Cuban music - clave. Clave - the pulse of Latin American music Clave musical instrument

In my articles and video tutorials I talk about the keyboard very often. This is a concept that is practically unknown to Russian musicians and there is very little information.

Therefore, I decided to describe this concept and show the basic principles of using the clave.

Clave is a rhythmic pattern that is the organizing element of rhythm in Afro-Cuban music, such as rumba, salsa, Latin jazz, mambo, timba, songo and others.

The five-beat clave pattern is the basis of many Afro-Cuban rhythms. The roots of the clave should be sought in traditional African rites, accompanied by the playing of percussion instruments.

Such rhythms are usually built on stable rhythmic turns, which influenced Cuban and Latin American music. In a more primitive form, in popular clave music patterns are used to create rhythmic ostinato motifs or for rhythmic decorations.

In Spanish, clave is translated as code. In addition, there is a percussion instrument with the same name (two sticks struck against each other).

In general, Afro-Cuban music is built on the basis of two clave - son clave and rumba clave.

Both the son clave and the rubma clave can be performed in triple meter (12/8,6/8) and double meter (4/4,2/4). This can be called rhythmic. Essentially, the performance and emphasis of the clave can be the same in different sizes.

Both types of clave are used in rumba, where they are key patterns for drums, melodic and harmonic accompaniment. Son clave is the basis of rubma styles such as yambú and guaguancó.

During the 19th century, African and Cuban music merged, but the clave entered popular music in the 40s of the 19th century and finally became established in the bossa nova genre.

Today, the clave is understood not only as five-bar rhythmic ostinato figures, but also as a set of patterns that are essentially the distillation of the most popular rhythms of Africa and Cuba.

The most difficult thing is to use the clave in the arrangement.

Regardless of the instrumental composition, each instrument must strictly adhere to any one clave pattern - unreasonable stops and pauses are unacceptable.

Any pause must correspond to the clave. Here we can observe phenomena such as polyrhythm, olimetry and polyphony of ostinato lines. If this rule is not followed, the rhythm falls apart and is considered erroneous.

A musician playing music built on the clave must be clearly aware of the rhythmic patterns that he performs. An important element of Afro-Cuban music is that each clave is played at its own pace; this phenomenon is similar to the playing of a symphony orchestra, in which, due to the distance between the left and right parts of the orchestra, the instruments enter 100-200 ms later or earlier. Only in clave music is this done consciously and not one pattern is the leading one. At the same time, the rhythm does not fall apart as a result, but on the contrary becomes more danceable and lively. This feature is the most difficult to master. It is for this reason that blindly copying such music leads to an awkward, mechanical sound.

Clave theory
There are three basic theories of clave, which in recent decades have converged into one.
Cuban theory— considers the clave as a two-beat rhythmic period that organizes play in an ensemble. Also in Cuban clave theory, the pattern is seen as the opposition of the first half of the rhythm to the second.
Etymological
In 1959 Arthur Maurice Jones published A Study of African Music. Generalizing the rhythms of the Southern Sahara, he came to the conclusion that the clave is a three-beat figure based on the opposition of meters 2 and 3 (cross rhythms).
Third branch most popular and appeared in the USA.
This theory has spread throughout the world and is based on the idea that the clave rhythm is a 2 by 3 or 3 by 2 figure.
This simpler and more understandable position, however, is too simplified and does not allow us to fully understand the very essence of the clave, namely its metric role.

Types of clave

The most common clave pattern is the son clave, named after the Cuban musical genre of the same name. This type of clave is bipartite, that is, it can be divided into two patterns that contrast with each other. If you write son clave in two-quarter time, then each part of the rhythm will take exactly one bar:

Tresillo

The first half of the son clave consists of three beats and is called a tripartite clave. In Cuban popular music, the first three beats of the clave are called tresillo, which means triplet in Spanish. This is very significant, since in fact the figure is not a triplet, but for Afro-Cuban music it is the basis of the pulsation and is most often performed as something between a triplet and eighth notes.

In the Western European tradition we can usually see a two-foot system of meter distribution within bars. This means that the first beat will usually be strong and the second weak. Or vice versa.

In the clave, each measure is perceived as equivalent. This is especially noticeable when different types of clave are superimposed, that is, when polyrhythms are formed (cross rhythms).

Rubma

Another important clave pattern, as I already wrote, is the rumba clave. As the name suggests, this pattern is basic in the Cuban rubma dance. There are two versions of the rumba clave, the first is recorded in 4/4, and the second in 12/8. All over the world, the rubma clave is known as the 3-3-2 pattern.

Standard bell pattern

This popular variation of the clave has a 7 note structure. This pattern can also be recorded in either 4/4 or 12/8

All three varieties of clave are widely used in traditional African music from Mali in northwest Africa to Mozambique in southeast Africa.

In the Afro-Cuban tradition, the clave is most often perceived as a pulsation in triplets, or a figure in 6/8. Even if the drummer plays in 2/4, the tendency will be to interpret the rhythm as a triplet.

In the jazz tradition, on the contrary, any rhythm is always perceived from the position of 4/4 and even 6/8 will most often be written as 2/4 or 12/8.

