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How to play Salsa - 2

ALBERTO BETANCOURT

Now we will learn how to improvise in SALSA.

The secret of playing latin music is to feel all the energy of the percussion
players and to imagine yourself into the drums.
Rhythm is the main part in latin music. You may see typical folk groups with
only drummers and percussions with voices.
If you have recorded in your midi keyboard or your sequencer patterns
learned in precedent chapter, or if you have at your disposal good latin or
salsa or montuno or mambo patterns, You may practice very easy at your
instrument.
If You have a drum player, teach him this easy pattern to practice:

Cymbal or hihat plays the maracas part.

First beat in bass drum (in parenthesis) very soft, or mute, as a reference
point.
Ride snare plays the mute conga, and air toms the low and high conga.

Very important is the bass part.... If you do not have a bass player, you
must play the bass figures, that are the basis of rhythm and harmony.
Remember that the bass part is the same figure as bass drum.
If you have a bass player or a midi keyboard with programmed bass or a
sequencer, your left hand plays chords in whole notes or half notes in an
easy way. When you have more dominion in improvising, you may play more
syncopated figures with left hand.

Now you are ready to improvise. Beguin with seventh chords. Take a
seventh chord to make an easy harmonic base. For instance G7...
With your right hand you may improvise freely, using mainly eight notes and
syncopation.
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Build short phrases using diatonic scales, penthatonic scales, chromathic

notes as passing sounds or ornamental notes, broken arpeggios, arpeggios
over extended chords, melodic sequences, and all your baggage of tools for
jazz. All creativity is at your hands...
Take care that SALSA is not SWING... eight notes have the same value
always.
Accents are very important for expression.

This is an example of free improvisation on a G7 pattern:

Accent the notes that you feel while playing, freely, but put accents in your
phrases. So You play with dynamics and expression.
Make free improvisations over all seventh chords.
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Study this Am guaje, and practice it in all minor keys:

Montuno in Am:

1. Play two upper staves with both hands.

2. Play the guaje, as apears in first stave, with right hand. Left hand
plays the bass in third stave.

Improvise in all minor keys.

Montuno with II V I progression:

Improvise on all keys with this progression.

Modulate freely to other keys using this kind of progression... II V I.
Explore and enjoy creativity and feeling of SALSA.
Practice this pattern in all keys:

Montuno in I V I progression:
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Observe the variation in bass figure (tumbao).

Improvise on this progression in all keys: I V7 V7 I.

Build a short phrase, as a question, from I to V7, and an answer from V7

to I.

Improvise freely on II V progression in all keys:

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Montuno in Am E7 Am progression:

Improvise with this progression in all minor keys.

For a more advanced study about this matter, i recommend The Latin Real
Book , a great deal of latin music with all kind of montunos, guajes,
tumbaos, and rhythms, and the bible of salsa: “Salsa guidebook” by Rebeca
Mauleon, both from Sher Music Co. and at your disposal in “books room” in
LearnJazzPiano.

When you play a standard latin piece, do as in a jazz standard... first play
the theme, and afterwards improvise over chord progression of the song...
and finish again with the theme...
Also you may do improvisation over free easy progressions that you
establish while playing.

If you came to this point... doing all the exercises recommended here... you
know how to play salsa and How to improvise in salsa.
With elements learned here you may adventure playing all kind of latin jazz
and latin rock. Enjoy it and good luck.

ALBERTO BETANCOURT