Update: You should download (and print if you like) these clave charts (will be explained in class):
For the five Mondays in June, Ryan (who devoted his Stanford Thesis to the clave) will be teaching a online series on clave and its foundational relationship with Cuban music and dance — LIVE on the Rueda Con Ritmo Facebook Page, Mondays 7:30 - 8:30pm (Pacific Time).
Clave (pronounced "CLAH-vay") is a simple instrument with a profound significance. Consisting of just two wooden sticks, clave is the rhythmic foundation of almost all Cuban music, including Salsa, Timba, Son, and Rumba. Understanding clave will enhance your appreciation of Cuban music and increase the rhythmic depth and precision of your dance. Here’s a schedule of some of the topics we will be covering:
Monday, 6/1: Son Clave vs. Rumba Clave - A tiempo (on 1) vs. Contratiempo (on 2), Ponche, 3:2 vs. 2:3
Monday, 6/8: Seis por ocho - Triplets, 6/8 clave and bell patterns, Chachalokefún step
Monday, 6/15: Finding Clave & Clave Accents - Ponche, Bombo, Tresillo, Cuatro, Especulación
Monday, 6/22: Dancing with Clave & Crossing Clave - Conga, Pilón, Cáscara, Son
Monday, 6/29: Clave Orientation/Changes - “1” vs. “5,” “Breaking” vs. “Continuous,” Remata/Doble DQN
THIS IS A DANCE CLASS, in addition to being a listening class. In each workshop we will explain and practice the material in many forms, by vocalizing and physicalizing the rhythms (through claps and steps), by counting and writing the rhythms (no musical notation experience required), and by listening and dancing to examples of the rhythms in recorded music.
Series will be progressive but it is also possible to drop-in to individual sessions. Open to all levels of dancers and Cuban music lovers. There is no pay wall, but suggested sliding scale donation is $5 - 20/session or $25 - $100 for the full 5 week series. We have Venmo (to @Ryan-Mead-1) and PayPal (to ryanandsidney at gmail -- make sure Sidney is spelled with an 'i'). Important: be sure NOT to use the words “Cuba” or “Havana” when using Venmo or PayPal (last four digits of phone number are 6142). Please participate in the class even if you are not able to contribute financially!
Want to do some prep for the workshop? Check out the clave entry in the Media section of our website (scrolling down to "Clave"), and download the Clave App for Android or Iphone.