spanish influences (through slave and colonial
population mix)
• Instruments like bongos, maracas and claves were developed
from African instruments (especially percussion)
• African rhythmic devices like esp. syncopation and call and
response were also imported by slaves
• Use of traditional harmony (harmonic minor scale, tonic-
dominant chords) reflect European particularly Spanish
influences
• Use of Cuatro (Spanish guitar) and double bass also show Spanish
influence
 The Clave Rhythm
• The backbone of Latin/Cuban music is the Clave
pattern…
• This pervades and anchors the whole piece and is
the central base for timing. There are many types
of Clave patterns… (see worksheet)

Practical Task:
1. Play each Clave rhythm with the piano
accompaniment.
2. Test each other to get them to try to identify
which Clave pattern you are playing
 The Clave in Se Quema
• Listen to the piece again… which Clave rhythm
is being played in Se quema?
• You may need to look at your score
 The Clave in Se Quema
• Listen to the piece again… which Clave rhythm
is being played in Se quema?
• You may need to look at your score

The 3:2 Son Clave

 The Style of Cuban music
• Son (traditional Cuban music to acc. dancing=foundation of Salsa)
is a particular type (Son Montuno)taken from farm workers
• Sang in a call and response style. Leader improvises on a Pregon
(street cry) which the Coro (workers) respond to unchanged
• Chord acc. was added when this kind of Son was used for dancing
• Variety comes from the Pregon improvisations (beginning in
verse 2) and cuatro and bongo improves (in central section)
• Improvising instruments will be increasingly adventurous with
their rhythms but the clave ostinato keeps everything
ANCHORED. (the cuatro does occasionally however
resynchronise with the clave eg. Bar11)
 Rhythm in Se quema
• Practical Task:
• Create your own arrangement of Se quema
• Note the rhythm of the following
instruments:
– Bass
– Cuatro (chords)
– Riff (on cuatro)
– Pregon (vocals -call) Coro (vocals - response)
 Rhythm in Se quema
• Clave is a 2:3 Son Clave which is the same as the
Rhumba from Africa (often heard in drumming)
• Clave pattern pervades and anchors the whole piece
and is the central base for timing. Note only perc
play on beat 1 of 2 bar phrase +
• + Bass, guitar and vox play on non-accented beats
(ie not the first beat of the bar)
• Also allows singers to take a breath and creates two
bar pattern
• Anticipation Bass plays the root or 5th of the next
chord on beat 4: very common in salsa
 Homework:
• Complete the theory sheet

• You will need to know the following

chord:
– VIIb
 Plenary:
• Write two or more sentences on each
of the following in this piece:

– Context
– Rhythm
– The instruments
 Starter: Analyse this passage
1. What is the key of this passage?
2. What are the chords?
a. In Roman numerals (eg. ii7b)
b. In letters name (eg, Bb7/D)
 Homework
• Listen to Alla va candela and comment on
instrumentation
• Features of son music
• Listen again to Se quema la chumbamba and
compare with Alla va candela