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How to find the rhythm in salsa music

Author:

Salsero

For the first two or so years of my salsa dancing life the biggest barrier to overcome was finding out the rhythm in salsa music. I used to ask girls if they could just start and I would jump into the music after them. In fact when I first started dancing it was all about merengue and bachata because it was all so much easier to hear. This became even more frustrating because it was so hard to get a clear, simple answer. I was told to 'dance to the tumbao...OK whats that?' 'Find the clave... but not every song has it' while all this advice was well intentioned it seemed to make it the issue even more complicated.

The main reason salsa in particular is tough is because it doesn\'t have a standard, constant underlying base line. So most songs will have a boom, bang-boom, boom, bang or something like that constantly repeating. In salsa the underlying rhythm is composed of overlying instruments rather than one beat and these instruments follow a clave 2-3 or 3-2 rhythm... OK I am confusing myself. It\'s what makes it so unique as a musical form.

Over time I became easier to listen and now its become on of my big sticking points when talking to other dancers. In fact when I look at the dance floors all over the world its pretty common to see people dancing on all sorts of different rhythms. This is OK in and of its self (don\'t hate me there are just as many debates about correct timing), but it becomes very obvious when someone is just counting without the music when their timing changes throughout the song. More specifically dancing on1 or on2 and then all of a sudden you are on5.

OK so you have read this far, 'OK tell me how to dance to salsa music already' very well reader here are some tips for you. Think of them as a process. Start with one and then build off of that to step 2 and then step 3.

1. Grooving: Start every song by slowly rocking left and right with your partner. This has NEVER failed me. Over time your body will naturally fall into a rhythm based on what you are hearing. Your partner can also help here by slightly speeding or slowing you down while you are rocking. This has the added advantage of starting songs off with a casual feeling rather than just jumping into steps/moves.

2. Counting 4&8: This is more advanced, but because we all teach counting salsa to 1,2,3 - 5,6,7 people will naturally fall into a 6 count instead of an 8 count rhythm. Therefore most everyone will learn how to dance slightly too quickly. This is why ever after step one and you start on the right beat, after a move you will be off of it.

3. Find the instrument: In my experience most salsa songs, usually have one instrument that tends to stand out more than the others. Piano, trumpet, or some percussion. What ever instrument you can hear being clearly try to follow its rhythm. Since they will all sequence in a round of 8 you will be able to do your steps to it.

Think of these tips as a starting point. It took me well over a year before I could naturally find the the rhythm in salsa music. As a lasting thought remember that salsa is a street dance and is only limited by your own creativity. In the salsa world there are people who dance on 1, on 2, on 3, and on 5. So chances are as long as you start sooner or later you will be fine. Good luck. If you want anymore info you can always ask me questions on my site.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/dance-articles/how-to-find-the-rhythm-in-salsa-music-5222197.html

About the Author

Salsero Ruiz is a teacher and dance instructor in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He originally learned how to dance in South America while growing up. He has a blog which provides audio and video resources for beginner dancers, links and references to salsa music and interviews with salseros from around the world.

You can contact him via his website where he also maintains lists of salsa music to download.  http://www.dance4uvancouver.com/music.html