The Roots of Timba, Pt I - 1947-Soy el terror

by Kevin Moore ©2007

1947 Arsenio Rodríguez - Soy el terror (tumbao 2)
xx0x 0xxx 0xx0 xx0x 2-3 son clave
0xxx xx0x xxxx x000 MIDI example
bassist: Lázaro Prieto
source: Emiliano Echeverría

notes: This unique tumbao skips melodically up a minor seventh and then down a perfect 4th. While the notes don't coincide rhythmically with the clave, this tumbao does in fact "mark" the clave. It seems counter-intuitive at first that the underlined downbeat would be associated with the 2-side rather than the 3-side, but, as we'll see in example after example, when the bass plays the downbeat on only one side, it's almost always the 2-side.

Previous Next
Tuesday, 22 March 2011, 07:32 PM