The 3 Clave beats

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I just need help labelling which is which: The "Bo Diddley" Clave, is that a Cuban or Brazilian Clave? The Bossa Nova Clave, is that Cuban or Brazilian?

Also, the Rhumba, dat da dat dat. What type of Clave is that?


On Santana's "Oy Como Va," is this another type of Clave, or just a variation of the Bossa Nova?

[One-Beat-At-A-Time-]

Bo diddley clave is Cuban and if you play it back wards (2nd bar played first), it becomes 2:3 clave. Why? Because only 2 notes are in the first bar, and 3 in the end. If it is 3:2 then it means 3 notes are in the 1st bar and 2 are in the 2nd.

Bossa nova clave is Brazilian. Same with Samba. Also... Be careful with calling them "Brazilian Clave's". Generally, you would keep a groove going with Samba or Bossa, but you can slightly change depending on what is going on in the song (comping, but not like jazz).

Rhumba, is just 3:2 clave but instead of the note on beat 4, it is shifted to the and of 4. But yes, this is Cuban.

Your best bet is to listen to Brazilian music (Sergio mendes, Soul bosa trio, etc. They are good places to start), and then listen to Cuban music (buena vista social club, Tito Puente, Afro Cuban All Stars) and notice the difference.

And Oye Como Va was originally done by Tito Puente, and it is Cuban. Specifically Cha Cha (which is Cuba). And if I remember correctly, that song is felt in 2:3 clave. Yes, I know you cannot hear the clave rhythm in the song. The reason for this is because in Cuban music, sometimes they all just feel that rhythm and play around it.

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Thanks for the clarification.

[Drumbledore]

I thought Drummer and myself had explained the three clavé beats in 4/4 before on another thread?

http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...ve+drumbledore

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Yes, I was being polite. I printed out what you replied and I am going to go through it with my drum student. This confirms what you wrote.

[Drumbledore]

No worries champ!