This difference in the perception of rhythms affects the manner in which clave rhythms are performed and arranged.

Since the clave is based on polyrhythms, there are several ways to write the basic structures. As we have already seen, there are two basic clave notation systems: 6/8 and 2/4.

However, there are also more exotic ways of recording clave. Such methods are usually more accurate and reflect the real relationship with metric stops in the clave pattern.
Here is Anthony King's version for son clave, recorded in variable time signature:

Harmony and clave

Initially, the clave was an element of modal music, or was the basis for playing percussion instruments.

Depending on where the chord progression begins, the rhythm of the clave changes. There are two basic ones - this is the beginning at three - it is called 3/2 and the beginning of the progression at 2 and accordingly it is called 2/3.

Based on the clave figure, a wide variety of melodic figures are formed, which are called clave motifs. The following example uses a basic clave rhythm with minor modifications and recorded in a cut key

A more progressive way to use the clave is with offbeat and onbeat motifs. A bass or double bass is very often played this way, but the entire melody can also be written. The shift of the entire pattern can occur either to the left or to the right

Naturally, clave masters use changes both at the beat level and by changing the structure of the clave within the same melody. The example below illustrates this concept:

Here we can see both syncopation and modulation within the clave.

The clave has penetrated so deeply into different styles that sometimes it is quite difficult to identify the main figure behind the complex rhythms.

In the next part I will talk about the use of the clave in popular music and its influence on Brazilian music, jazz, r'n'b and other styles.

Clave. Percussion

Clave is a percussion instrument, translated from Spanish the word “clave” means “key”. From the name it is already clear that this instrument is the basis of the rhythm of the orchestra. But there is another version of the appearance of the name clave. The term comes from the merger of two words “clavar” (trans. nail) and “llaves” (the same key. As will be seen later in the article, the tool was not previously a tool at all, but was just a wooden nail for building ships.
Not a single Afro-Cuban melody, rumba, timba, dream, cha-cha-cha and many other directions.

Tool type

The clave is two round sticks made from hardwood (mostly rosewood, ebony or rosewood), 20 to 30 cm long and one inch (2.5 cm) in diameter. Recently, it is increasingly possible to find clave made from modern materials of plastic or fiberglass. The musician holds one stick in his left hand so that the sound easily resonates, and with his right hand he strikes rhythmically. The clave produces a rather ringing, sharp, high-pitched sound. It can be easily heard even in a loud orchestra. It is generally accepted that two sticks have different genders. The male wand is stationary and is in the left hand, while the right hand holds the “attacking” female wand. Sometimes the clave is made hollow inside, then the sound produced acquires even greater strength and brightness.

History of the clave

After Columbus's discovery of the New World in 1492, Spanish ships headed to Cuba to explore new lands. The Spaniards discover Cuban forests, where the species of deciduous trees are much superior to those in Spain. African slaves are transported toisland of Cubaand build new ships. Nails were too expensive at the time, so small wooden pegs made from hardwood were used instead. Two worthless discarded pegs served as an excellent musical instrument in place of African drums, and thus perpetuated rhythms from Africa. In Africa, the clave instrument has always been used almost everywhere, so it is almost impossible to find out which specific country this percussion instrument comes from.

Playing the keyboard

At first glance, it may seem that playing this musical instrument is not difficult. However, this is only at first glance. If you hit the sticks against each other in different parts, the sound will be uneven; you should know exactly where the necessary voiced spots or so-called “sweet spots” are located on the instrument.

There are many different rhythms, but basically, one rhythm with the same name as the instrument, “clave,” is used, only in several variants: Brazilian clave, Guaguanco clave, Colombian clave, Son clave, rumba.

The basic principle when reproducing sound from the clave is that at least one of the sticks must resonate upon impact. In a typical playing technique, the non-dominant hand (which holds the male stick) lightly holds the stick with its fingertips, open palm up, while creating a resonant cavity between the palm and the instrument. By holding the stick on the nail, the musician can produce clearer and more sonorous sounds. The other dominant hand holds the second female wand more tightly. Most often, the sound is produced by striking the end of the female stick against the center of the male one.

The rhythm carried by the clave instrument is fundamental to all Latin American styles of music. The clave is also often used to play a repeating rhythmic figure in a piece. There are many musicians who use the clave in their musical works, not only of Latin origin. One of the striking examples are two songs by the legendary Beatles called “And I love her” and “Magic Bus”.

Other Cuban musical instruments:

.. What it is?
A Cuban musical instrument that consists of two cylindrical pieces of hard wood struck against each other. The simplest percussion in existence, which sets the basic rhythm in Latin American music. The rhythm of the clave is followed by the entire orchestra; it is the central core of the melody, one might say, the rhythmic pulsation of the “heart” of the composition.

At the same time, the clave is not only the name of the instrument, but also the rhythm that it sets. The rhythm section is divided into two parts: one involves three beats, the other - only two. Typically the clave starts with three beats followed by two (3/2 clave). Otherwise (when two beats are followed by three) we are talking about a 2/3 clave. There are many varieties of clave, for example, rumba clave (2/3 or 3/2) - the rhythm is slightly different, but built on the same principle.

