CONCEPTS
of Musicality
Counting helps you know where you are in the music, recognise the accents, and predict transitions. After exploring the concept of counting on its own, we move into the following topics:
- Finding the 1
- Recognising the switch from 5 back to 1
- Keeping the count throughout the whole song
- Counting 1, 2, 3 – 5, 6, 7
- Counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
- Full counting, including syncopations
- Counting with instrument patterns instead of numbers
- Say it. Play it. Dance it.
Tiempo is a way of dancing that emphasises the odd beats — 1, 3, 5 and 7 — giving the dance a steady, grounded feeling.
Contratiempo is a way of dancing that emphasises the even beats — 2, 4, 6 and 8 — and is typical of Son.
After exploring the main ideas of Tiempo and Contratiempo, we move into the following topics:
- Core beats vs. secondary beats
- On 1 vs. On 2 in Son
- On 1 vs. On 2 in Mambo
- Mambo vs. Son
- Mambo vs. Soft Mambo vs. Son
Instruments are the building blocks of salsa music. By learning to recognise individual instruments, you can hear the rhythm more clearly, feel the accents, and dance with more musicality. Each instrument is a concept of its own. We discuss every major instrument separately and in relation to the others.
- Conga: accents on 2, 4, 4+, 6, 8, 8+
- Cowbell: accents on 1, 3, 5, 7
- Güiro: accents on 1, 3, 5, 7
- Maracas: accents on 1, 3, 5, 7
- Clave: accents on 2, 3, 5, 6+, 8 or 1, 2+, 4, 6, 7
- Cáscara: accents on 1, 2, 3, 3+, 4+, 5, 6, 6+, 7+, 8+
- Bass: accents on 2+, 4, 6+, 8
Patterns are repeated musical shapes that give salsa its flow.
Recognising them helps you anticipate accents, breaks, transitions, energy levels, and dance with more confidence.
Besides learning the patterns and their structure, we explore some of the most common patterns in salsa music:
- Clave 2-3 / 3-2
- Accents on 5 → 6+ → 8
- Accents on 1 → 2
- Patterns in the melody
- Patterns in breaks
Structure is the way a salsa song is built. Recognising accents, energy levels, and elements such as the intro, verse, bridge, montuno, call and response, mambo, and solos helps you feel the energy changes and predict transitions.
We discuss the body of a salsa song:
- Intro
- Verse
- Bridge
- Montuno
- Call and Response
- Mambo
- Solo
- Outro
Musicality is not just something you understand. It is something you learn to hear, feel, and dance.
In our workshops in Bavel, we explore these concepts in small groups, with practical exercises, music, and instruments.