In music of Afro-Cuban origin, tumbao is the basic rhythm played on the
bass. In North America, the basic
conga drum
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...
pattern used in popular music is also called ''tumbao''. In the contemporary form of Cuban popular dance music known as
timba
Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban ''son'' with ''salsa'', American
Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass dru ...
, piano
guajeo
A guajeo (Anglicized pronunciation: ''wa-hey-yo'') is a typical Cuban ostinato melody, most often consisting of arpeggiated chords in syncopated patterns. Some musicians only use the term ''guajeo'' for ostinato patterns played specifically by a ...
s are known as ''tumbaos''.
Bass pattern
Clave-neutral
The
tresillo pattern is the rhythmic basis of the
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...
bass tumbao in Cuban
son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
-based musics, such as
son montuno
Son montuno is a subgenre of son cubano developed by Arsenio RodrÃguez in the 1940s. Although ''son montuno'' ("mountain sound") had previously referred to the ''sones'' played in the mountains of eastern Cuba, Arsenio repurposed the term to den ...
,
mambo
Mambo most often refers to:
* Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form
*Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music
Mambo may also refer to:
Music
* Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...
,
salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
A ...
, and
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, whic ...
.
Often the last note of the measure is held over the downbeat of the next measure. In this way, only the two offbeats of tresillo are sounded. The first offbeat is known as ''bombo'', and the second offbeat (last note) is sometimes referred to as ''ponche''. The following example is written in cut-time (2/2).
Clave-aligned
Arsenio RodrÃguez
Arsenio RodrÃguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull; 31 August 1911 – 30 December 1970)Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana, v. 4 p. 45 et seq. was a Cuban musician, composer and bandleader ...
's group introduced bass tumbaos that have a specific alignment with
clave. The 2-3 bass line of "Dame un cachito pa' huele" (1946) coincides with three of the clave's five strokes.
David GarcÃa identifies the accents of "and-of-two" (in cut-time) on the three-side, and the "and-of-four" (in cut-time) on the two-side of the clave, as crucial contributions of RodrÃguez's music. The two offbeats are present in the following 2-3 bass line from RodrÃguez's "Mi chinita me botó" (1944).
The two offbeats are especially important because they coincide with the two syncopated steps in the son's basic footwork. The conjunto's collective and consistent accentuation of these two important offbeats gave the son montuno texture its unique groove and, hence, played a significant part in the dancer's ''feeling'' the music and dancing to it, as Bebo Valdés
Dionisio Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro (October 9, 1918 – March 22, 2013), better known as Bebo Valdés, was a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, especially due to his big b ...
noted "in ''contratiempo''" offbeat timing'€”GarcÃa (2006: 43).
Moore points out that RodrÃguez's conjunto introduced the two-celled bass tumbaos, that moved beyond the simpler, single-cell
tresillo structure. This type of bass line has a specific alignment to clave, and contributes melodically to the composition. RodrÃguez's brother Raúl Travieso recounted, RodrÃguez insisted that his bass players make the bass "sing." Moore states: "This idea of a bass tumbao with a melodic identity unique to a specific arrangement was critical not only to
timba
Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban ''son'' with ''salsa'', American
Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass dru ...
, but also to
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
,
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
, and other important genres."
Timba
Timba tumbaos incorporate techniques from funk, such as slapping, and pulling the strings in a percussive way. The following excerpt demonstrates several characteristics of timba bass. This is Alain Pérez's tumbao from a performance of
Issac Delgado
Issac Delgado (born Isaac Felipe Delgado-Ramirez on April 11, 1962 in Marianao, Habana, Cuba) is one of the founders of the band NG La Banda and is a popular Salsa music, salsa and timba performer.
Early life and family
His father, Luis Delgad ...
piece "La vida sin esperanza". Pérez's playful interpretation of the tumbao is what timba authority Kevin Moore refers to as “controlled improvisation;" the pattern continuously varies within a set framework.
Conga drum pattern
Clave-neutral
The basic
son montuno
Son montuno is a subgenre of son cubano developed by Arsenio RodrÃguez in the 1940s. Although ''son montuno'' ("mountain sound") had previously referred to the ''sones'' played in the mountains of eastern Cuba, Arsenio repurposed the term to den ...
tumbao pattern is played on the
conga drum
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...
