Posts Tagged ‘salsa music’

You may be thinking going to Salsa class once a week for an hour is enough right. I mean I also go to the club once a week, so I’m getting better. Right?

Well….no.

There is only so much an instructor can do in a given period of time. It is your job to reinforce what you learned on your own time. If you fall into the bad habit hole it can be hard to climb back up. So let’s nip that in the bud to begin with by PRACTICING. Awesome! Well sort of.

When I started learning to play the bass I hated practicing scales (and still do). Now in my old age I can’t stress enough how beneficial that was for my playing. Another part of practicing is learning new things outside of class but we’ll discuss that in another post. Just like scales to music, the basic is the cornerstone of dancing salsa - not all those fancy moves. If you can perfect this move you can fool any pro.

And Now our Top Ten Practicing Tips

10) Mirror-Mirror

They shouldn’t just be used for your “Hey baby” face – although that can be important. Practice your basic in front of a full length mirror. If you feel awkward you probably look it. Go through the steps slowly. If you can perfect something slowly you will have high success rate when doing it faster. (more…)

I’ve recently rekindled my love of Celtic Music with a band that appeals to both my passion and heritage. The band I’m referring to is appropriately named Salsa Celtica. They incorporate a wonderful marriage of traditional Irish/Scottish music stylings with the enigmatic rhythms of Afro-Cuban music. I find the music to be both discordant and harmonious. The stylings of both peoples so varied and unique that each voice dances in between roles that are supportive and sometimes mimetic to projective and assertive. This music felt brand new and yet somehow familiar.

My first inklings into Celtic music came from my grandfather who is into the traditional Irish songs, mostly bagpipe music that personally is rather …um… truthfully annoying. Sorry, grandpa. (more…)

The fantastic little program known as the Salsa Beat Machine, is the brainchild of Salsa4Fun. This little flash based program will plant those salsa rhythms in your head with the ability to solo instruments, change patterns from simple to complex, adjust the chord progression, and add an instructors count (123…567). You may be surprised by how pervasive the polyrhythms are in Salsa music – are you familiar with all these rhythms and do you use them in your dance? If you subscribed to our email newsletter then you have already received a juicy email with explanations of the instruments typically found in Salsa music. The machine below should help with your comprehension of the an instruments role.

(more…)

To compliment our email about the different styles of salsa music, I made a couple playlists to give definition to the variation in styles.

Classic Salsa

To begin with we have Salsa Clásica, a style of salsa developed and cultivated in the 50s and 60s by such greats as Celia Cruz, Willie Colon, Ruben Blades, Hector Lavoe and Tito Puente. The success of salsa in its early days was due to the social undertones and political messages it represented. The force had the power to unify the fragmented and uprooted Latin American population and act as a guard against assimilation into US culture. Below are some examples of Salsa Clásica. If you understand Spanish, much of the lyrics in these songs delve into personal quandaries as well as exploring sociopolitical themes.

Visit Salsa Clásica for full length songs.

Salsa Romantica

In the mid 1980s to 1990s, Salsa Romantica emerged from the dwindling popularity of Salsa Clásica. At this time Latin Pop and Rock began to explode onto the scene, (more…)