.. Origin of the clave
In the 16th-17th centuries, the port areas of Havana were the densely populated center of the capital. The reliability of the port, ensured by the fortifications that were considered impregnable, led to the fact that it was here that ships with looted treasures from all over America first arrived. Havana was called the "key of the Indies." Hundreds of people - sailors, slaves, soldiers and workers inhabited the small world of the port, where hot spots bred.

Keyboard musical instruments are characterized by a sound production system using levers controlled by keys. A set of keys arranged in a certain order is called an instrumental keyboard.

Organ - the first keyboard wind instrument

The history of keyboard instruments dates back to. One of the first keyboard instruments is the organ. In the first organs, sound was produced by controlling large valves. They turned out to be quite inconvenient and quite quickly the valves were replaced with levers, also of quite impressive size. In the 11th century, levers were replaced by wide keys that could be pressed with hand force. Comfortable narrow keys, characteristic of modern organs, appeared only in the 16th century. So the organ turned into a keyboard wind musical instrument.

Clavichord - the first stringed keyboard instrument

The first clavichords were invented between the 14th and 16th centuries; historians, unfortunately, do not know more exact dates. The device of the medieval clavichord resembled a modern piano. It is characterized by a quiet, soft sound, so the clavichord was rarely played for large audiences. In addition, it is quite compact in size, and therefore was often used for home music playing and was very popular in rich homes. Composers of the Baroque era created musical works especially for the clavichord: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven.

Harpsichord

The harpsichord first appeared in the 14th century in Italy; even Boccaccio mentioned it in his Decameron. This is a plucked string musical instrument, since it is characterized by sound production by plucking the string with a pick at the moment the key is pressed. The role of a mediator is performed by a plectrum made of a bird's feather.

There are one- and two-manual harpsichords. Unlike a clavichord or a piano, the strings of a harpsichord are parallel to the keys, just like a grand piano.

Harpsichord

The harpsichord produces a weak, harsh sound. It was often used in chamber music as an accompaniment to song performances. The body of the harpsichord was richly decorated, and in general this instrument was viewed rather as a decorative element.

The spinet, virginel and muselar are types of harpsichord. They have a similar principle of sound production, but different designs. These are small instruments, most often with one keyboard and a range of four octaves.

Piano

It was first designed by the Italian master Bartolomeo Christofi in the early 18th century. By this period, keyboard instruments practically could not withstand the competition of strings, in particular, which were much more virtuosic and expressive. The piano became an instrument that could provide an impressive dynamic range and win the hearts of the musicians of the era.

Bartolomeo Cristofi called his new keyboard instrument “playing softly and loudly,” which in Italian sounded “piano e forte.” Similar variations of keyboard instruments were created almost at the same time by Christophor Gottlieb Schröter and the Frenchman Jean Marius.

The Italian piano by Bartolomeo Christofi was designed as follows: hitting the key activates a felt hammer, the hammer, in turn, causes the string to vibrate, and a special mechanism moves the hammer back, preventing it from pressing the string and muffling the sound. This piano had no pedals or dampers. Later, the ability to return the hammer only halfway was added, which turned out to be very convenient for performing various types of melismas, which are characterized by rapid repetition of notes.

Clave - probably the first musical instrument that appeared on planet Earth: two sticks. Now its origins are associated with Africa, since it is still preserved in the tradition of modern inhabitants of this continent and immigrants from there, and also plays a vital role in all Latin American music. The first mentions of the clave as a musical instrument date back to the 16th-17th centuries and are associated with black slaves who made clave from ship plating.

About the keyboard

As you can see in the video above, the clave consists of two cylindrical sticks of hard wood, although in a modern orchestra it can also be made in the form of a hollow plastic box attached to the drum stand. A musician who plays the clave holds one stick in his hand so that the palm creates a kind of resonator, and with the other stick he strikes the first with clear rhythmic blows, producing high-pitched sounds. The tonality and sound are affected not only by the force of the blow, but also by the pressure of the fingers and the roundness of the palm.

The clave is most widespread in Cuban music: it leads (sets) the rhythm in styles such as salsa, mambo, son, etc. It is important to note that although the clave is not always explicitly present in the ensemble, its rhythm is always “implied” in music. The most famous traditional Cuban clave rhythms are son clave and guaguanco clave, but its varieties are also found in other Latin American countries, for example, Brazilian clave or Colombian clave.

The rhythmic section of the clave is usually divided into two parts: one makes three beats, the other makes only two. Typically the rhythm begins with three beats followed by two (3/2 clave). In another case (when two strikes are followed by three), we are talking about a 2/3 clave. The clave always produces two beats in one measure, and three beats in the next. It is characteristic of the structural rhythm of the clave that two beats always sound stronger, brighter and more expressive than three beats. This is because the 2 beats thereby resolve the syncopated unevenness or tension that the 3 beats create. When a dance breaks into 2 and 6, the direction of body movement changes along with the strongest rhythmic stress.