I like to listen to Spanish music. Do you know the Spanish pianists Elena Martín and José Melitón? They play exciting pieces by Spanish composers arranged for two pianos.
Some of the pieces in his repertoire are written for two pianos, but many are originally written for solo piano and have been transcribed by Elena Martin for two pianos.
So what is Latin music, you ask? Well, I’d say it’s an incredibly complex mosaic. We are talking about musical influences from Africa, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany, the Middle East, India and many more American cultures.
You may be thinking that there is no connection between the music of the Andes and the music of the Mexican mariachi. Well, there is. Now, Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music have been the two main Latin musical influences in jazz.
To use Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz melodies you need to know a bit about the rhythmic pattern known as the clave. In a salsa band, you will find every rhythm instrument such as piano, bass, timpani, congas, bongo drums, and cowbells. It’s the rhythm that holds it all together. I love to feel the rhythm. I admit, the pacing can be challenging.
Now, the key is a two-bar rhythmic pattern that comes in two forms: the direct key is known as 3 and 2, and the reverse key is known as 2 and 3.
In the front key, the accents fall on the first beat, the “y” of the second beat, and the fourth beat of the first measure, and beats two and three of the second measure. Does it look like this:
In 4/4 time, play: note, rest, note, rest, note/rest, note, note, rest.
The backspace key reverses the pattern. The next 2 measures would be:
4/4 time, you would play: rest, note, note, rest/note, rest, note, rest, note.
There is another key called the rumba key. You will see that the last note of the rumba key is delayed half a beat and is played on the “y” of the fourth beat.
So, the African or rumba rhythm would be:
4/4 time, play time, rest, rest, rest, time / rest, time, time, rest.
Every part of the Afro-Cuban rhythm, such as percussion patterns, piano montuno, bass lines, melodic phrasing, etc. it has to be running with the key.
The most important rule about the key is that once the song starts, the key doesn’t change. Latin music is played with a lot of energy and passion.