. The conga was first used in bands during the late 1930s, and became a staple of mambo bands of the 1940s. The primary strokes are sounded with open tones, on the last offbeats (2&, 2a) of a two-beat cycle. The fundamental accent—2& is referred to by some musicians as ''ponche''.
1 e & a 2 e & a Count
H T S T H T O O Conga
L L R L L L R R Hand Used
Key:
L: Left hand
R: Right hand
H: Heel of hand
T: Tip of hand
S: Slap
O: Open Tone
Clave-aligned
The basic tumbao sounds slaps (triangle noteheads) and open tones (regular noteheads) on the "and" offbeats. There are many variations on the basic tumbao. For example, a very common variant sounds a single open tone with the third stroke of clave (ponche), and two tones preceding the three-side of clave. The specific alignment between clave and this tumbao is critical.
Another common variant uses two drums and sounds ''bombo'' (1a) on the
tumba (3-side of the
clave). For example:
1 . & . 2 . & . 3 . & . 4 . & . Count
X X X X X Son Clave
X X X X X Rumba Clave
H T S T O O H T S T H T O O Conga
O O Tumba
L L R R R L R R L L R L L L R R Hand Used
or
1 . & . 2 . & . 3 . & . 4 . & . Count
X X X X X Son Clave
X X X X X Rumba Clave
H T S H T O O H T S H T O O Conga
O 0 Tumba
L L R R L L R R L L R R L L R R Hand Used
Songo era
Beginning in the late 1960s, band conga players began incorporating elements from folkloric rhythms, especially rumba.
Changuito
Changuito (born José Luis Quintana on January 18, 1948) is a Cuban percussionist.
Biography
Quintana was born in 1948 in Casablanca, Cuba.[Los Van Van
Los Van Van is one of the leading musical groups of post-revolutionary Cuba. It was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Formell and former band members Changuito and Pupy are some of the most im ...]
pioneered this approach of the
songo era.
This relationship between the drums is derived from the style known as rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...
. The feeling of the high drum part is like the quinto in rumba, constantly punctuating, coloring, and accenting, but not soloing until the appropriate moment (Santos 1985).
In several songo arrangements, the tumbadora ('
conga
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...
') part sounds the typical tumbao on the low-pitched drum, while replicating the
quinto (lead drum) of
guaguancó
Guaguancó () is a subgenre of Cuban rumba, combining percussion, voices, and dance. There are two main styles: Havana and Matanzas.
Percussion
* battery of three conga drummers: the ''tumba'' (lowest), ''tres dos'' (middle, playing a counter-cl ...
on the high-pitched drum. The quinto-like phrases can continually change, but they are based upon a specific counter-
clave motif.
Timba era
Tomás Cruz developed several adaptions of folkloric rhythms when working in
Paulito FG's
timba
Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban ''son'' with ''salsa'', American
Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass dru ...
band of the 1990s. Cruz's creations offered clever counterpoints to the bass and chorus. Many of his tumbaos span two or even four claves in duration, something very rarely done previously. He also made more use of muted tones in his tumbaos, all the while advancing the development of . The example on the right is one of Cruz's ''inventos'' ('musical inventions'), a band adaptation of the Congolese-based Afro-Cuban folkloric rhythm ''makuta''. He played the pattern on three congas on the Paulito song "Llamada anónima".
Timba keyboard guajeos
The Cuban jazz pianist
Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Gonzalo Rubalcaba (born May 27, 1963) is an Afro-Cuban jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Rubalcaba was born Gonzalo Julio González Fonseca in Havana, Cuba
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The ...
developed a technique of pattern and harmonic displacement in the 1980s, which was adopted into
timba
Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban ''son'' with ''salsa'', American
Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass dru ...
tumbaos (
timba piano guajeos) in the 1990s. Many timba bands use two keyboards, such as
Issac Delgado
Issac Delgado (born Isaac Felipe Delgado-Ramirez on April 11, 1962 in Marianao, Habana, Cuba) is one of the founders of the band NG La Banda and is a popular Salsa music, salsa and timba performer.
Early life and family
His father, Luis Delgad ...
's group, which features's Melón Lewis (1st keyboard) and Pepe Rivero (2nd keyboard).
[Moore, Kevin (2010: 8,9). ''Beyond Salsa Piano; The Cuban Timba Piano Revolution v.7 Iván "Melón" Lewis, prt. 2 Note for Note Transcriptions.'' Santa Cruz, CA: Moore Music/Timba.com. ]
References
{{Reflist
Cuban music
Rhythm and meter